Election 1955

There were no Greens, no UKIPs, no Monster Raving Loonies. Women played little active part on the stump, although the housewives' vote was much sought after.

But the 1955 General Election shared some recognisable elements to the one underway today. It was a TV campaign - the first. Both main parties predicted chaos if the other won. And there was great fear about voter apathy.

The starting gun was fired shortly after Sir Winston Churchill finally stepped down as Conservative Prime Minister. "The second Churchill administration has been notable for the preservation of peace in circumstances of unprecedented peril and for the steady advance of the nation's prosperity," said the Evening Press leader column.

He was succeeded by Foreign Secretary Sir Anthony Eden.

Just as in 2005, the date of the 1955 election was widely predicted. The official announcement came out of the blue. As Sir Anthony set off for Chequers on April 15, 1955, the Evening Press reported: "There is still no news of any broadcast by him indicating the date of the General Election."

That night the broadcast came, confirming May 26 as polling day. Fears that a national newspaper strike could leave "an enormous number of voters cut off from detailed knowledge of how the campaign was going" had been dismissed.

The early election was bad news for Labour, which was split over the H-bomb and German re-armament. It was to be the last time Clement Attlee, 78, would lead the party into the fray.

York, though, was a definite target for Labour. The sitting Conservative MP, Sir Harry Hylton-Foster, won it in 1950 by only 77 votes, although he increased his majority the following year to 921.

Like the Conservative leader, Sir Harry was Eton and Oxford educated. A barrister and Solicitor-General, he had been knighted the previous year. "We look forward to the results with confidence," he said.

His Labour opponent, Tom McKitterick was a Cambridge graduate and an economist. Both politicians had distinguished war records. "We are confident of victory," said Mr McKitterick.

Public debate was still very much a part of the 1955 election. The two appeared together on the same platform at the Drill Hall, Colliergate, to discuss policies for older people.

Pensioners' demand for a 50-shilling a week payment with no means test would "inevitably mean a steep rise in the cost of living," Sir Harry insisted.

"When you get your 'fifty bob'," Mr McKitterick countered, "we want you to feel that you are getting it because you are entitled to it."

As well as the hustings, another way to reach the people was being utilised for the first time. "The television election campaign opens tonight with a flourish when the first Conservative Party broadcast brings Tory leaders face to face with a sizeable proportion of the electorate," wrote the Evening Press on Tuesday, May 10.

By this time, around 4 million TV sets were tuned in. Those first party political broadcasts were a ratings hit; something which could not be claimed today.

"What effect will this have? It could mean that people will forget about the local candidates and follow only the leaders. That would be disastrous to the British democratic spirit," opined the Evening Press leader writer.

"The local candidates can best show their mettle at local meetings when they meet the men and women they want to represent and when they deal with hecklers.

"The trouble with TV is that viewers cannot answer back."

War minister Antony Head had the right idea: he was holding a meeting in which the Labour Party broadcast was to be screened, answering questions afterwards: "this is making the best possible use of TV".

According to the Evening Press, which, unlike our neutral stance today, declared in favour of a Conservative victory, the Tories won the battle of the box.

The Labour Party got into a row after showing a packet of Lyons tea in its TV outing, to demonstrate the rocketing cost of living. Lyons said their prices had been misrepresented.

By contrast, the Tories' second broadcast was a positive treat. "The outstanding impression to be gained from the programme was the extremely wide grasp that Sir Anthony Eden displayed of home affairs...

"On the whole, last night's broadcast was a justification of introducing TV into an election campaign," was the Evening Press verdict.

But the very next day, the paper sounded a note of caution. Would television "in future elections, mean the virtual ending of the local candidates' meetings?

"The thought is prompted by what is happening in the York contest and in other constituencies in the district. Meetings, unless they are supported by 'big names' are sparsely attended."

That was certainly the experience of Mr McKitterick. A good crowd turned out to see Clement Attlee at the Co-operative Hall in York on Saturday, May 14, 1955. "Democracy is still a great adventure, is still on trial, and its future depends on how far the mass of people respond to that ideal," he told his audience, before spending the night at the Royal Station Hotel.

But without his stellar guest, Mr McKitterick drew only 16 people to a meeting at the Carr Estate School, Acomb, two nights later. The greatest enemy in York was not the Tories but the "prevailing spirit of apathy", he told them.

It was the "quietest election we can recall" the Evening Press commented on the eve of the poll. Nevertheless, voting was brisk.

A crowd of 500 waited for two hours in the rain outside the Assembly Rooms to hear the result. Sir Harry had increased his majority to 1,104. Similar outcomes elsewhere increased the Tory majority in the Commons.

The turn-out from a seemingly indifferent York public was 82.8 per cent. Politicians would love that sort of "apathy" today.

Updated: 08:58 Monday, April 11, 2005