This is the full text of the British Labour Party’s Election Manifesto for the 1945 General Election.

The election was held on July 5, 1945, just two months after the end of the war in Europe. Led by Clement Atlee, the Labour Party unexpectedly defeated the Conservative Party led by Winston Churchill. Labour won 393 seats to the Conservatives 197. Atlee won a second election in 1950 but was defeated in 1951.

Labour Party Manifesto for the 1945 British General Election.

1945 Labour Manifesto

A Declaration of Labour Policy for the Consideration of the Nation

VICTORY IN WAR MUST BE FOLLOWED BY A PROSPEROUS PEACE

Victory is assured for us and our allies in the European war. The war in the East goes the same way. The British Labour Party is firmly resolved that Japanese barbarism shall be defeated just as decisively as Nazi aggression and tyranny. The people will have won both struggles. The gallant men and women in the Fighting Services, in the Merchant Navy, Home Guard and Civil Defence, in the factories and in the bombed areas – they deserve and must be assured a happier future than faced so many of them after the last war. Labour regards their welfare as a sacred trust. [Read more…]