Why was Churchill voted out in 1945?

[Jay]

There were lots of reasons.

When Churchill became PM in 1941 he headed a coalition government which included figures from all the political parties. While Churchill was off having meetings with Stalin and FDR it was left to several Labour ministers to "win the war at home" they produced via the Beveridge Report which was a blueprint for the modern welfare state. Although people talk of Churchill winning the war in reality it was the soldiers and they and the British people saw a new Britain emerging based on equality and where they would and should get something back. After WWI there had been vague promises made that would reward the sacrifices made - but few of these promises became reality. The Labour ministers in government had acquitted themselves well and had proven to be hard working and successful.

Churchill and the Conservatives were also a bit complacent, they thiught that with the war won and Churchill a national and international hero that the election was in the bag. Just about the only campaigning that Churchill did was to attack the Beveridge Report claiming that it would bring socialism, this antagonised many voters and it should be noted that Labour spent a lot of time selling their vision.

Another factor was that the Conservatives, via Chamberlain and many others had participated in the appeasement of Hitler and also lastly, many people were tired of war and wanted to rebuild the nation and get on with their lives. They saw Labour as the best party to achieve that.