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Artist/Designer
Title
posters centre around individual beneficiaries of voting for Labour and what they could achieve by doing so. The first of the series ‘Vote for Him’ [№ 006] was inspired by a letter sent to the Mirror by a wife saying ‘I shall vote for him,’ referring to her soldier husband and his aspirations for his return to Britain.14 The 14 John Gorman, ‘The Labour Party’s poster featured an image of a smiling ‘Tommy’ Election Posters in 1945.’, Labour soldier reminiscent of so many men who History Review (Maney Publishing), 61.3 had been sent to war, a similar aesthetic was (1996), 299–308 (p. 304). used in ‘Help them finish their job!’. [№ 011] There’s no doubt that the iconography used was as a direct appeal to women casting votes for their loved ones overseas, as Herbert Morrison; Deputy Leader of the Party and architect of the campaign wrote in his autobiography that the pieces ‘undoubtedly influenced large numbers of women, who had hitherto imagine that politics were of no importance to them, to think about them and to discuss the subject in their letters to their husbands and sons’15 This 15 H. Morrison, Herbert Morrison: An ability to enact personable change is where Autobiography (Odhams Press, 1960), p. 237 Zec’s illustrations came into their own, by constructing an image that people could empathise with. Further to ‘Vote for Him’ & ‘Help them finish their job!’ Zec produced other similar posters. Highlighting a broad cross-section of society, and bases that Labour had to inspire if they wanted to win. ‘Labour for Her’, ‘Labour for Homes’, ‘Labour for Prosperity’ and ‘Labour for Security’ [№ 007-010] all highlighted individual elements of society and what could change for them. ‘Labour for Her’ focused on the elderly; promising pension reform. ‘Labour for Homes’ focused on housewives, eager to begin new lives with loved ones who were to return from overseas, ‘Labour for Prosperity’ focused on the more educated elements of
Democracy in Print
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