1950 Unknown Tories would - Slash subsidies and push prices up

the ‘Vote Attlee’ poster and the use of photography of Attlee is that it departs from something that the Labour Party had been particularly successful within their earlier campaigns, their posters had a real strength in the use of imagery, particularly that of ‘real’ people, that aspirational reflection plays very much into the ‘ethos’ of the Labour Party, being the party that was birthed from the workers, the average person, what this poster does is the exact opposite, it presents Labour as the party of the establishment, that the focus of the election was not of the advancements that it could make for the people, but that of one individual. So in choosing to headline with Attlee, with no mention of the party or aspiration is interesting, but also confusing, it speaks volumes of the turmoil within the party, to detract from division, it presented itself as an entity that wasn’t necessarily interested in the people.

The ‘Vote Attlee’ poster is fascinating in its focal point of the campaign, but also in its departure largely from the narrative and aesthetic of the rest of the 1955 Election. We can split the remaining posters into two sections; the promises; Labours manifesto commitments, and the criticisms; Labour rubbishing the Conservative record within Government and the effectiveness of their philosophy. Within the Labour promises section we see a renewed commitment to ‘high-level talks’ aimed at disarmament, ‘Top-Level talks – Send Attlee! Vote Labour’ [№ 043] doubles down on Attlee’s ability as Prime Minister in a quest for peace. The words ominously featured in front of an illustration of a mushroom cloud. Further promises of ‘Better Schools with Labour’ [№ 041] emblazoned on a chalkboard and ‘Abolish the Tax on Sport’ [№ 042] featuring amongst the dynamic image of someone playing sport. These sentiments make up a message