Catalogue Number
NMLH.1995.39.242
Object Name
Poster
Title
'Let's Have A Better Britain. Vote LAbour.'
Place
UK
People
Labour Party, Aneurin Bevan, Barbara Castle, Hugh Gaitskell
Events
Elections, 1959 General Election
Date
1959
Description
A yellow and black election poster, containing a black and white photograph of Labour politicians Hugh Gaitskell, Barbara Castle and Aneurin Bevan. Gaitskell and Bevan are waving, and both have arms linked with Castle.
This 1959 Labour Party election poster was particularly modern looking for it's time. It featured Labour front bench politicians in a relaxed and friendly pose, and aimed to highlight the contrast between the younger and middle or working class Labour politicians when compared to the older politicians of Harold Macmillan's Conservative Party, some of whom were aristocrats.
The politicians featured on the poster were Labour Party leader Hugh Gaitskell (9 April 1906 â 18 January 1963), Barbara Castle (6 October 1910 â 3 May 2002) and Aneurin Bevan (15 November 1897 â 6 July 1960). Castle was an MP from 1945-1979, making her one of the longest serving women in British political history, and the only woman to date to have been First Secretary of State. Bevan is remembered as the 'Father of the National Health Service'. Gaitskell's Labour Party lost the 1959 general election to Macmillan's Conservative Party.
Multimedia
