Catalogue Number
NMLH.1995.39.99
Object Name
Poster
Title
'Let's Build The Houses - Quick! Vote Labour.'
Place
UK
People
Labour Party
Events
Elections, 1945 General Election, World War II
Date
1945
Description
A pair of red hands hold a brick and a trowel which show the message 'Vote Labour'. The slogan 'Let's Build The Houses - Quick!' is written at the top of the poster.
Following World War II, much of Britain's housing required repair or replacing following German bombing during the Blitz, especially in urban areas. There were also pre-war issues with the quality of housing, with many people in cities living in slums. The Labour Party's 1945 election campaign emphasised the need to rapidly carry out this vast house building project and give people safe, appropriate housing.
Labour won the 1945 election, and Clement Attlee became the Prime Minister, replacing wartime leader Winston Churchill's Conservative Party. This landslide victory for Labour was attributed in part to their social improvement policies, including house building.
This poster was designed for the Labour Party's 1945 general election campaign by Philip Zec (1909 - 1983). Zec was a well known left wing cartoonist, who had been a war artist for the Daily Mirror newspaper. He refused payment for the commission, seeing it as his contribution to the election campaign.
*On Display*
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