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Churchill and the general election of 1945

Following on from the celebrations of VE day in London in 1945, this clip reports on the general election campaign in July 1945. Winston Churchill unexpectedly lost against the reforming Labour government of Clement Atlee. As the campaign began it became clear that Churchill's rhetoric was out of tune with the new mood for reform. In his first election broadcast Churchill made the astonishing claim saying that Labour would employ a secret police to curtail free speech. The clip also includes footage of him meeting with Stalin and Roosevelt at the post-war Potsdam conference.

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