Churchill was now 70 years old. He represented a new constituency, Woodford, in Essex. This would be his political home for the final years of his career. Soon after the war, the Conservative Chief Whip visited him in his private office. Delicately, it was suggested that in view of the recent election defeat, now might be the time for him to resign the leadership. Several MPs were of this opinion and had urged the Whip on his unenviable mission. Winston was having none of it. He would go on to fight two more general elections as leader, spend over four more years as Prime Minister, and win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Inevitably, though, he was not to be the leader he had been in 1940.
Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition
As Leader of the Opposition, Churchill remained active, but his passion was for international affairs. At times he was absent from Parliament for extended periods, lecturing abroad or writing his books. His wife Clementine was relieved that he had lost the election in 1945. As well as reducing the stress on him, she considered him fortunate to have avoided the difficult decisions associated with post-war austerity Britain. He saw this, too. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he astutely observed that his ‘warmonger’ reputation may not have allowed him the political space to support the United Nations in the way that Attlee was able to. Domestically, many of the policy initiatives came from others, such as ‘Rab’ Butler. Butler wrote a paper called ‘The Industrial Charter’, committing the Conservatives to retain the mixed economy introduced by Attlee’s government. Churchill was highly suspicious of this important policy change; but the party embraced it, and he quietly acquiesced.
His brother Jack died in 1947, leaving a big hole in his life. The two had been incredibly close, travelling together and even sharing the same roof for a long period during the war. He was charmed, though, by his youngest daughter Mary’s fiancé, Christopher Soames. He and Soames, who was then 25, shared an interest in fine living, as well as Conservative politics. Soames introduced him to horse racing, much to Clementine’s disapproval; he loved it. Soames was to marry Mary in February 1947 and secure election to a safe Conservative seat in 1950. He would be one of Churchill’s most loyal political supporters for the remainder of his life.
This was the first period as well when Churchill was able to enjoy some financial stability. He continued to earn a lot from his writing, but it was the sale of Chartwell which was to secure his future. A group of benefactors bought the property, to be enjoyed by Winston and Clementine for the duration of their lives, but bequeathed to the nation after their deaths through the National Trust. It was a neat solution, and Chartwell remains a museum to this day.
For Churchill, the wider world posed new threats and challenges, upon which he was keen to exert his influence. Indian independence in 1947 disappointed him, though in later years he was to befriend Jawaharlal Nehru and reconcile himself to it. More worrying was the bi-polar world which was coalescing around the United States and the Soviet Union. Although he did not invent the term, he popularized the notion of the ‘iron curtain’ at a speech he gave in Fulton, Missouri, in 1946. Much American public and political opinion remained wary of a transatlantic alliance with Britain. This was a key ambition of Churchill’s, and the underlying theme of the speech. Undoubtedly, the Fulton speech made a major contribution to a debate which would lead to the formation of NATO in 1949.
In Europe itself, he was interested in early discussions about unity, of which he was originally a keen advocate. He could conceive of a European army, but not of British participation. He wanted a strong Europe and a strong USA – with Britain external to both, but linking the two.
He continued to write at a phenomenal pace, albeit with increased assistance from researchers and academics. His personal account of the Second World War was published in six volumes between 1948 and 1954. In 1958 he completed A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. In 1953, he was recognized with the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Typically, he was too busy at a meeting with Eisenhower to attend the ceremony – and so the faithful Clementine went in his place.
Downing Street again
Churchill returned to Downing Street after the general election held in October 1951. During both campaigns, he had been much more focused on domestic policy and had avoided the gaffes of 1945. There was a sense too, that after six years of radical Labour government – but continued austerity – people wanted a change. His majority was a slim seventeen seats.
Churchill’s second period in office was a pale shadow of his first. At the age of 77, his powerful mental faculties were now in unmistakable decline. His tenure lacked dynamism and vision. He had talented people around him, such as Brendon Bracken, Christopher Soames and Anthony Eden, but with him cemented in place, no one else was able to drive the agenda. His focus remained international. He became obsessed with Britain’s military bases in Egypt, pestering an unimpressed Eisenhower about it when they met in January 1952. Eisenhower was not about to countenance quasi-imperialist British intervention. Yet he did agree to Churchill initiating a bi-lateral dialogue with Russia, following the death of Stalin in March 1953. Churchill saw the opportunity of defusing the growing tension between the two blocs. He also saw the chance for a final legacy.
The initiative came to nothing. When they heard about it, Eden and others in the Cabinet quickly vetoed his proposed trip. They saw Churchill acting as a ‘loose cannon’, beyond his best and out of his depth. It was indicative of the position he was now in. The Conservative Party needed a new leader if it were to seriously contest the next election. It was time to go.
Arguably, Churchill clung on to office for too long. It was almost as if he now enjoyed too much respect within the party for anyone to act with decisiveness. In June 1953, he suffered a serious stroke at Downing Street. The whole matter was hushed up, with Eden and Soames forming a tight governing cabal around the ailing leader. He was fit enough for the party conference in October that year and, in 1954, he authorized the launch of Britain’s atomic weapons programme. Finally, he resigned as leader in April 1955. Even he could see that with an election approaching, his successor needed to establish himself. Churchill entertained the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on his last night in office. He was succeeded by Eden, who went on to fight and win a general election later that year. Yet he, too, would leave mainstream politics in 1957, following Britain’s disastrous intervention in Suez, which itself signalled the twilight of Britain’s imperial era. Churchill, though central to the flawed policy stance which Eden had inherited, refused to get involved. It was an appropriate time to bow out.
Retirement
Retirement was often difficult. He remained an MP until 1964, though he was rarely seen at the House. His daughter Diana sadly killed herself in 1963, while Sarah suffered from alcoholism. Churchill wrestled with the ‘black dog’ of depression more and more. He continued to travel, especially to the south of France, where he found solace with his easel. He often sailed with Onassis in the Mediterranean. The public loved him – more than 30,000 cards had arrived for his 80th birthday. Other accolades continued, with a knighthood following his resignation, and American citizenship in 1963. Curiously, he had declined a dukedom from the Queen in 1955, because Randolph did not wish to inherit the title.
His health continued to decline, with several more strokes. On 15 January 1965, he suffered a further stroke and fell into a coma. Churchill died on the 24th; he was 90 years old.