UK's landmark postwar elections: When Labour won big against war hero Churchill in 1945

Britain’s upcoming general election is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years. Many analysts believe it will be one of the country’s most consequential elections since the end of World War II. The last time a U.K. national election took place in July was in 1945, when Winston Churchill’s Conservative Party suffered one of its biggest-ever defeats shortly after the Allies’ victory over Nazi Germany. Churchill had been governing in a coalition with other parties, notably Labour, whose leader Clement Attlee acted as his deputy. Attlee’s government, which lasted until 1951, is one of the most transformative in the history of Britain