Churchill caretaker ministry

Churchill caretaker ministry
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
May–July 1945
Date formed	23 May 1945 (1945-05-23)
Date dissolved	26 July 1945 (1945-07-26)
People and organisations
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Prime Minister's history	1940–1945
Deputy Prime Minister	None appointed[a]
Total no. of members	92 appointments
Member parties	Conservative Party Liberal National Party Independents
Status in legislature	Majority (coalition) 420 / 615 (68%)
Opposition party	Labour Party
Opposition leader	Clement Attlee
History
Outgoing election	1945 general election
Legislature term(s)	37th UK Parliament
Predecessor	Churchill war ministry
Successor	Attlee ministry

The Churchill caretaker ministry was a short-term British government in the latter stages of the Second World War, from 23 May to 26 July 1945. The prime minister was Winston Churchill, leader of the Conservative Party. This government succeeded the national coalition which he had formed after he was first appointed prime minister on 10 May 1940. The coalition had comprised leading members of the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal parties and it was terminated soon after the defeat of Nazi Germany because the parties could not agree on whether it should continue until after the defeat of Japan.

The caretaker government continued to fight the war against Japan in the Far East but Churchill's focus was on preparation for the Potsdam Conference where he, accompanied by Clement Attlee and Anthony Eden, would meet Joseph Stalin and Harry Truman. The main concern on the home front, however, was post-war recovery including the need for reform in key areas such as education, health, housing, industry, and social welfare. Campaigning mostly on those issues, the parties canvassed for support in the forthcoming general election, the first held in the UK since 1935. The general election was held on 5 July but, allowing time to collect the large numbers of votes by overseas service personnel, the result was not announced until 26 July and was a landslide victory for Labour. Churchill thereupon resigned as prime minister and was succeeded by his erstwhile coalition deputy Attlee, who formed a Labour government.
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