A small update this time, the next one will focus on Hill's policies and ideology.
CHAPTER V: 1957
1957 started off well for Hill and the government, the economy was booming due to the victory in Egypt and it seemed that Hill would see another 5 years as Prime Minister at least.
But then, an IRA attack on the Londonderry Barracks led to another heightened state of alert. The attack killed 5 soldiers, the attackers were shot dead as they tried to escape.
Then the French blocked UN involvement in Algeria leading to a crisis. Hill called the French president to tell him his position;
“Mr. President, keeping Algeria is un-sustainable, you will lose in the end, you are just prolonging it and creating more French deaths than there needs to be.”
The French started to grow more hostile to Hill and the British after this and Eisenhower and Hill considered putting financial pressure on France. In the end they decided to just let the French kill their own people.
In April, the Suez Canal was re-opened to Egyptian shipping, Nasser was overthrown in a US-UK sponsored democratic revolution and had been given Cairo and the Nile Delta back.
Then polling day came around, the result was a landslide in favour of the Conservative Party;
Conservative Party: 420
Labour: 210
There was no doubt that Hill would now wait until 1962 to hold another election, in the face of this Gaitskell resigned after nearly facing a party coup and Shadow Chancellor Harold Wilson became Leader of the Opposition.
Hill gave a re-election speech;
“I would like to thank you, the British Public, for re-electing me, I promise that I will do everything that is humanely possible to serve this great nation for another 5 years.”
The next crisis to hit the Hill Ministry is the Windscale Fire in which radioactive material was released from Windscale power plant in 1957.
“A national tragedy has befallen us, we shall aid those who have been affected by this, but we shall not waver in our support for nuclear energy.”
This speech did nothing to re-assure the public of the safety of nuclear power and protests started to erupt around the Windscale / Seascale area.