Khaki Election
Khaki election is a term in British political history. It refers to the British general election of 1900, in which the Conservative Party government of Lord Salisbury was returned to office with an increased majority over the Liberal Party, by exploiting patriotic sentiment arising from the Boer War. The term refers to the khaki colour of British Army uniforms. A "khaki election" is therefore any national election which is heavily influenced by wartime or postwar sentiment.
The term was used about two later British elections, the 1918 general election, fought at the end of World War I and resulting in the huge victory of David Lloyd George's wartime coalition government, and the 1945 general election, fought at the end of World War II. The 1945 election was not really a khaki election in the classic sense, however, since the electorate rejected Winston Churchill's attempt to exploit postwar patriotic sentiment and elected a Labour government.
