With a general election looming ( there had been none for almost a decade ) , and with the Labour Ministers refusing to continue the wartime coalition , Churchill resigned as Prime Minister on 23 May 1945 . Later that day , he accepted the King 's invitation to form a new government , known officially as the National Government , like the Conservative-dominated coalition of the 1930s , but in practice known as the Churchill caretaker ministry . The government contained Conservatives , National Liberals and a few non-party figures such as Sir John Anderson and Lord Woolton , but not Labour or Archibald Sinclair 's Official Liberals . Although Churchill continued to carry out the functions of Prime Minister , including exchanging messages with the US administration about the upcoming Potsdam Conference , he was not formally reappointed until 28 May
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
Winston Churchill