 Such rhetoric reflected a new reality of working-class affluence; it has been argued that "the key factor in the Conservative victory was that average real pay for industrial workers had risen since Churchill's 1951 victory by over 20 per cent".The scale of the victory meant that not only had the Conservatives won three successive general elections, but they had also increased their majority each time.It sparked debate as to whether Labour (now led by Hugh Gaitskell) could win a general election again.