On 6 October 1951, the British High Commissioner in Malaya, Sir Henry Gurney, was assassinated (see below). Later the same month, Winston Churchill's Conservative Party was returned to power in a British general election. Churchill took some time considering a replacement for Gurney, eventually appointing General Gerald Templer as the new British High Commissioner in January 1952. It was Templer who is widely credited with turning the situation in favour of the British forces. Among many new policies, Templer encouraged a "hearts and minds campaign" to win over the insurgents by giving medical and food aid to Malays and indigenous tribes. At the same time, British forces kept up pressure on the MNLA by patrolling the jungle. The MNLA guerrillas were driven deeper into the jungle and denied resources. The MNLA extorted food from the Sakai and thereby earned their enmity. Many of the captured guerrillas changed sides. In comparison, the MNLA never released any Britons alive.