1
Britain in 1951 outline
• 1951 - end of Labour & Attlee government (achieved all promises)
• 1951-1997 Conservatives ‘natural party of government’ for 35 of 46 years - Labour
showed mentality of opposition rather than governing party
• Two party electoral system 1951 onwards (Labour + Conservatives near total domi-
nance of politics)
• Rise of consensus politics political gulf between major parties narrow - moderate and
patriotic Labour + key ‘One Nation Tories’ (reformists) keen to build on national coopera-
tion to maintain essential post war consensus
• Huge difficulties in economics:
• damaged infrastructure
• massive debts
• pre-war markets lost
• key industries (coal, steel, rail) nationalised by Attlee
• economic growth slower than competitors
• Optimisms in economics:
• still one of leading economic powers in world
• still at forefront of key sectors (oil, chemicals, shipping)
• living standards rising
• Sense on national unity fostered by war years but class divisions remained clear cut
• North-South divide (property owning middle class voting Conservative, areas of heavy
industry saw working classes living in urban areas voting Labour)
• Possession of great empire
• Part of Grand Alliance that had won war
• Pride of war victory amongst public
• Role as colonial power declining since WW1 (e.g. 1947 withdrawal from India symbol-
ised inability to maintain former imperial status)
Post War Consensus 1951-1964
• Churchill looked tired and Conservatives unlikely to be able to deal with Britain’s eco-
nomic troubles (but succession of 3 Conservative PM’s (Churchill, Eden and Macmillan)
• Labour almost won re-election (vote totalled more than Conservatives) - could have won
more if Attlee held off election until economy picked up
Attlee Legacy
• Main achievements:
• Welfare State - using recommendations of Beveridge report, Labour imple-
mented National Insurance, NHS, National Assistance (social care for each
citizen from the ‘cradle to the grave’
• Nationalisation - (coal, transport, electricity, gas, iron & steel) enacted
principle government had right to direct key aspects of economy
• Indian Independence 1947 - Britain accepted retention of colonies in-
volved unbearable burdens so India divided into two distinct states : India
and Pakistan 1947
• NATO - (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) - Britain played key role in for-
mation, defensive alliance of 10 Western European countries as a safe-
guard against Soviet expansion
• Nuclear Power - 1947 Labour initiated research that led to detonation of
British atomic bomb 1952 + Hydrogen bomb 1957 (Britain a nuclear power)
Britain in 1951 outline
• 1951 - end of Labour & Attlee government (achieved all promises)
• 1951-1997 Conservatives ‘natural party of government’ for 35 of 46 years - Labour
showed mentality of opposition rather than governing party
• Two party electoral system 1951 onwards (Labour + Conservatives near total domi-
nance of politics)
• Rise of consensus politics political gulf between major parties narrow - moderate and
patriotic Labour + key ‘One Nation Tories’ (reformists) keen to build on national coopera-
tion to maintain essential post war consensus
• Huge difficulties in economics:
• damaged infrastructure
• massive debts
• pre-war markets lost
• key industries (coal, steel, rail) nationalised by Attlee
• economic growth slower than competitors
• Optimisms in economics:
• still one of leading economic powers in world
• still at forefront of key sectors (oil, chemicals, shipping)
• living standards rising
• Sense on national unity fostered by war years but class divisions remained clear cut
• North-South divide (property owning middle class voting Conservative, areas of heavy
industry saw working classes living in urban areas voting Labour)
• Possession of great empire
• Part of Grand Alliance that had won war
• Pride of war victory amongst public
• Role as colonial power declining since WW1 (e.g. 1947 withdrawal from India symbol-
ised inability to maintain former imperial status)
Post War Consensus 1951-1964
• Churchill looked tired and Conservatives unlikely to be able to deal with Britain’s eco-
nomic troubles (but succession of 3 Conservative PM’s (Churchill, Eden and Macmillan)
• Labour almost won re-election (vote totalled more than Conservatives) - could have won
more if Attlee held off election until economy picked up
Attlee Legacy
• Main achievements:
• Welfare State - using recommendations of Beveridge report, Labour imple-
mented National Insurance, NHS, National Assistance (social care for each
citizen from the ‘cradle to the grave’
• Nationalisation - (coal, transport, electricity, gas, iron & steel) enacted
principle government had right to direct key aspects of economy
• Indian Independence 1947 - Britain accepted retention of colonies in-
volved unbearable burdens so India divided into two distinct states : India
and Pakistan 1947
• NATO - (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) - Britain played key role in for-
mation, defensive alliance of 10 Western European countries as a safe-
guard against Soviet expansion
• Nuclear Power - 1947 Labour initiated research that led to detonation of
British atomic bomb 1952 + Hydrogen bomb 1957 (Britain a nuclear power)
