British Politics and Society

Legacy of Attlee govt

Between 1947-51, there was a considerable degree of economic recovery from the severe crisis of 1945-57.
Nationalisation of key industries, and creation of the welfare state
Ernest Bevin’s work as the Foreign Secretary ensured continuation of ‘ special relationship’ with USA and the formation of NATO
After losing power in 1951, labour only had two terms until Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997
History of British politics & society between 1951 – 1997 was framed by Attlee’s govt and the beginning of Blair’s administration.

Trends& Developments

1951 – 1973 sustained periods of employment & relative popularity – the long post-war boom
1973 – 1979 oil price crisis
1979 – 1990 Thatcherism, industrial unrest, and privatisation of nationalised concerns.
Post-war years= extensive social & cultural change, with emergence of a youth culture, the advance of women, vast developments in the mass media & the growth of multiculturalism.

Politics & Govt

1951-64 was marked by dominance of moderate Tory govts under Churchill, Eden& Macmillan
Between 1964 – 79, it was a period of mainly Labour govts under Wilson & Callaghan, interrupted by Tory govt, under Heath 1970 – 4.
1979 – 97 era of ‘Thatcherite’ conservatism
During those years Labour fell into decline due to internal divisions and the formation of SDP
1969 – 98 problems of security in N.Ireland

Foreign Affairs

Period marked by slow & uneven ‘retreat from empire’, with further decolonisation.
Continuance of cold war enhanced Britain’s ‘special relationship’ with USA , whilst relationship with Europe grew more complex
Britain joined EEC 1973

Section 1

Dilwyn Porter – “ that of a ‘post-war consensus’ that the sense of national unity, which developed during and because of ‘People’s War’ was continued and consolidated by Attlee’s government”

Legacy of war years

Foreign Affairs

Period marked by slow & uneven ‘retreat from empire’, with further decolonisation.
Continuance of cold war enhanced Britain’s ‘special relationship’ with USA , whilst relationship with Europe grew more complex
Britain joined EEC 1973

Section 1

Dilwyn Porter – “ that of a ‘post-war consensus’ that the sense of national unity, which developed during and because of ‘People’s War’ was continued and consolidated by Attlee’s government”

Legacy of war years

Post-war consensus after WW2
Attlee, Churchill & Eden worked together in war time coalition
PMs until Wilson in 1964 fought in WW1
Tony Blair’s background fitted in with Tory mould as well or even better than Heath
Right-winged Tories argued that continuation of Attlee legacy was a tragic ‘socialist’ mistake
Left-winged Bevanites argued Atlee legacy not socialist enough

Political Tensions

labour was subjected to a series of intense internal divisions and personality clashes throughout post war history
post war labour didn’t move with the post war consensus
west Germany 1959, key turning point when SPD reformed and dropped Marxist ideology for modernisation and democracy
Thatcher’s successful rebellion against Heath in 1975 marked the conservative party ‘s shift from the post war consensus
Thatcher’s election success marked the degree of part divisions

Politics

Tories could hardly be called right winged in the 1950’s
Both Churchill and Eden made radical movements to alter the relationships between the government and the trade unions
Steel industry was denationalised in 1953
No attempt to reverse what the labour government had done between 1945 – 51
Macmillan government did more to consolidate the post war consensus than to challenge it
1959 Macmillan’s government continued to follow centrist policies

Economic Policy

continuation of the post war consensus under the government was referred to as ‘butskellism’
Butler was a key figure in the conservative party (chancellor of exchequer) and was a serious contender for leadership in 1957
Butler clashed with Bevan over the costs of the NHS
1963 - Gaitskell became leader of the labour party
Gaitskell had open feuds about with the left wingers in his own party especially over nuclear disarmament
a key feature of butskellism was the ideas that Butler and Gaitskell had much more in common with each other than rival wings in their own parties

Foreign Policy

Foreign policy was a major element of the Attlee legacy and the post war consensus which was summed up as ‘ a commitment to maintain both the welfare state and national greatness’
An issue was the dissatisfaction of the alliance with the USA, and large scale commitments such as the independent nuclear war deterrent and anti soviet policies of the cold war
Labour politicians were sensitive about the claims that the socialism was unpredictable and unreliable and they wanted to prove the opposite
Bevan had battle with the left wing and communists during the thirties
Bevan was a supporter of Churchill and was proud of his successes such as the formation of NATO and wanted to keep their special relationship in good repair
Many left wingers weren’t happy with the policies but were never able to do over turn them
Post war consensus was put under strain due to the Suez crisis
Macmillan read the lessons of the affair and was quick to mend bridges with the US
Macmillan’s wind of change speech led the way to rapid decolonisation across Africa
Macmillan applied to get Britain in the EEC which got declined due to De Gaulle
Under the government of Wilson is when Britain was accepted into the EEC

The significance of the 1964

The labour campaign made much of the theme of modernisation
Public mood of expectancy in 1964 , reflected the sense that 1960’s Britain was going through fundamental social and cultural change
There was no change in political direction, in 1964 the labour governments under Wilson & Callaghan succeed in carrying on with their radical promises
Labour’s policies weren’t that different from what the conservatives would have done and there was emphasis on the economic modernisation
Why were the labour governments between 1964 and 1979 unable to achieve more success?
When Harold Wilson came into power in 1964 optimism among the labour supporters was high,
Wilson seemed to be a talented leader who had a wide support in the country