AQA Making Of Modern Britain 1945-79 Summary

1945-51

Attlee Legacy

·      Welfare State

·      Nationalisation

·      Indian Independence 1947

·      NATO

·      Nuclear Power

·      Post War Consensus

o   Economics – Keynesian, full employment

o   Welfare – Beveridge report

o   Education – Equal opportunity

o   Foreign affairs – Pro American anti soviet

o   Imperial policies – independence for colonies

 

1951 defeat

·      Worn down by economic problems

·      Party divisions

·      TU resentment

·      Image AS PARTY OF RATIONING AND TAXATION

·      Entry into Korea upset left

·      Bevanite rebellion 1951

·      Conservative recovery

 

Conservative dominance 1951-64

 

Why?

·      Reorganisation of party machine under Lord Woolton

·      Recognised approval for consensus

·      End of austerity

·      Role of individuals – supermac

·      Labour divisions – gaitskellites and bevanites

 

Churchill

·      End of rationing

·      Steel denationalised

·      Committed to building 300,000 houses per year

·      Continued with Keynesian policies

·      1952 atomic bomb

·      End of Korean war 53

 

Eden 55-57

·      Success: Increased tory majority to 58

·      Suez

·      Resigned 57

·      Didn’t damage con party very much, only Eden, whose strength was supposed to be foreign policy

 

Macmillan 57-63

·      Continued Keynesianism

·      Operate mixed economy

·      Budget politics used by Con PM’s to buyvotes at election times

·      Stop Go and Stagflation (Unemployment but inflation)

 

·      Economics 1951-64

Successes 1951-64

Failures 1951-64

·      Living Standards

 

o   Wages increased 1951: £8.30 to 1964: £18.35 per week

o   Ahead of inflation

·      Credit

o   Sales of private cars (mostly on credit) 1950: 1.5m to 1965 5.5m

·      Housing

o   300,000 annually

o   1.7m by 1964

·      Rent Act 1957

o   Abolished rent control

·      Property owning democracy

·      Class divisions weakened, helped by credit

 

·      Unemployment rose 1951: 300,000 to 1963: 800,000

·      Education divisions, comprehensive vs. grammar schools.

·      Failure to modernise economy – stop go and budget politics

·      No financial strategy

·      Failure to invest in industry (over 30% of R&D spent on defence)

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