Britain since 1945 Flashcards
Clement Attlee (1883-1967)
A member of the Labour party who became Prime Minister in 1945
He promised to introduce the welfare state
His government undertook the nationalisation of major industries (e.g. coal and steel) , created the NHS and implemented many of William Beveridge’s plans
The Beveridge Report
1942 report titled ‘Social Insurance and Allied Services’
Written by the British economist and social reformer William Beveridge
Commissioned by the wartime government in 1941
It recommended that the government should find ways of fighting the five ‘Giant Evils’ of Want Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness and provided the basis of the modern welfare state
A national system of benefits was introduced in response to the report in order to provide social security from the ‘cradle to the grave’
Nationalisation
After WW2 the British government nationalised (took into public ownership) the railways, coal mines and gas, water and electricity supplies
Who was the Minister for Health who led the establishment of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948
Anuerin (Nye) Bevan
Alexander Fleming (1881-1955)
Scottish doctor who discovered penicillin in 1928 and won the Nobel Price in Medicine
1947
Independence was granted to nine countries, including India, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) with other colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific achieving independence over the next 20 years
What international organisations did the UK join after WW2
NATO (set up to resist the perceived threat of the Soviet Union)
The EU and EEC (European Economic Community) reluctantly in 1957
The 1950s
Conservative Government
A period of economic recovery after the war and increasing prosperity for working people
Harlod Macmillan’s famous ‘wind of change’ speech about decolonisation and independence for the countries of the Empire
The 1960s
a.k.a The Swinging Sixties
A period of significant social change with growths in British fashion, cinema and popular music
Technological progress
Liberalisation
How was Britain rebuilt after WW2
The British government encouraged workers from Ireland and other parts of the UK to come and help with the reconstruction
In 1948 people from the West Indies were also invited to come and work
Industries advertised for workers overseas
R A Butler (1902-1982)
He oversaw the introduction of the Education Act 1944 (often called the Butler Act), which introduced free secondary education in England and Wales
Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
Welsh poet and writer who often read and performed his work in public.
He died at the age of 39
There are several memorials to him hi his brithplace, Swansea
The 1970s
The economy falls in the late 1970s
Prices of goods and raw materials began to rise sharply causing problems with the ‘balance of payments’
Strikes negatively impact industries and services
unrest in Northern Ireland
1979
Margaret Thatcher becomes Prime Minister. She increases the financial sector and strongly opposes industrial actions earning her the name of ‘Iron Lady
1977
Labour comes back to power with Tony Blair in 1997
They increase devolution of power to other countries of the UK and obtain peace in Northern Ireland through the Good Friday Agreement of 1997
But Labour gets mired in controversial conflicts in Afghanistan and Irq
