britain since 1945 Flashcards
the welfare state
significant reforms to the education system and wider social reforms
Labour government elected in 1945
- new PM as clement atlee, who promised to introduce the welfare state outlined in the Beveridge report
in 1948, aneurin bevan led the establishment of the NHS, which guaranteed a minimum standard of healthcare for all
national security of benefits also introduced to provide social security
government nationalised the railways, coal mines and gas, water and electricity
self-government for former colonies
in 1947, independence granted to nine countries
- india, pakistan, sri lanka (ceylon)
- other colonies achieved independence over the next 20 years
national defense
developed its own atomic bomb
joined NATO, an alliance of nations set up to resist the perceived threat of invasion by the Soviet Union and its allies
1951 to 1964
Conservative governments
50s as a period of economic recovery after the war and increasing prosperity for people
PM was Harold Macmillan, famous for his wind of change speech about decolonisation and independence for the countries of the Empire
Clement Atlee
born in 1883 in London
was a barrister, gave it up to do social work in East London, and then became a Labour MP
Churchill’s deputy PM in the wartime coalition government
- became PM after Labour won the 1945 election
PM from 1945-1951 and led Labour for 20 years
undertook the nationalisation of major industries, created the NHS, and implemented Beveridge’s plans for a stronger welfare state
introduced measures to improve conditions of workers
William Beveridge
British economist and social reformer
served briefly as a Liberal MP and was leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords
best known for the 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services (Beveridge Report)
- commissioned by wartime government in 1941
- recommended that they find ways of fighting the five ‘giant evils’ of want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness, and provided the basis of the modern welfar estate
R A Butler
conservative MP, held several positions before becoming responsible for education in 1941
oversaw the introduction of the education act 1944 (often called the butler act) which introduced free secondary education in england and wales
Dylan Thomas
Welsh poet and writer
read and performed his work in public, including for the BBC
most well-known works include the radio play under milk wood, and the poem do not go gentle into that good night
died at the age of 39 in NY
memorials in his birthplace Swansea (statue and Dylan Thomas Centre)
migration in post-war Britain
labour shortages so the government encouraged workers from Ireland and other parts of Europe to come to the UK and help with the reconstruction
during the 50s, still a shortage of labour so further immigration encouraged
social change in the 1960s
60s known as the swinging sixties
- growth in British fashion, cinema and popular music
- beatles and the rolling stones well known
time when social laws were liberalised (i.e. divorce and abortion)
position of women in the workplace improved
- Parliament passed laws giving women the right to equal pay and made it illegal to gender discriminate
technological progress in the 1960s
Britain and France developed the world’s only supersonic commercial airliner, Concorde
new styles of architecture with high-rise buildings and the use of concrete and steel became common
television
developed by Scotsman John Logie Baird in the 1920s
first TV broadcast between London and Glasgow in 1932
radar
Scotsman Sir Robert Watson-Watt
- proposed that enemy aircraft could be detected by radio waves
first successful radar test took place in 1935
radar and astronomy
Sir Bernard Lovell made new discoveries in astronomy
radio telescope built at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire was the biggest in the world and continues to operate today
Turing machine
theoretical mathematical device invented by Alan Turing in the 30s
theory was influential in the development of computer science and the modern-day computer
