Labour in 1945 and Attlee 1945-51

Question 1

Czech crisis

Answer 1

failure of Chamberlain
1938 - British gov yielded to Hitlers threats trying to promote peace and conciliation, basically Britain agreed to partition Czechs to Nazis

Question 2

chamberlain’s refusal for coalition

Answer 2

Chamberlain thought Hitler bluffing during phoney war, thought war would be limited and little upheaval, took a gamble on this which is why he didn’t take coalition with other parties seriously - was wrong, hugely damaging for Tories

Question 3

Labour exercising power over chamberlain

Answer 3

• May 1940, British defeat in Norway, Lab tabled motion of no confidence and chamberlains majority fell from 200 to 81 - heavily undermined him

Chamberlain tried to form co-op with Labour because was damming moral defeat. Attlee said Labour would not serve under him so forced to resign (Labour brought downfall).

Question 4

Role of Attlee in Churchill’s wartime cabinet

Answer 4

Addison- “Coalition gov, had to be genuine partnership, Attlee’s enigmatic leadership ensured this, without him Lab could’ve had only subordinate or technical wrong”

Question 5

economic progressivism of Churchill’s coailition

Answer 5

• Introduction of revolutionary Keynesian demand management policy – first used in the 1941 budget to counter inflation

The economy stayed mixed, but with much greater government intervention, and with greater trade union involvement in policymaking.

• Commitment to full employment (or at least a high and sustainable level) becomes a government objective, and is accepted by all the major parties.

Question 6

Beveridge report

Answer 6

1942
The Report identified five ‘Giant Evils’ (squalor, ignorance, want, idleness, and disease) and made the following recommendations
1. Proposals for the future should avoid “sectional interests”, and a “revolutionary moment in the world’s history is a time for revolutions, not for patching”.
2. Social insurance is only one part of a “comprehensive policy of social progress”.
3. Policies of social security “must be achieved by co-operation between the state and the individual”, with the state securing the service and contributions. The state “should not stifle incentive, opportunity, responsibility; in establishing a national minimum, it should leave room and encouragement for voluntary action by each individual to provide more than that minimum for himself and his family”.

Question 7

Conservative attitude to the Beveridge report

Answer 7

The Conservatives adopted many of the Report’s principles but claimed they could not be afforded.
also went to the polls in 1945 ‘committed to social and economic reconstruction

Question 8

Butler act

Answer 8

1944
provides for free education for all children, raises the school leaving age, establishes the division between primary and secondary schools, and divides secondary schools into three different types (‘grammar’, ‘secondary technical’, and ‘secondary modern’).

Question 9

Addison argues the coalition created a ‘post-war consensus’ in which 3 ways

Answer 9

1. industrial economy - * Agreement that the economy needs to be managed/planned to maximise output. Informal mechanisms for tripartite consultation between employers, trade unions and civil servants had become institutionalised.
2. Whitehall (civil service / policymakers / central administration): number of civil servants doubled, new ministries eg ministry of supply and information
3. party political convergence: * Labour joined Churchill’s government, with Attlee serving as Deputy Prime Minister 1942-45, Bevin as Minister of Labour 1940-45, * Led to ‘The Economist’ coining the term ‘Butskellism’, since the policies of Gaitskell (Labour) and then Butler (Conservative) as Chancellor were so similar

Question 10

land and planning act

Answer 10

1947 made all land subject to planning schemes for first time, 100% development levy on value created by land development permission. RA Butler became chancellor when Tories regained power in 1951, continuity of econ policy called Butskellism, demonstrated the consensus.

Question 11

industrial charter

Answer 11

1947- published by tory party. Butler said it was an assurance that modern Toryism would strongly guide econ operations and assure social security and full employment.

Question 12

Tory spending in 1950s

Answer 12

over 40% of GDP - a figure in the days of Salisbury that would’ve been seen as socialist

Question 13

Brooke- what divided Torys and Labour

Answer 13

3 social policy principles
education - many Lab MPs favoured early form of comprehensive ed whilst Tories stood for tripartite system of grammar, technical and secondary modern schools

Social security - Lab stood for subsistence level benefits, Tories rejected this

Health - Lab wanted more radical and extensive health care, wanted traditional GPs to be replaced by health centres under control of local authorities

Question 14

coalition was in fact divided

Answer 14

Morgan / Jefferys: there was no real consensus, as Churchill’s coalition was very divided

• Economic policy–the Conservatives wished to return to a smaller state, whereas Labour wanted lots more industries to be nationalised.
• Housing lab wanted to rely mainly on public sector whilst Tories wanted more private involvement - difference in social policy
• Social policy – the coalition nearly broke up over the Beveridge Report, with the Conservatives seeing universal benefits as wasteful,

Question 15

Conservatives on Bank of England nationalisation

Answer 15

o Mckibbin- Churchill- the national ownership of the bank of England did not ‘raise any issue of principle’ and neither

there was opposition to Bank of England nationalisation but Addison describes it as token

Question 16

Tory attitudes to nationalisation

Answer 16

Addison- Admittedly there was no consensus on large-scale nationalisation, though the Conservatives generally did not care – apart from steel, most of the industries nationalised were failing and inefficient.

Question 17

voter consensus

Answer 17

Pimlott- even if there was a consensus, it did not last long:

• In a consensus, you would have expected the middle-ground Liberals to be dominant, but they were not – they only won 12 seats in 1945.

Addison- of course voters didn’t agree but governing class did

Question 18

damaging nature of consensus

Answer 18

Barnett: there was a consensus, but it was damaging

• WW2 demonstrated that British industry was backward / inefficient – it suffered from backwards technology, a shortage of skills, poor management, and a lack of research and development.
• Post-war policy was designed just to appease the trade unions with a costly social welfare programme (“the new Jerusalem”), but this decays the industrial base of the economy. E.g. Bevan naively thought that funding the NHS would get cheaper over time as people got better and healthier, which has shown to be a completely flawed assumption

Question 19

Disagreement of Labour over nationalisation

Answer 19

Labour seemed unable to agree on what the ultimate purpose of nationalization should be: was it a means to facilitate greater industrial efficiency and modernization or was it a tool to achieve a fundamental transformation in the balance of class power, or both?

Question 20

public discontent with wartime coalition

Answer 20

• March 1942 Gallup poll 50% dissatisfied with govs conduct.

Question 21

popularity of Beveridge report

Answer 21

o 1942, first time Britain on offensive in war and victory seemed a possibility, led to increased public interest in reconstruction, Beveridge’s report was perfectly time to catch this high tide of euphoria, only accentuated this and was hugely pop itself.

o 86% in BIPO survey said it should be adopted, inc 76% of people in upper income groups (nothing to gain from its proposals)

Question 22

Churchill on Beveridge report

Answer 22

o Churchill in private not in favour of it - proposals costly and spending in many other areas needed after war, it promised an unrealistic positive depiction of post war life, after war UK needed US loans, fear they wouldn’t pay for Britain’s social services; Kingsley wood - Tory chancellor initially against it ‘impractical financial commitment’

o Yet gov aware of pop opinion so Tories recognised they had to accept as much of report as possible without making any commitments regarding it. Thus gov agreed to plan for implementing report but not actually legislating for it (white papers) - they agreed in principle about a comp medical service and system of child allowances

o Home intelligence report found a majority of people disapproving of Govs response to report, many felt it had merely been shelved.

Question 23

Bev report and Labour support

Answer 23

o Churchill thus made speech in support not of Beveridge rep but its proposals. Did nothing. Labour up 11% on Tories in 1943

Question 24

1940 Labour conference pledge

Answer 24

• 1940, Lab conference, clement Attlee ‘the world that must emerge from this war must be attuned to our ideals’

Question 25

Churchill’s 1945 election speech

Answer 25

• Churchills first election speech hugely damaging, condemned socialism (eroding peoples savings, would require a form of gestapo), Mass observation noted this speech caused huge disappointment and distress among populace

Question 26

Labour 1945 election result

Answer 26

• Produced Labour’s first majority government on 47.7% of the vote, with a landslide majority of 146 seats and thus an ability to implement its 1945 manifesto reforms – the Daily Herald described it as “the people’s win”.
• 12% swing from Conservatives to Labour remains the largest ever achieved.

Question 27

Liberal 1945 election result

Answer 27

• The Liberal Party lost all its urban seats and only won 12 overall.

Question 28

surprise of Labour victory in 1945

Answer 28

• Extremely unexpected given that Churchill had approval ratings of 83%, and had expected a majority of 30-80, especially since the election had been called early whilst his popularity was at its height – Hugh Dalton (Labour’s subsequent Chancellor) believed it would be lunacy to fight Churchill.

Question 29

Labour mandate in 1945

Answer 29

• Fielding- There was a widespread assumption that, having voted for the party, the public had fully understood and approved Labour’s programme.

Question 30

Labour campaign slogan

Answer 30

Let Us Face the Future”.

Question 31

1945 Labour economic policy in manifesto

Answer 31

• There was to be no return to the gold standard and a National Investment Board was to direct investment more profitably and in the social interest. The state was to be much more active in the distribution of industry and in the ‘special areas’—areas of the country which the National government could not bring itself to call depressed
• Embraced nationalisation and Keynesian economic policies in the aftermath of war devastation – Britain had lost about £7bn, i.e. a quarter of its entire national wealth.
• Labour planning (intended in the economic sense)- Labour fought the 1945 election as a ‘planning’ party, and unquestionably many MPs and Party members thought planning both practicable and morally superior to market capitalism

Question 32

1945 Labour manifesto - social policy

Answer 32

• Adopted the 1942 Beveridge Report (see notes above) – promised full employment, a tax- funded universal National Health Service (NHS), and a ‘cradle-to-grave’ welfare state.

. Social welfare was to be extended. Labour also promised— a triumph of hope over experience—‘social’ utilization of the land and a living wage for agricultural workers.

Question 33

how expected Tory victory/ tactical voting led to Labour win

Answer 33

cynical view -If the anti-Conservative vote went to Labour rather than the divided Liberals it was perhaps due more to a disbelief in the latter’s ability or win or the absence of a candidate - the party contested less than half the available seats - rather than any strong feeling that Labour was preferable. Therefore, Labour won the conditional support of an unquantifiable number of tactical voters. The intention of this group was to limit the impact of what even most Labour politicians assumed would be a Conservative triumph.

• Expecting a Tory landslide, many Liberals voted Labour in the hope of coalition.

Question 34

WW2’s effect on Tory election

Answer 34

WW2 meant that the Conservative Party organisation was much less prepared for an election in 1945 than Labour

o Most Conservative agents had found war work or gone into the services, whereas trade unionists (the core of Labour’s local organisation) had been obliged to remain at home organising war production alongside other members of the ‘reserved occupations’.

Question 35

War’s effect on Tory party organisation

Answer 35

o But Addison argues the explanation of war for Tory failure in 1945 is just an excuse, since most Conservative constituencies had “an active chairman or vice-chairman, treasurer and committee” in October 1944. Whilst it is true that the organisation was in a very poor state by comparison with peacetime, it does not follow that Labour had any great organisational advantage.

Question 36

how 10 year gap between elections helped labour

Answer 36

o This meant that 1/5 of all electors were voting for the first time in 1945, and surveys have revealed that 61% of these first-time voters supported Labour, “making them a uniquely pro-Labour generation” (Pugh).

o The new political generation had their formative years when there was mass unemployment in the 1930s, and there were fears of this returning after the War (the armed services were decreased from 5m to 1m by December 1946) – this made Labour’s Keynesian policies aimed at achieving “full employment” appealing

Question 37

Success of Labour for unemployment

Answer 37

unemployment at a mere 1.8% when the government fell in 1951

Question 38

constitution of Labour voters in 1945

Answer 38

• Labour vote in 1945 was socially more disparate than it had previously been. The party’s predominantly working-class support was supplemented by an enhanced middle class element, a social coalition united by a shared adherence to the promise of security contained within the Beveridge report.

Question 39

how war effected attitudes of politicians to social welfare

Answer 39

o As whole of pop in war effort, gov had to give welfare for all, 1940 - Attlee’s committee approved scheme of free and subsidized milks to mums and kids under 5, free school meals generally available.

Question 40

effect of WW2 on support for reconstruction and rationing

Answer 40

o The blitz and destruction it caused stimulated media narrative of reconstruction after war.
o 1942 survey - 90% approved of rationing, 60% said because it ensured fair shared - powerful social drive towards egalitarianism, people really adopted rhetoric of equality of sacrifice angry at rich who got off better

Question 41

Leftward swing to Soviets post WW2

Answer 41

 Home intelligence, Feb 1942 found ‘thank god for Russia’ as frequent, fervent and widespread expression used by public.
 Churchill - told ministry of info to counter ‘tendency of public to forget dangers of communism in their enthusiasm over Russian resistance’.
 Every region asked to report if they had any evidence of a ‘home made socialist’ phenomenon brewing, 11/13 regional offices said something of that kind was occurring, Northern Region notes ‘strong tendency towards socialism in all classes’, South-west region notes ‘swing to left directed against Tories and men of Munich, the old gang and colonel blimp types’ - again shows strong evidence of this shift in war

Question 42

communist party support in England post war

Answer 42

 1938, communist party 18,000 members, by 1942 65,000 - tailed of later on, yet this growth does suggest Russian influence in ideas to extent
opinion poll in 1939; 74% preferred communism to fascism

Question 43

change in political opinion post war

Answer 43

o Dec 1942, mass observation est ⅖ changed political views since start of war

Question 44

class changes post war

Answer 44

o Class barriers removed- The war meant mass movement of people, classes intermixing and class barriers removed e.g soldiers barged into 1st class train carriages, 1941 Lord Marley said ‘Englishmen speaking to each other in public despite never being introduced
War had brought all classes / social backgrounds together in a patriotic spirit fighting for a common cause – e.g. the existence of rations created an ethos of equality and ‘fair shares’.

Question 45

electorate familiarisation with social welfare

Answer 45

government spending increasing to 60% of GDP by 1945

Question 46

reason for nationalisation

Answer 46

 By 1945 most of those industries to be nationalized were hardly viable in the private sector. Coal and railways demanded heavy re-equipment costs after six years of wear-and-tear and underinvestment Most shareholders understandably thought this was a good time to get out, to offload the costs of new investment on to the taxpayer.

Question 47

Voter concerns post war

Answer 47

o Social reforms – surveys in the aftermath of WW1 found that the major issues in the minds of voters were housing, health, and unemployment, so the ‘Let Us Face the Future’ campaign accorded well with public opinion.

Question 48

evidence of growing middle opinion or progressive centre post war

Answer 48

J.M.Keynes - side-lined in 1939, yet had own office at treasury in 1940

Question 49

Limits to Labour’s popularity post war

Answer 49

• In August 1944 44% wanted some form of coalition under either Eden or Churchill whereas only 26% sought an exclusively Labour government. It is possible that Churchill and Eden were the favoured candidates for prime minister simply because they enjoyed the most publicity as leader and foreign secretary of the coalition. March 1945 poll revealed that 55% of those asked were willing to vote for an anti-Conservative popular front.
• Most soldiers, wanted to do their job as quickly as possible and return to the normality of ‘civvy street’. That many appeared confused about the future or only dimly aware of the necessity for a radical post-war settlement was perhaps understandable

Question 50

Beveridge as direct outcome of WW2

Answer 50

the Report itself was only commissioned as a result of WW2 – Beveridge had been appointed to review ways of improving Britain’s social safety net because the Cabinet was already planning for post-war reconstruction following the widespread deprivation evident in the inter-war years.

Question 51

change to Daily mail bc of WW2

Answer 51

• The Daily Mail (with a circulation of 3m in 1946) abandoned its pro-Conservative loyalties and swung towards Labour, helping the party to represent itself to the patriotic, Tory working-class communities as moderate and pragmatic, not as socialist and revolutionary.

Question 52

growing prominence of Left wing media

Answer 52

• Increasing prom of left-wing media outlets e,g Daily Mirror, 1939 - 1.7 mil circulation, 1946 - 3 mil
• Addison, categorized 7 daily newspapers as right or left, left - 30% of sale share in 1930, 48.1% in 1946

Question 53

why did media swing left

Answer 53

whilst these changed loyalties were undoubtedly important, they were themselves caused by dissatisfaction with the Conservatives’ handling of the War (especially appeasement), so we can see this factor as being caused by WW2 or Tory failure.
* The mirror, big paper - key in denouncing Munich men, harrowing the ‘guilty men’ after chamberlains fall, championing Beveridge report, vendetta against old school tie elite w vested interests - these agenda became prom in pop opinion, precipitated shift towards left attitudes

Question 54

Churchill’s inadequacy as leader

Answer 54

• Despite his 83% approval ratings, Harrison argues Churchill was seen only as a war leader (‘Bulldog of Battle’), not a “man of peace, domestic policy or human detail”.
• Insisted on running a very negative (and counter-productive) campaign, e.g. by making a speech in which he claimed that Labour-style socialism would lead to “some kind of Gestapo” in Britain, and Post Office savings being raided.
• But it is unlikely this factor can explain the huge 12% Conservative-Labour swing.

Question 55

Labour’s maintenance of ‘established virtues

Answer 55

Offered no threat to traditional Conservative values- could attract broader base of support

Eg Attlee supported the Monarchy and Empire

Only wanted to nationalise “lame duck” industries - profitable industries which paid good wages were left

Question 56

sterling crisis and convertibility crisis

Answer 56

Hugh Dalton was Chancellor but resigned in 1947 due to the convertibility Crisis.

sterling crisis 1949- pound devalued

convertibility crisis - forced to make pound convertible to dollar but not ready to open up to global markets

Question 57

1945 parliament as an active government

Answer 57

parliament passed 347 Acts of Parliament.

Question 58

nationalisation in practice of Attlee

Answer 58

• Nationalised about 20% of the economy , including coal (about 1,000 pits became the property of the National Coal Board in 1947), railroads, road transport, the Bank of England, civil aviation, cable and wireless, and electricity and gas.

Question 59

justification for nationalisation in actual

Answer 59

• Social humanitarianism – public ownership would protect industry from the brutality of ‘unplanned’ capitalism.
• Constituted a form of economic redistribution from the shareholder to the workforce (though shareholders were in fact generously compensated), and from the producer to the consumer.
• Industrial democracy – transfer of managerial authority to the workforce.
• Efficiency and modernisation – public ownership more responsive than private ownership.

Question 60

second round of industrialisation

Answer 60

• The second wave of nationalisation was much harder to justify on economic grounds (the industries were not failing), so much less successful

o Attempts to nationalise sugar were dropped due to Tate and Lyle’s infamous Mr Cube campaign.
o The nationalisation of iron and steel was vehemently opposed by the Conservatives, faced huge opposition in the Lords (leading to the 1949 Parliament Act), and was unpopular even amongst many Labour MPs.

Question 61

Labour policy towards trade unions

Answer 61

• In 1946, repealed the Trades Dispute Act 1927 which had banned solidarity action (i.e. sympathy strikes) and mass picketing

Question 62

social welfare insurance changes

Answer 62

created the ‘welfare state’ in accordance with the recommendations of the Beveridge Report, aiming to make social security the ‘birth right’ of every citizen:

• National Insurance Act 1946 provided sickness and unemployment benefits for adults, and made retirement pensions universal (with the pension rate being substantially increased by the Pensions Act 1947).

did what it promised, and much of what it did was in the tradition of British welfare legislation— that is, was based upon the principle of insurance. Pensions, unemployment benefit and other similar payments were technically ‘earned’ by the payment of National Insurance contributions…. Attlee’s welfare state was universal. Under Attlee everyone was entitled to pensions, family allowances and unemployment insurance. Before 1914 the middle class was excluded from all such benefits.

Question 63

NHS under Attlee

Answer 63

• National Health Service (NHS) Act 1946 nationalised the hospitals and provided free universal medical care from 1948, though opposition from doctors meant they were allowed to continue operating a private practice. McKibbin describes this as “probably the Attlee government’s only social legislation ideologically acceptable to more or less everyone”.

Question 64

universal social welfare

Answer 64

• National Assistance Act 1948 formally abolished the Poor Law system that had existed since the reign of Elizabeth I, and established a social safety net even for those who did not pay National Insurance contributions (e.g. the homeless / the physically disabled / unmarried mothers).

Question 65

rent/ landlord intervention by Attlee

Answer 65

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1949 controlled excessive rents being charged by landlords, e.g. by empowering rent tribunals to determine “reasonable rates” for unfurnished private properties.

Question 66

Attlee housing reform

Answer 66

• Built over 1m new homes by 1951, 80% of which were council houses – although this was below the government’s target (and is often seen as the government’s greatest failing), it was still significant given the economic circumstances.

Question 67

changes to civil service

Answer 67

• Created 157 Standing Committees.
• Created 306 ‘ad hoc’ committees to feed decisions back to the main Cabinet.

Question 68

Attlee’s Foreign affairs policies:

Answer 68

• Actively participated in international institutions–e.g. joined the USA in the Cold War and helped to form NATO.
• Negotiated a $5bn loan from the USA and Canada in 1946.
• Encouraged the Truman Doctrine (could no longer afford to support the Greek government so wanted USA to take its place), and keenly joined the Marshall Plan.

Gave independence to India, Pakistan, Ceylon and Burma, pulled out of Palestine, and moved to strengthen the British Commonwealth.

Question 69

Mckibbin on the innovation of Labour’s ideas

Answer 69

• Although their implementation was new, most of the ideas were not new for Labour – McKibbin argues that their 1934 ‘For Socialism and Peace’ programme (refined in 1937 to form their ‘Immediate Programme’ in response to election defeat in 1935) “closely approximated the victorious programme of 1945”: o The programme, as we have seen, differed little except in detail from the last pre-war programme and presented the same mixture of public ownership, public housing, welfare provision, industrial modernization, planning and land reform.

o Labour had been calling for the nationalisation of coal, rail, the utilities, and the Bank of England since 1934.
o Labour’s avocation of the extension of social welfare was nothing new, but was just given new ‘impetus’ by the 1942 Beveridge Report.

Question 70

healthcare provision pre Attlee

Answer 70

• Although the precise model of the NHS was established / modified by Attlee’s governments, the general principle of a universal, non-contributory health system had already been accepted before WW2. Though admittedly the Conservatives simply wanted to extend the health insurance scheme without affecting private practice too much, fearing that this would lead to an inevitable lowering of medical standards.

Conservatives had actually started negotiations with doctors about free medical care in 1943, but these proved too difficult.

Question 71

social policies under coalition

Answer 71

had used Keynesian policies, and had already started to implement some welfare reforms – e.g. the Family Allowances Act 1945 provided child benefits. Under the coalition, government spending had increased from 20% to 60% of GDP.

Question 72

Labour as Keynesian not socialist economically

Answer 72

• Francis- Others have gone further and argued that Labour’s later years in power were characterised not merely by a loss of momentum, but also by a dilution of the party’s socialist commitment. - they argue that the government came to rely increasingly on the techniques of demand management, and in doing so quietly abandoned a specifically socialist economic policy in favour of Keynesian-inspired expedients, which were at best ideological, at worse anti-socialist.
• At the close of the 1940s the Labour government was adopting the techniques of demand management - 1947 Dalton at the Treasury took up the recommendations of the Economic Section to deliberately use the budget surplus to counter inflation.

Question 73

Labour as Keynesian was not anti socialist

Answer 73

The Attlee government’s increasing utilisation of demand-management did not represent a simple shift away from a specifically socialist economic policy. Contemporaries did not see socialism and Keynesianism as necessarily antithetical.

Question 74

nationalisation - Labour as not socialist -

Answer 74

• Not all industries were nationalised – just those which were considered inefficient (those which had “failed the nation”).
  o Though this was not the case with the steel industry, which was relatively profitable – it was only pursued because of a campaign from the left-wing of the Labour Party, with 150 backbenchers signing a petition.

Question 75

healthcare- Labour as not socialist

Answer 75

• Despite the establishment of the NHS, it was still possible to ‘buy’ private healthcare, when really doctors should have become public servants. In implementing the health reforms, Bevan wrongly believed that people would eventually have no reason to want private healthcare.
  o Though this was still a big achievement, especially given huge opposition from doctors – a BMA poll found that only 10% of doctors (on a turnout of 84%) were in favour of the establishment of the NHS.

Question 76

education- labour as not socialist

Answer 76

• In terms of education, Attlee’s governments just implemented the coalition’s Butler Education Act 1944 (with a small extension in 1948) – this contained some positive elements (e.g. raising the school leaving age), but did not do enough to prioritise the comprehensive system, and did not touch private education at all.

Question 77

Labour as part of the establishment

Answer 77

• Addison: Due to its involvement in Churchill’s war coalition, Labour had a team of ministers “schooled in office”; it dominated the Reconstruction Committee 1943- 45; and, as Deputy Prime Minister 1942-45, Attlee was able to “rehearse the premiership whenever Churchill was absent”. WW2 therefore gave Attlee a “double mandate”, one from the electorate and one from the establishment.
• When Attlee and Bevin (as PM and Foreign Secretary) returned to Potsdam in July 1945, not a single person in the 35-member delegation accompanying them had changed – Attlee even kept Churchill’s valet!

Question 78

Labour control of PLP

Answer 78

o Morrison controlled MPs by dividing them into interest groups, and then into regional groupings to ensure they had regular contact with ministers.
o The radical left within the PLP remained weak – it had little support in the NEC; its popularity was damaged hugely by Cold War fears; and there was no group of rebels which had “ties with an outside organisation” (Rubenstein), as there had been during the inter-war period

Question 79

HoL and Labour

Answer 79

• The House of Lords was generally acquiescent to Labour’s demands: This explains the huge volume of legislation passed.The one period of opposition was over iron and steel nationalisation, which led to the passing of the 1949 Parliament Act (further restricted the Lords’ suspensive veto power to just one year).

Question 80

1950 election results

Answer 80

• Labour’s overall majority shrank from 146 to 5. 2.8% swing towards the Tories

Question 81

1950 labour manifesto

Answer 81

• Francis - When Labour went to the polls in 1950 it offered a much more modest programme of public ownership. Not only was Labour proposing less nationalisation, but it presented these new nationalisation measures in a tone which was generally unenthusiastic, and sometimes virtually apologetic.

Question 82

change of voting in 1950

Answer 82

abolition of plural voting and university constituencies.

Question 83

1951 election - why was it called

Answer 83

• Labour called another election to reassert their majority and the Tories won it Labour called the election hoping to increase their majorit

Question 84

1951 election results

Answer 84

the Conservatives (still led by Churchill) won a majority with 321 seats

• This was despite the fact that Labour won 48.8% of the vote, polled almost 250,000 more votes than the Conservatives and their National Liberal allies combined, and won the most votes that Labour had ever won (and has ever won to this day). The increased Labour votes translated into increased majorities for MPs in already safe seats, rather than into gaining new seats.

Labour ended up with 50 of the 60 largest constituency majorities.

led to 13 years of Tory rule

Question 85

Labour politicians as not working class

Answer 85

• Except for Ernest Bevin, who is a rule-proving exception, Herbert Morrison (the son of a policeman and thus only on the border of the working class) and Aneurin Bevan, every significant member of Attlee’s government was of middle or upper-middle-class origin. The decay of the autodidact tradition accompanied the process by which the leadership of the Labour Party passed from the working to the educated middle class.

in the 1950 election we find a profile very different from that of the country as a whole and from the Labour Party of 1931- one-fifth of Labour’s candidates has been educated privately.

Question 86

quote on Labour’s separation from society

Answer 86

• Cronin and Tiratsoo suggest, it was Labour that failed to maintain a relevant relationship with the new society. - problem of identification for the party, rather than simple class allegiance.

Question 87

economic situation while Labour governed

Answer 87

– the period was known as the ‘Age of Austerity’

• In the aftermath of WW2, there was a labour shortage (it was difficult to mobilise soldiers back to work) and a shortage of capital (as industry had been focussed on wartime production).

Question 88

rationing post war

Answer 88

• Shortages continued after the end of WW2, leading to a continuation of rationing – some rations actually became stricter, e.g. due to poor weather conditions, bread rationing was started in 1946 and potato rationing in 1947, and sweets remained rationed until 1954. It has been argued that housewives faced more difficult shopping conditions after the war than during it.

Question 89

military post war

Answer 89

• Conscription continued until 1963.

Question 90

1946/7 winter

Answer 90

one of coldest on record- drastic food shortages, power cuts, continued food rationing

Question 91

loss of income post war

Answer 91

• Most overseas investments had been sold during WW2, thus losing their income. Britain lost around £7bn during WW2 = 1⁄4 of its national wealth.
• In 1945, British exports were only 30% of their 1939 value.

Question 92

Internal problems with Labour

Answer 92

by 1950, the average age in the Cabinet was around 60, and most had health problems – Bevin died in 1951, and Cripps died in 1952.

• Once the 1945 manifesto had been largely implemented, the Cabinet became increasingly divided over policy / ideology:

Whereas Morrison and the majority of the party called for ‘consolidation’, Bevan and the Labour ‘fundamentalists’ (e.g. the authors of the ‘Keep Left’ pamphlet) wanted further bold reforms, especially more nationalisation.

2. In April 1951, Bevan, Wilson and Freeman resigned over Gaitskell’s (Chancellor) decision to introduce prescription charges for dentures and spectacles in order to fund rearmament for the Korean War. This left-wing rebellion was remarkable since, with Labour’s very slim majority of just 5 seats

Question 93

Liberals favouring Tories

Answer 93

The Liberal Party was struggling, and could only afford to put up 109 candidates in 1951 (as compared to 475 in 1950) – Liberal voters with no Liberal candidate tended to vote Conservative rather than Labour (the opposite had occurred in 1945, but only because Liberals had wanted to counterbalance the expected Tory majority).

Question 94

Representation of the People Acts 1948 and 1949- how it helped Labour

Answer 94

the abolition of plural voting (whereby the owners of business premises outside their constituency could vote twice), and by the abolition of the university seats.

Question 95

Representation of the People Acts 1948 and 1949- how it harmed labour

Answer 95

o The abolition of two-member constituencies.
o The redrawing of constituency boundaries to account for changing population patterns.
o The introduction of postal voting – 90% of these were cast in favour of the Conservatives.

Question 96

1950 Tory manifesto

Answer 96

o Their 1950 manifesto (‘This is the Road’) pragmatically accepted most of Labour’s reforms (e.g. the social welfare reforms and the ‘mixed economy’) – the existence of this ‘post-war consensus’ meant that Labour’s policies were not distinctive, and the Conservatives were able to re-attract the support of the middle-class.

Question 97

Internal Tory party reforms, 1950

Answer 97

spearheaded by Lord Woolton (Party Chairman)

• Grassroots were revitalised by being set the target of raising £1m.
• New rule that no parliamentary candidate should contribute more than £25 to his local party, thus removing the incentive for only wealthy men to be picked as candidates. This led to a talented ‘class of 1950’ including Edward Heath and Enoch Powell.

Question 98

how 1950 campaign favoured Tories

Answer 98

• Re-won the support of newspapers like The Daily Mail.

Question 99

Role of women in 1951 election

Answer 99

Conservative revival was based upon a new form of electoral mobilization: consumption against production and women against men: ‘There was little common ground on the issue of consumption and living standards between Labour and the Conservatives during the late 1940s and early 1950s. In this revival gender is more important than class. It represented a revolt of women against the ‘collectivist, productionist agenda’ of the Labour Party in favour of the Conservative Party’s consumptionism. The ‘female Conservative preference in 1951 goes a long way towards explaining the Conservative victory’.

But underrates the extent to which the Conservative Party did adjust itself to the welfare state, and thought it had to; and it overrates the extent to which the Tory Party had to devise new forms of mobilization

Question 100

Labour in the Cold War

Answer 100

• Remember massive reforms Labour carried through- far too expensive to be paid for by extensive taxation which had already gone high with WW2 so American loans were pivotal in British reconstruction.
• If you take American money you have to adhere to American foreign policy – as cold war began, Britain was entirely on Western side of argument. Helped set up NATO In 1948/9.
• Within labour arguments began because of Labour’s support of USA in Korean war, so government put 10-11% of whole national budget on defence

Question 101

Labour bound by war resolution

Answer 101

• The division of Europe through old Germany meant that European defence became part of foreign policy and commitment of 40k or so British troops to Germany – maintenance of national service

Question 102

Mckibbin on whether Attlee was socialist

Answer 102

How far the Attlee government’s programme was ‘socialist’ is an almost pointless question. There is little agreement about what constitutes socialism or the criteria by which we can judge it. But those who implemented the programme thought it was socialist, that it represented both a social transformation and a system of values superior to any alternative. Yet it was a peculiar form of socialism; the socialism of a particular generation, one which drew a clear distinction between the economy and social policy on the one hand, and Britain’s status and class system on the other

Question 103

Mckibbin on Labour’s socialism

Answer 103

McKibbin – Britain was heading towards milk and water socialism.
- Labour inherited rather than inaugurated changes in industry brought about by the war therefore nationalisation of some of the biggest industries particularly coal and railways was formalising the control which governments had taken during the war.
- Nationalisation of coal had been a labour policy since 1920.
- Owners were compensated generally for nationalisation by supposedly socialist government. Nationalisation did not inherently mean pay increases or better work conditions although these came in due course.
- Nationalisation did mean job preservation for long than the private market would have meant
- Labour was committed to full time employment

Question 104

longevity of Attlee’s nationalisation

Answer 104

coal industry
railway
gas

steel was repriavtised under Churchill