Unit 1: Topic 4 - Labour in Power 1945 - 1951 Flashcards
Labour Come to Power
RATIONING after the war in Europe of May 1945 was worse, not better.
Churchill and Atlee wanted to keep the coalition going until Japan was defeated but the Labour and the Liberals rejected this idea. They wanted a fresh start.
In some ways, Churchill benefitted from this election as he was a wartime hero. On the 23 May 1945, he resigned and an election was set for 5 July.
THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Conservatives focused on Churchill rather than the party. The slogan was ‘Let Him Finish The Job’.
They promised new homes and support for the poor and the unemployed. However many conservative politicians opposed such reforms in Parliament. They misjudged how much the country wanted these reforms and were too confident in Churchill.
Churchill also made his mistake in his first broadcast. Perhaps he was too used to making speeches against the Nazis but he said a SOCIALIST STATE WOULD NEVER WORK WITHOUT A GESTAPO RUNNING IT. The Gestapo was a secret police of the Nazis and he was comparing the Labour party with the Gestapo. The campaign didn’t recover and the results did not come out until 26 July. Labour won.
The Beveridge Report
The Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin set up a committee to suggest how to improve life in Britain after the war.
William Beveridge, who had worked in several committees was studying social problems was their CHAIRMAN.
On the 1 December 1942, the Beveridge Report, over 300 page long, was published. Many MP’s (most of them Conservative) disagreed strongly with its recommendations, but realised it had a huge amount of public support. It sold over 70,000 copies in the first few days.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The report said the state should support its citizens ‘from the cradle to the grave’ - from birth to death. It had to fight 5 giants:
- WANT: lack of basic needs such as food
- IGNORACE: lack of proper education for all
- DISEASE: lack of proper medical care for all
- SQUALOR: poor living conditions
- idleness: unemployment
Even Conservative MPs saw it would be harder to avoid welfare responsibilities once the war was over.
Fighting Giants
From the publication of the report to the election of ‘45, the government debated what changes to make.
The National Government set up free milk and free school meals in 1942, but as wartime measure. What permanent measures did it take?
1944 - EDUCATION ACT: Restructured school system and provided free education to the age of 15.
1945 - FAMILY ALLOWANCES: Paid mothers 5 shillings a week for every child after the first one. Payments didn’t begin until Aug 1946 so the Labor government received credit for this.
The Labour government was elected because many people felt sure Conservative would not act on Beveridge’s report.
National Health Service
Doctors were suspicious of state control of their profession. The British Medical Association, to which many doctors belonged, had many disputes with the government.
BMA AND THE GOVERNMENT
The BMA had objected to the 1911 introduction of free medical care for those paying National Insurance contributions - care was only for the contributor, not his family. BMA fought all changes that increased free healthcare, particularly the 1941 law that raised the income from £250 to £420 for those who could claim.
But by the time the war broke out even the BMA agreed that reforms were needed. Hospital and clinics were run privately or by voluntary groups.
WORKING TOGETHER?
The BMA sat in government committees during the war to try and agree on a new health service. They disagreed with the level of government control, over who should get free healthcare and how doctors should be paid.
In 1945, the new minister of health, Aneurin Bevan consulted the BMA but pushed the law at the same time. The National Health Service Act, passed in Nov 1946 was due to come in force in Jan 1948. Disputes with the BMA delayed it to July 1948.
Using the NHS
The NHS was popular but the government badly underestimated how much it would cost.
Glasses and false teeth were the most popular, but the medicine bill was also very high.
By 1949, the government was debating introducing charges. The National Health Service Act of 1949 set a 1-shilling prescription charge (the old, poor and disabled did not have to pay). It did not come into force until 1952.
Bevan disagreed and resigned as Minister of Health because of it.
Another act, in 1951, put a charge of 1 shilling towards the cost of glasses and half the cost of false teeth (the old, poor, and disabled did not have to pay). These charges were fiercely objected to, but even when they were in force, those who needed free treatment were getting it, a vast improvement on the situation before the war.
