The Labour Gouvernment of Attlee

1 To what extent did the Labour governments of 1945-51 change Britain? Intro post WW2country ready for changeConservatives blamed for depression + appeasment leading to warlabour no more an unknown quantity (WW2 coalition)

Attlee: one of the most transformative leader in Modern british historyIdea of the Welfare State

I- Labour gvt changed Britain

- Beveridge report: fight the 5 giants: 

- Want->National Insurance Act 1946-> sick pay, unemployement benefit, pensions-> universal and compulsory

- Disease-> Creation of the NHS 1946-> give medical treatment to evry citizen without charging them at all-> Doctors opposed to this nationalisation -> project brought 2 years late-> dandruff syndrom ( pple come for obscure and trivial pbs)

- Ignorance->Creation of a new education system

- Squalor-> rebuilding houses destroyed-> slum clearance - Idleness-> full employement

Nationalisation +++- 1946 Coal, Aviation, Bank of England- 1947 Transports, electricity- 1948 Gas - 1950 Iron and steel (difficult to justify because profitable companies)

Foreign Policy -> increase role of UK- Integration of UK in NATO- Seat in the council of Security of ONU- Anti communist policy- Convince USA of the need of the Marshall Plan- Decolonisation process (India+Pakistan)-> complicated because of religious divisions-> keep commercial contacts-> not a bloody independence-> but then massacres because of forced migrations+ Guerilla II- Period of consensus - period of political consensus

- Churchill not reverse the reforms of the labour gvt- Consensus:

Massive building policy      

pursued full employement        

ended Korean War        

Maintained NATO commitment

- Consensus in Economy + policy on the Cold War

- But didn't really change the critic situation of economy (1947 currency crisis)

- Not enough housing (failed in this point of the Beveridge report)- Didn't end the rationing Conclusion  Labour gvt change UK

- Economically but economic situation still bad (austerity)

- Socially (NHS + Insurance Act)- Educationally- Politically ( before conservative gvts)

- Diplomatically (NATO + ONU)

- Decolonisation process

But due to a period of consensus after WW2need to rebuild the countryCollectivism and cooperation normal since WW2