1939-1951
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- Created on: 15-06-17 08:53
Crisis of May 1940
Chamberlain and criticism:
- appeasement - Hitler annexed Czech 1936 and Poland 1939
- criticised for failing to deter Hitler
- April 1940 - 'Hitler had missed the bus' - a few days later invaded denmark and norway
- for not organising the economy for war - army inadequately prepared
- defeat and evacuation Norway - ability to lead?
Resignation:
- 7 May 1940 - Chamberlain opened debate on Norway, faced attack from Cons backbenchers - Labour demanded resignation
- LG denounced him 'there is nothing which can contribute more to victory than that should he sacrifice our office'
- Cons rebels refused to support unless Labour and Liberals prepared to support him also - Chamberlain resigned.
Crisis of May 1940
Lord Halifax:
- most likely to be able to reach an understanding w Hitler
- foreign secretary 1930s
- many cons, libs and even lab saw as best candidate
- however, was a peer not MP
- not sure himself if right for the job
Winston Churchill:
- moved to cons 1924
- Lab disliked due to role in gen strike and Gold standard 1925
- Had military experience in India, Sudan, Western front
- 1939 - navy experience
Churchill wartime leader
Deciding factors:
- 1930s warned of need to re-arm
- speeches endeared him to press and improved lab relations
- contacts in US - valuable in wartime
- contributions in parliament and newspapers etc - despite age, man of energy and determination
Churchill as leader:
- May 1940 - Germans armied depe into northern France
- British forced trapped near Dunkirk - 300,000 evacuated by sea
- Halifax felt negotiation with Hitler was best
- Churchill put everything into organising military effort against Germany
Churchill as wartime leader
Summer 1940:
- everything depended on control of skies
- aerial battles - 'battle of britain' were key 1940
Churchill wartime coalition:
- Churchill PM, Chamberlain head of cons
- allowed him to act above party politics - stable and efficient
- 1940 war cabinet; Attlee (Lab), Greenwood (Lab), Chamberlain (Cons), Halifax (Cons)
- also brought in men w experience; Morrison, Woolton and Beveridge
- didnt split Cons, absence of opposition
- realised importance of labour movement for political reasons and war economy
Policies of wartime coalition government
1. Organising economy for war:
- Emergency Powers Act 1939 - any aspect to secure defence of the realm
- centralist govt, ministries for food, shipping, information, economic warfare
- Ernest Bevin - powers over workforce, conscription introduced and he added industrial conscription, 'bevin boys' 1943, 4.5 million entered armed forces
- rationing food 1941
- new production methods for efficiency
- agriculture - dig for victory campaigns
Policies of wartime coalition government
2. Paying for the war
- cut earnings from exports and overseas investments
- gold and dollar reserves spent out 1941 - dependent on american loans
- squeezed consumption through high taxes
- neglected new investment in any area other than war production
- relied on oversees aid USA
- income tax went up 10 shillings and all workers paid it
- 'pay as you earn' 1943
- US lend-lease 1941 - 27,000 million aid
- 1954 - massive debts
Policies of wartime coalition government
3. Planning for post-war Britain
- war only turned in Britains favour Nov 1942-1943 - social problems 1941
- emergency hospital scheme -free treatment bomb victims
- free milk extra food for children
- 'means test' abolished 1941
- Keynes - avoid inflation and unemployment ideas
- May 1944 - 'employment policy' committed future govts to ensure high stable level of employment
Wartime coalition
Measures taken to implement 'Better Britain'
- 1944 Butler Education Act - free compulsary education until 15
- LA grant fees and maintanance for UNi
- NHS 1944 - key principles established
- 1944 - town and country planning act - LA power to clear slum areas and redevelop
- 1945 Family allowances - weekly benefit 5 shillings 2 dimes extra per child
- Beveridge report 1942 - 'social security' sold 600,000 copies -administred by single govt department (social security) a vision of safe, secure and a prosperous Britain
- Beveridge - want, disease, squaler, ignorance, idleness
- 1944 - social insurance, accepted some of Beveridge report and Ministry of National Insurance set up
Wartime coalition
Failures:
- military disasters - singapore 1942
- criticism of Churchill - revolt in support of back bench Labour - critical due to lack of beveridge report
- Churchill face more than one vote of no confidence - nationalisation
- divisions on state economy post-war
- NHS disagreements - nationalisation of hospitals etc
- Labour criticisms - LW argued reforms werent enough and critical of 1944 education for not abolisishing private school
- consequences - claimed reform plans too expensive and radical
success:
- strong national unity and Churchill charisma
- electoral truce between parties
- held together until almost end of war
Impact of war
social:
- nutrition of working class improved
- 1942 - 50% unemployment reduction
- average male earnings increased 80%
- middle upper class hit higher tax
- 1930s building boom halted
- 1943 - gone down to 7000 houses built
- bombing destroyed 4 million homes, killed 60,000
- evacuation 1939 and 1940
- rationing of clothes and food 1941
- 1943 - censorship increases
- 50% factory workers women and 80% women married
- 350,000 'land girls'
Impact of war
- Increased crime
- 1940s entertainment boom, 1945 - 10 million private radios, cinema attendances 30 million a week
- US 'GI brides' 60,000 brit girls married US troops
- american influences - clothes, music
attitudes 1945:
- dented class divisions - didnt break them down
- strengthened monarchy and empire
- Labour politicians proved reliable in wartime government
- 'never again' deepoly rooted slogan in 1945
1945 General Election
- Churchill wanted to continue until war against Japan ended
- Labour rejected as no election in 10 years
- 23 May coalition ended
- Labour landslide 393 seats
- cons 197 seats
- cons and allies 209 seats
- libs 12 seats
Reasons why Labour won
- 1930s recovery of Labour
- trade union expansion
- USSR - socialism in good light
- cons - appeasement, social deprivation 1930s - negative
- churchill Gestapo Speech - tried to discredit Labour and backfired
- Churchill argued only a wartime leader
- Cons - several errors, thought they would win, didnt spend any campaign money, relied on Churchill personality, too old, failure to adapt to peacetime
- Labour ran 'let us face the future' - effective
Economic crises and recovery 1945-51
- 1945 - economic situation serious
- long term policies e.g. nationalisation and welfare state
- 1946-47 - attempt financial solvency and face massive expenditure on overseas commitments
Britain overseas developments:
- expenditure on armed forces and overseas bases
- after 1945 - involvement Cold War
- 1948 - formation of NATO
Loans and economics:
- Loans from USA
- 'dollar gap' needed to be bridged
- peacetime production
- economic planning - nationalise railways
- 1944 GATT (general agreement trades and tariffs)
success and failures of economics
- 1945 - Keynes negotiated $3.7 million loan over 50 years
- 1949 - Stafford Cripps devalued pound and made exports cheaper - reducing deficit 1950
- 1945-50 - real wages 1% rise and inflation 3%
- 1951 - economy under state control
crisis and recovery:
- 1951 - better economically
- full employment maintained
- economic recovery widespread
- 1950 - no need of marshall aid
- Labour won more votes in 1950-51 than 1945
Reforms of the Attlee Government
Key aims 1945:
- take industry into public ownership
- bring universal state welfare provision
- set up NHS
aims ideological and practical - in planned economy and full employment its possible for social ideas to become a reality
Nationalisation:
- by 1945 - no longer theoretical
- by 1951 - 20% of economy nationalised and 10% workforce
- improvements through national grid and elecriticty expanding
- cost 2700 million pounds
- coal mines - didnt improve much but had managers
Nationalisation and radical change
radical change:
- survived in state ownership until 1980s
- moved Britain towards collectivist society
- economy become a mixed economy of private and state
arguments it didnt mean radical change:
- most industries had a history of state involvement
- socialist demand for worker control ignored
- most industries privatised become unprofitable
- oeace of nationalisation slowed down 1947
Welfare state
- 1945-48 - a range of welfare reforms
- most unemployed reciever 36 weeks and then claim dole, 40,000 workers non insured had to fall back on 1934 poor law
- Attlee govt committed to make welfare universal and free
Labour welfare:
- 1946 - NHS Act
- 1948 National Assistance Act
- 1945 family allowance and 1944 education helped families
Welfare state
1947 National Insurance:
- universal - applied to all employees
- unemployment/sickness - maternity and death, widows, pensions
1946 Industrial Injuries Act:
- universal - generous compensation and iinjury benefit for 6 months, disability for permanent injury and death benefits for dependants
Housing acts 1944:
- built 1.5 million new homes and 1/4 million prefabs
- 1946 - new town act e,g, Stevanage
1948 National Assistance Act:
- ended Poor Law and financial responsibility to central govt
- National assistance board provided homeless accomodation
The NHS
- didnt function until 1948
- Bevan, minister of Health provoked contraversy
- faced conservative opposition
- needed BMA support - feared NHS would weaken doctors professional status
- Bevan compromised
- consultants allowed private patients
- hospitals have private and state wards
- medical profession given role in adminisration of NHS
Success:
- 190,000 prescriptions first year
- 8.5 mil dental patients
- 95% population NHS doctors
- 1951 - admired by western europe
Failure:
- not unified and shortage of staff and heavy costs (double projected 1951)
The Welfare State
success:
- family allowances - women direct payments - benefit for working class mothers
- maintainence of full employment
- 'tripartite' system for working class to go to grammar
- Rowntree third survey - 1950s old age biggest poverty cause so had changes since 1930s
Limitations:
- level of welfare low and didnt rise with inflation
- poverty didnt end
- economic problems prevented housing - not until 1948 did 200,000 a year be built
General Election 1950
- Attlee called Feb 1950
- did well in votes but fell to 5 majority
- small majority caused new election 1951
- Labour won votes but Cons won majority
Reasons for Labour defeat:
- timing - 1950 held before full extent of recovery was realised
- many voters still influenced by 1949 devaluation
- damaged by internal party divisions - 1951 prescription and dental charges
- Bevanites criticses rearmament
- reivival of Cons - Woolton had membership drive and exploited Labour setbacks, opposed nationalisation - pledged NHS and 300,000 houses a year
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