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Between 1945 and 2007, Britain transformed in many different areas. The welfare state was introduced, immigration increased, and class divisions ceased to exist as they once had. The power and position of Britain also shifted drastically during this period; Britain's Imperial rule declined with the independence of many colonies and on the other end of its foreign relations, it entered into union with Europe. Economically, Britain shifted from manufacturing with deindustrialisation to providing services, and although the country continually faced inflation and recessions, the general living standard was much higher by the end of the period. Let's find out how all this happened.
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenBetween 1945 and 2007, Britain transformed in many different areas. The welfare state was introduced, immigration increased, and class divisions ceased to exist as they once had. The power and position of Britain also shifted drastically during this period; Britain's Imperial rule declined with the independence of many colonies and on the other end of its foreign relations, it entered into union with Europe. Economically, Britain shifted from manufacturing with deindustrialisation to providing services, and although the country continually faced inflation and recessions, the general living standard was much higher by the end of the period. Let's find out how all this happened.
To explore the history of modern Britain, we will be breaking it up into the following periods:
Date | Period |
1945-51
| The post-war Labour government |
1951-64
| Conservative governments |
1964-70
| The Sixties |
1970-87
| The End of the post-war consensus |
1987-97
| Towards a new consensus |
1997-2007
|
The 1945-51 period was very important as it redirected Britain after WWII, and it was the Labour Party that led the country during this time. Labour won a large majority in the 1945 election, and Clement Attlee replaced wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Fig. 1 - Children in London during the Blitz - Britain needed to rebuild from WWII.
The Labour Party was founded in 1900 and had become the chief opposition to the Conservative Party – Britain’s oldest political party – in the 1920s. Whilst the Conservative Party sat on the centre-right of the political spectrum, Labour sat more on the left.
The public believed that Labour was more capable of providing the necessary post-war reconstruction than the Conservatives – why?
Key changes in the Labour government in this period included:
Keynesianism became the dominant economic theory after WWII and remained so until 1979.
Welfare State
A system in which the state plays a key role in protecting the economic and social well-being of its citizens.
National Insurance
A system of compulsory payments by employers and employees to fund government assistance to those who are facing unemployment, sickness, etc.
Nationalisation
Moving aspects of the economy from private to government control
The post-war consensus
Although these measures were introduced by Labour, the Conservatives also supported certain aspects. This is an example of the post-war consensus- the general alignment of the main political parties on major issues from 1945 until the 1970s.
Fig. 2 - The Labour Party introduced the welfare state based on recommendations given by Sir William Beveridge.
After WWII, the Cold War between the United States and the communist Soviet Union began to emerge.
Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin committed Britain to support the US against communism; Britain even entered the Korean War in 1950. This set the precedent for Britain’s Cold War policy, which would continue through most of the 20th century.
Britain also became a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949 along with the US and other Western European nations. Its purpose was to provide collective security against attacks by the Soviet Union.
There was a fundamental disagreement within the Labour Party about which side Britain should cooperate with. The left of the party criticised Attlee’s pro-US stance. This was because they believed Labour’s aim should be to replace capitalism with socialism, whilst the mainstream of the party was happy to work within the existing political system.
Another key development was India’s Independence in 1947- previously referred to as the British Empire’s “Jewel in the Crown”, the granting of independence to India marked the beginning of the decline of the modern British Empire.
Britain was hugely in debt and faced a balance of payments crisis, meaning the cost of imports was outweighing income from exports. Although now in peacetime, the government also increased spending on defence in light of the development of the Cold War. It was committed to creating a nuclear deterrent, which became a heavy financial commitment.
One of the responses to financial problems was that trade unions were used not to ask for higher wages - Labour had traditionally protected union interests, so this was particularly resented.
Trade Union
An association of workers in a trade or profession which works to protect, and advance, their rights and interests.
Labour's problems led to a Conservative victory in 1951, which was followed by two more. The Conservative Party were in power until 1964 – let’s find out what they did.
Winston Churchill became Prime Minister for the second time in 1951 and oversaw a number of important developments:
Labour policies were largely continued, demonstrating the post-war consensus.
In 1955, Anthony Eden became Prime Minister. His time in office was defined by one event: the Suez Crisis.
In 1956, the leader of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal, which was important to Britain’s trade interests. As a result, Britain, along with France and Israel, invaded Egypt. This was condemned by the US, the United Nations (UN), and the Soviet Union.
Britain was forced to withdraw due to economic pressure from the US and the UN, lack of international support, opposition at home, and a fall in the pound as international investors made large withdrawals.
The Crisis can be considered the last act of British imperialism and proved that Britain could no longer act alone in the post-war world. Eden stepped down as Prime Minister soon after.
The majority of the population experienced higher living standards under Howard Macmillan, who was Prime Minister from 1957 until 1963. In July 1957, Macmillan famously said “most of our people have never had it so good”, which in many ways was true.
However, his administration was criticised and faced many problems:
Did you know? Macmillan was a supporter of granting independence to Britain's African Colonies. This is demonstrated in his famous Winds of Change speech.
In 1964, the Labour Party won the general election under Harold Wilson. The Labour victory was due to Conservative scandals, high unemployment, and the more liberal image of the Labour Party.
The Sixties are often referred to as the Swinging Sixties, as the period saw the liberalisation of attitudes against conservatism. It was a youth-driven cultural revolution that saw the emergence of new art, music, and fashion. This was reflected in government reforms of the time on issues such as discrimination, abortion, divorce, and sexual orientation as a result of pressure from various social protests.
An exception to these reforms was the 1968 Commonwealth Immigration Act, that restricted immigration to allow only those with existing family connections.
Britain's economic progress was somewhat stagnant during this period. Britain was spending a huge amount of money on defence and not investing enough to stimulate industry, this exacerbated tensions with trade unions.
Military defence was a divisive issue in the Labour Party. Those on the left wanted to abandon the nuclear deterrent, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament began in 1958. Unilateralism – giving up nuclear weaponry without other countries – was briefly adopted as a Labour policy in 1960 before being abandoned in 1961.
A period of violence known as ‘The Troubles’ began in Northern Ireland in the 1960s.
In the mid-60s, a civil rights campaign began to end discrimination by the Protest majority. Violent clashes began in 1969, and the government sent the British Army to Northern Ireland. The Irish Republican Army (IRA), which was committed to creating a united Irish republic through violence attacked troops as representatives of the British government.
It became clear that the only way to end the unionist-republican violence was through genuine power-sharing, but this would not be easily achieved. The British Army would remain in Northern Ireland until 2007.
Many viewed Wilson’s government as a disappointment, and in 1970 the Conservatives returned to power under Prime Minister Edward Heath.
When Heath took office, he intended to adopt a new style of government by reducing government spending was reduced and cutting taxes. His economic policies backfired, leading to an increase in council house rents, an increase in inflation, and a decline in industrial production. In 1972, Heath announced the government was returning to controlling incomes and prices.
Poor relations with unions continued, and in 1971, Heath attempted to restrict workers' rights to strike. The National Union of Miners (NUM) won a huge wage increase in 1973 by striking, which was a huge defeat for Heath.
In January 1972, British troops killed fourteen people in North Ireland during an attempt to stop a march against internment without trial, all fourteen people were Irish Catholic. This was known as Bloody Sunday.
In March 1972, Britain took over the governance of Northern Ireland as a temporary measure, but it lasted for 35 years. The 1973 Sunningdale Agreement was a brief attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland executive but this collapsed in 1974, and the violence continued.
Fig. 3 - Bloody Sunday mural in Derry painted in 1997.
When De Gaulle retired in 1969, Britain was invited to reapply for membership and became a member in 1973. Whilst this gave Britain access to European markets, it had to sacrifice its economic relationship with the Commonwealth which had provided Britain with cheap food.
People began paying higher prices for food, and Britain also had to impose VAT on most commodity goods.
Until the early 1970s, Western countries had enjoyed a stable supply of cheap oil, but this changed when countries began to take control of their own industries. They reduced oil supplies to Western countries and raised prices, which had a devastating effect on Britain’s economy even though it was now in the EEC.
This situation, along with the impacts of union strikes, led to a Labour victory in the 1974 election.
Harold Wilson once again became Prime Minister in 1974, but this time he inherited the economic issues that followed the rise in oil prices. To get a loan from the IMF in 1976, Britain was required to cut public expenditure, which was not supported by many Labour members. The government did however cut spending, stabilising the economy but increasing unemployment.
Labour had a small majority so needed support from other parties. In 1977, Labour made a pact to consult liberals on important issues if they voted in line with the government.
Another area that was not going well was Northern Ireland – power-sharing was not working, and IRA attacks in Britain led to the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 1974.
In 1975, Wilson offered a referendum on membership in the EEC – the public voted to stay in, but the implications were not properly explained. Shortly after this, Wilson retired in 1976 and was succeeded by James Callaghan.
Callaghan’s time in office was characterised by a series of failures:
Margaret Thatcher had a new vision for Britain and had a large enough majority to introduce radical change. Her government can be considered part of the New Right – a conservative movement that attacks Keynesian economics and large state power, whilst emphasising traditional social values. So, what exactly did the "Iron Lady" do?
Protectionism
A policy of restricting international trade through various government regulations
Globalisation
Process of international interactions between governments, companies, and people
Fig. 4 - Margaret Thatcher.
The UK-US special relationship
Thatcher's actions in the Falklands impressed US President Ronald Reagan, and this was a period during which the US and Britain enjoyed a ‘special relationship’.
This special relationship was demonstrated in the 1986 Westland Affair. When Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine proposed saving British helicopter company Westland by making it part of a European association, Thatcher chose an alternative proposal which sold it to a US company.
Thatcher was also instrumental in the end of the Cold War through collaboration with Reagan.
This period 1987-97 saw the fall of Thatcher and the realignment of the Labour Party.
A key element in Thatcher’s downfall was the introduction of the poll tax. It was a flat-rate tax to fund local services and was introduced in Scotland in 1989, and in England and Wales in 1990. This faced huge opposition, even within the Conservative party, and millions of people refused or avoided paying the tax. On 31st March 1990, there was a huge anti-poll tax demonstration in Trafalgar Square. The tax was withdrawn in 1991.
Fig. 5 - Poll tax riots on 31 March 1990 in Trafalgar Square, London.
Thatcher also gave a speech in Bruges in 1988 which criticised the EEC for considering moving towards a centralised Europe. She took Britain into the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) – a monetary union with Europe – in 1990 despite her anti-Europeanism. In 1990, Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe criticised Thatcher’s anti-European stance and resigned – this was a huge defeat for Thatcher.
Thatcher faced rising opposition from within her own party, and there were feelings that the Conservatives would not win the next election with her as the leader. In 1990, she faced a leadership contest and though she won the first round narrowly, she withdrew from the race as she no longer had the support of her party.
John Major became Prime Minister in 1990, and his time in office was mainly concerned with foreign affairs. His policies were based on the ‘Citizen’s Charter’, which detailed a less tough version of Thatcherism.
The Conservatives lost the 1997 election in the heaviest defeat of any government in the century, due to concerns around Europe, scandals, and Major’s leadership. Additionally, ‘New Labour’ had emerged.
New Labour was first led by Tony Blair and comprised of several key elements: the abandonment of nationalisation, legal restrictions on unions, and no mention of socialism.
Blair relied on spin doctors during his time as Prime Minister – these were advisers that presented policies in a favourable light. They also provided Blair with ways to promote New Labour through terms such as ‘Cool Britannia’, which was used to describe how in touch Labour was.
Key developments included:
Gordon Brown was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Blair. He gave large amounts of money to public services, especially the NHS, and many more people found employment in the public sector. Although employment grew, such a high percentage of people working for government agencies undermined democracy.
In terms of social change, Britain developed an ageing population, which led to increasing demands on welfare services and higher taxes for working-aged people. Tensions around immigration and multiculturalism also increased. In 2001, there were riots in Bradford, Manchester, and Oldham between racial groups. In 2006, the Religious Hatred Act protected people from being attacked for their religion. The period also saw the growth of civilian movements such as environmentalism.
Key international events under Blair included:
Involvement in the Iraq War is a lasting legacy of the Blair administration and led to mass demonstrations for peace throughout Britain. Despite this, the Labour Party was re-elected in 2005, and Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in 2007.
Modern Britain refers to the transformation of Britain from the end of World War Two - in the case of this article, this period continues until 2007, but Britain is still transforming today!
Modernity is a process, so there is not a specific date that this happened. British modernisation began in the 18th century with the Industrial Revolution and continued as Britain built its empire. The period of Modern Britain however usually refers to post - WWII as this is when Britain transformed into the country we know today.
Modern British culture has a lot of influences from different cultures due to the immigrants that have come to Britain over the years. Culture in Britain now is a combination of these influences and Britain's history.
Modern Britain is considered to have begun after World War Two ended in 1945.
What percentage of the male population got married in 1938 and 1940 respectively?
77% and 48%
When did the Macmillan government begin and end?
Macmillan became PM in 1957, replacing Eden and he resigned in 1963.
What was Macmillan’s involvement in the Suez Crisis?
He encouraged the invasion of Egypt, despite being advised to not take action until after the US Presidential election. This caused damage to Britain’s relations with the US.
What is the term for the relationship between Britain and the USA?
‘The special relationship’.
Why was 1959 a high point for Macmillan?
1. The Conservative Party won the general election for the third time.
2. The economy was still booming.
What speech is Harold Macmillan famous for?
‘The Wind of Change’.
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