Gateway to Britain, 1945-51

What was the result of the 1945 election?

Labour won with a 146 seat majority

(Attlee) Labour: 393

(Churchill) Conservative: 213

Why did Labour win the 1945 election?

- The public wanted social reforms including housing, jobs & welfare after WW2

- The Beveridge Report made people support a welfare state

- Labour was seen as more domestically led

- Churchill was a respected war leader but many doubted that he would stick to social reforms

What was the Beveridge Report (1942)?

- A paper that proposed a welfare state to tackle the "5 giants" (Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness)

- It proposed the welafre system

- It sold over 600,000 copies making it influential

When was the NHS established?

5th July 1948 under Health Secretary Bevan

What opposition was there to the NHS?

- Doctors feared they would lose independence from the government and feared loss of income

- Conservatives saw it as too expensive

- It meant higher taxes

What industries were nationalised by Attlee?

- Bank of England (1946)

- Coal (1947)

- Railways (1947)

- Electricity (1948)

- Gas (1949)

- Iron & Steel (1951)

What was the impact of nationalisation?

- It would remove competitiveness

- It would improve working conditions by introducing sick pay & holiday pay

- More industries were expanded (e.g Railway lines to more rural, unprofitable, areas as profit wasn't the driving factor)

What was the National Insurance Act (1946)?

- Created a system of benefits that covered unemployment, sickness, maternity, widows & old age

- Established pensions for women aged 60 & men aged 65

- It was funded by tax

What was Britain's economic situation after the war?

- Shit

- Owed $4.34 billion to the USA

- Rationing continued until 1954

Why did Bevan resign from the Cabinet?

- He opposed prescription charges that were needed to fund the Korean War