America in British Political Culture During the Long 1950S Stephen Dippnall

America in British Political Culture during the Long 1950s Stephen Dippnall School of Arts and Media, University of Salford, Salford, UK A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, January 2016. Contents Acknowledgements 2 Abstract 4 Introduction 5 Chapter One: Land of Liberty? 24 Chapter Two: Between Washington and Moscow 64 Chapter Three: End of Empire 105 Chapter Four: Defence 145 Chapter Five: The American Future 186 Conclusion 226 Bibliography 230 1 Acknowledgements Whilst completing this project, I have incurred many debts. I would like to thank the staff at the National Archives, Kew; the Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester; the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick; the British Library (particularly at the now demolished Newspaper Archive at Colindale); the Mass Observation Archive at the University of Sussex; the Conservative Party Archive at the University of Oxford; the BBC Written Archive Centre, Caversham; London School of Economics Special Collections; Churchill College, Cambridge; and the John Rylands Library, Manchester. I am grateful to the trustees of the Mass Observation Archive, University of Sussex for consenting to the use of their material in this thesis. Although its resources are not cited as frequently in this thesis as some other repositories, the Working Class Movement Library, Salford, has always been a welcoming and stimulating environment for research. The University of Salford generously funded this research and in moving back to the North West I have met many friends and colleagues whose support has helped me to complete this thesis. This project has benefited considerably from Professor John Callaghan’s advice, guidance and his willingness to discuss this project. Dr. Jonathan Colman at the University of Central Lancashire and Dr. Martin Farr at Newcastle University also provided invaluable comments and reassurance at various stages of the project. Many friends have helped along the way by providing spare beds and sofas on research trips or by proof reading in the latter stages of this project. In particular, I am grateful to Alex Pritchard- Jones and Rupert Oldham-Reid for their willingness to accommodate me at short notice on visits to London. As well as being a beguiling host, Alex has always been eager to proof read and discuss my writing, providing welcome friendship and support. Phil O’ Brien helped me to gain access to various digital archives and discussing our mutual interests was a welcome distraction during the long writing-up period. 2 Above all, my family and partner Jen have provided the support which ensured the conclusion of this work and this work is dedicated to them. They have endured my not infrequent anxieties and frustrations with good humour and patience. As with every other stage of my education, my parents Joyce and Fred, and sister Jennifer have offered unceasing support and encouragement. Despite his frequent exhortation that I should “just get it written,” I sadly did not complete this project quickly enough for my Dad to see the final product. A child of the 1950s, we spent many happy hours discussing the findings of my research and his recollections of the period. My partner, Jen, has been unceasing in her confidence in me during the past four years. Without her patience, care and tolerance, this would not have been possible. 3 Abstract Since the end of the Cold War, the question of British attitudes towards the United States of America has received significant attention as historians and commentators have debated whether Britain has belonged to an English- speaking Anglosphere or a Europe defined by anti-Americanism. This research examines these contrasting ideas about British views of the US through a study of Britain’s political culture during the long 1950s. During this period events and trends from across the Atlantic were keenly monitored in Britain as the growth of the close Anglo-American diplomatic relationship added to the longstanding interest in US culture. This thesis provides an original contribution to debates about the ‘special relationship’ by analysing sources indicative of wider attitudes and ideologies which are often overlooked in existing accounts. It utilises a synthesis of sources including those pertaining to Britain’s political parties and their ancillary organisations, the media, and fictional representations of the US in order to analyse the reactions to America. Ultimately, it challenges the idea that anti-Americanism was widespread in post-war Britain and suggests that the threat posed by this viewpoint was usually exaggerated. Not only was the British political system particularly attentive to American trends and events but the majority of Britons were able to draw inspiration from groups or individuals in the US. Rather than being consistently positive or negative, views of the country intersected with other ideological beliefs and political exigencies, meaning that America was interpreted in diverse ways. Although there was often negativity about the country or opposition to its policies, these are best described as rational or reasonable criticism rather than excessive anti-Americanism. It was the US’s unprecedented international position rather than a surfeit of negativity which meant that it received sustained attention in Britain. 4 Introduction In a 1960 lecture about a recent visit to the United States of America, popular novelist Kingsley Amis complained about the ‘largely mistaken and dangerous’ state of British attitudes towards the country. He reported that: the pervasiveness of anti-American spirit is so thorough that it has become part of our national life, like discussing the weather or county cricket, something that binds together high and low, old and young, something so obvious that to mention it at all seems faintly absurd, humourless, pedantic […] Anti-Americanism, he claimed, was based on British ‘neuroses’ and the ‘envy of that nation which took world leadership away from Britain by means so 1 much more humiliating than defeat in war.’0F Amis’s ideas were provocative enough for the left-wing Fabian Society to reject the opportunity to publish the speech but his claims about post-war anti-Americanism were not as overlooked 2 or unusual as he believed.1F Despite having been seldom mentioned in the press or Parliament before 1945, by the early 1960s the term was well established within Britain’s political discourse as various politicians, journalists, officials 3 and even celebrities discussed its extent and motivation. 2F This anxiety about anti-Americanism was merely one sign of the popular post-war belief that the 1950s marked a period of strain or discord for the Anglo-American relationship. A vast literature was published which addressed the state of the alliance — or European-American interaction more broadly — and attempted to diagnose the reasons for the tension between the two countries. With titles which included Britain – Uneasy Ally, Less than Kin and Problems in Co-operation, these studies tended to re-enforce the idea that the relationship between Britain and 1 Kingsley Amis, ‘America, 1960’, Unpublished speech, Fabian Society/E/132/1, Fabian Society Papers, London School of Economics Special Collections (FSP). 2 Fabian Society General Secretary Shirley Williams replied to Amis and noted that, though the lecture could be useful in countering the ‘anti-Americanism’ from the left-wing of the Labour Party, it stated its case too strongly. Letter from Shirley Williams to Kingsley Amis, 17 November 1960, Fabian Society/E/132/1, FSP. 3 In the Daily Mail in July 1953, it was reported that American singers Jerry Lee Lewis and Dean Martin had complained about the ‘anti-American biases’ of the British public. See ‘Tanfield’s Diary’, Daily Mail, 27 July 1953, 4. 5 4 the US was troubled.3F Such views were not confined to academia and the London Correspondent for American journal Newsweek, Fred Vanderschmidt, even claimed in 1947 that as many as one in three Britons could be described as 5 anti-American.4F Despite these anxieties about the growth of anti-Americanism and its effects on the Anglo-American relationship, the paradox was that these fears of a popular British antipathy towards the US grew at a time of increased intimacy between the two countries. Shared global interests led to unprecedented defence and intelligence co-operation sustained by a network of personal relationships between officials and politicians. The maintenance and extension of the alliance was, moreover, a central aim of post-war British foreign policy and concerns about the growth of anti-Americanism did not diminish the belief in a common Anglo-Saxon political heritage. Wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill was foremost in emphasising that the two countries comprised part of an Atlantic community based on their similar language, culture and political traditions. This thesis examines these divergent perspectives about post-war British attitudes towards the US. Investigating the long 1950s, it analyses sources pertaining to Britain’s political culture often ignored in studies of Anglo-American relations in order to characterise reactions to American politics, society, international policy and culture. It questions how far the panic about anti-Americanism was justified and the associated question of whether the putative ‘special relationship’ extended to British attitudes towards the US. 4 Leon Epstein, Britain – Uneasy Ally (Chicago: Chicago University

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