UNIT The Labour Party in power 2 – victory and reform – Britain 1945 L A What is this unit about? I This is an attempt to show why the Labour Party won such a convincing victory in July 1945 and then why and how the new government carried out a major series of reforms affecting both welfare and the economy in the period 1945 to 1948,R despite massive economic problems. It also examines the effects of having to negotiate a major loan from the USA to under-pin the much weakened British EDEXCEL economy. E Key questions T • Why did the Labour Party win the general election of July 1945 with a large BY majority? • What were the key features of the reforms carried through?A • How important was the USA in providing financial help? M Timeline 1945 7/8 May End of the war in Europe 23 May Churchill ends wartime coalitionE 4 June Churchill’s ‘Gestapo’ radio broadcast 5 July General Election leads to LLabour victory 26 July Attlee forms the first majority Labour Government 21 August Truman ends Lend-Lease September Japan surrendersP and Second World War ends December US loan agreement 1946 March Bank of England Nationalised ENDORSED Bevan unveils plans forM National Health Service May Trades Disputes Act repealed Bread rationing announcedA National Insurance Act National HealthS Services Act YET December Coal shortages shuts down some industries 1947 January Coal mines and Cable and Wireless nationalised February Severe cold – energy crisis worsens March Gales and flooding NOT 1 Consensus and Conflict: British Political History 1945–90 April School leaving age raised to 15 Dalton’s third Budget include tax rises July Sterling becomes convertible – sterling crisis Government draws up ‘famine food programme’ August Food rations cut and petrol rationL abolished – no motoring for pleasure September Cabinet plot to remove Attlee as Prime Minister fails October Foreign travel allowance abolishedA November Dalton resigns over budgetI leak and is replaced by Cripps Potato rationing introduced 1948 January Railways nationalised March Last £25 million of USR loan drawn April European Recovery Programme (MarshallEDEXCEL Aid) begins Electricity nationalised E First Budget by Cripps announced May British nuclearT bomb programme announced to the public 5 July National Health Service inauguratedBY A The end of the Coalition The German Army surrendered at Rheims on the 7 May 1945. Just two weeks later the CoalitionM government came to an end and Britain returned to traditional competitive party politics. Churchill, Attlee and Bevin favoured continuing the coalition until Japan was defeated, which it was expected would take until 1946. However, a Labour Party conference at Blackpool pushedE Attlee into a decision to end the coalition by October. On the 21 May he telephoned Churchill to this effect and Churchill decided that in thisL case the sooner the coalition ended the better and the earlier the election, the better it would be for the Conservatives. It was felt by most politicians and knowledgeable commentators that Churchill, as the great leaderP of the war, would carry the Tory party to victory. Attlee was not optimistic and the best he hoped for was a reduced Conservative majority. ENDORSED OnM 23 May the coalition came to an end and Churchill formed a ‘caretaker’ Tory cabinet until an election could be held. It was decided that Parliament would be dissolved on 5 June and voting would take place on 5 July. The Avotes would not be counted until 25 July to allow the many millions in uniform a chance to vote and their ballot boxes to be collected. There were many soldiersYET still fighting the Japanese in Asia and a sizable British fleet S in the Pacific. In addition there was a very large British garrison occupying defeated Germany. This would make for a very unusual election. Although the country was about to return to party politics with the usual trading of insults and competitive jibes, the war in a very real sense had established a comradely consensus. Young MPs of both parties had served NOT 2 The Labour Party in power, Britain 1945 1111 in the forces. Captain Roy Jenkins and Major Dennis Healey of the Labour 2 Party now faced Lt. Colonel Heath and Brigadier Enoch Powell of the 3 Tories. All had been civilians before the war and many had taken the 4 opportunity war provided to demonstrate their abilities. Powell, for 5 example, had risen impressively from Private to Brigadier without any 6 means other than his own skills. Leading Labour politicians had served forL 7 five years alongside leading Conservatives in the coalition government. 8 Attlee and Sir Anthony Eden, Churchill’s deputy, addressed one another 9 in letters as ‘My dear Clem’ and ‘My dear Anthony.’ Churchill had a veryA 1011 real respect for his Labour Party colleagues, particularly Attlee and Bevin. 1 At a farewell meeting in the cabinet room tears poured down his faceI as 2 he declared that ‘The light of history will shine on every helmet’. This was a 3111 far cry from Neville Chamberlain’s attitude to the Labour front bench in 4 the 1930s. When urged by Baldwin not to treat them like dirt heR replied 5 ‘Intellectually they are dirt.’ 6 EDEXCEL In 1945, not only was there a personal consensus of men whoE had served 7 together in a common cause, there was also a wide consensus of what had 8 to be done. 9 T 20111 • Both parties essentially agreed on foreign policy. Bevin, no less thanBY 1 Churchill, could not think of Britain as other than a great power with 2 world-wide responsibilities. A 3 • Both parties supported a close relationship with the USA, maintaining 4 something like the war-time alliance. 5 • Both parties embraced an extension of welfareM at home. Churchill’s 6 caretaker government introduced child allowances in its short existence 7 and Butler had already established the broad pattern of post war 8 education policy with his 1944 Education Act. 9 E 30111 However, with an election to fight, consensus was about to give way to 1 conflict, even if much of the conflict wasL false. 2 3 The 1945 General Election 4 P 5 Churchill would be standing in his North London constituency of 6 Woodford, which he was expected to win comfortably and as the cartoonist 7 ‘Vicky’ points out the Conservatives tried to give ENDORSEDthe impression that he 8 was standing everywhere. M 9 The Tories were relying heavily on Churchill for victory as Source A 40111 makes clear. He toured theA country in a grand cavalcade. Attlee, in 1 contrast, energetically campaigned up and down the land driven by his 2 wife Vi in his little Standard motor car. TheYET two leaders’ styles inevitably 3 reflected their differentS personalities but Attlee was to be no push over. 4 On the 4th June, the day before Parliament was dissolved Churchill opened 5 the election campaign in a radio broadcast with a typical bombastic salvo 6 aimed at the Labour Party. 7 8222 The next day Attlee effectively demolished his opponent. NOT 3 Consensus and Conflict: British Political History 1945–90 Source A L SKILLS BUILDER Look carefully at A Source A. What is the message of this I cartoon? R E EDEXCEL T 2.1 Cartoon by ‘Vicky’ in the News Chronicle, 30BY May 1945 A Source B Source C No Socialist Government conducting the entire life M When I listened to the Prime Minister’s speech last and industry of the country could afford to allow free, night, in which he gave such a travesty of the policy sharp or violently worded expression of public of the Labour Party, I realised at once what was his discontent. They would have to fall back on some object. He wanted the electors to understand how form of Gestapo, no doubt very humanely directedE in great was the difference between Winston Churchill the first instance. the great leader in war of a united nation and Mr Churchill speaking on the radio, 4L June 1945 Churchill, the Party Leader of the Conservatives. He feared lest those who had accepted his leadership in war might be tempted out of gratitude to follow him P further. I thank him for having disillusioned them so thoroughly. ENDORSEDAttlee speaking on the radio, 5 June 1945 M A SKILLS BUILDER Using SourcesYET B and C S In what ways do the two party leaders hope to win support in their two party political addresses on the radio? NOT 4 The Labour Party in power, Britain 1945 1111 Many, including Conservatives like R.A. Butler felt that this broadcast 2 damaged the Conservatives and some historians still point to its role in the 3 election result. 4 Other historians disagree and down play its importance. 5 6 L 7 Source D Source E 8 9 That elaborate confection of rhetorical exaggeration Churchill revertedA to type as a narrowly partisan 1011 did Churchill great harm. It made him sound ludicrous campaigner. Afterwards, one of his extravagant 1 rather than eloquent, a crude partisan rather than the claims, thatI the same Labour colleagues with whom 2 wise statesman above the fray. It was gift to the he had worked for five years against Hitler were 3111 Labour Party such as few Conservative leaders have about to introduce their own Gestapo into Britain, 4 presented in twentieth century elections and Labour was blamedR for losing votes. But according to the 5 made effective use of it, starting with Attlee himself opinion polls, the ConservativesEDEXCEL actually gained 6 when he broadcast his reply. supportE during the campaign; in the spring of 1945, 7 Extract from Never Again, Britain 1945–51 they were 20% behind Labour and closed the gap to 8 by Peter Hennessy, published 1992 8% on polling day in July.