'The campaign itself - don't think hands outstretched to shake our hands, to gates there were great crowds of workers who came to hear the Labour candidates.
One of the striking things was that the the four corners and the workers would throw their pennies into the sheets copper coins and very often silver coins, which in those days represented a considI have fought seven elections, but I have never known anything comparable campaigned in more recent elections, but his Lavoul conviction; sometimes jou know we Labour candidates, we thought we were being loved by The reason for the enthusiasm was simple. The British working class had just fought and endured a world war, supposedly waged for democracy and freedom; it had in the pre-war 1945 Government, excessively Outside the factory WILU occaine, however, According to the mythology that has since Up 1945-51 such judgements harsh. Certainly, notable achievements. There was the nationalisation of the Bank of England, of coal, gas, electricity, railways, part of inland transport, cable, wireless, and, half-heartedly in the later The return to 'full unemployment' after the Second World War was achieved at a the return of women to their housekeeper.
industry fell by 670,000 That only 93,000 women were registered suggests that in just over a year half a million women were driven back to the stages of the government's life, of the iron and National Health Service housing, education and welfare the 1945-51 Labour administration achieved more than any other British government, before or since.
But none of this represented a basic change distribution in British society. By 1951, 80рег cent of British industry remained in private hands; in 1947, the year which, in many ways, was the high point of the Government's efforts, one per cent of the adult population of England and Wales owned 50 per cent of total La mere five per cent decrease from The longer Labour governed the more especially in comparison with wage increased by 22 per cent, wages by 25 per cent, salaries by 27 per cent. Between 1949 and 1950, profits increased much faster than wages; before tax they rose by ten per cent, compared with six per cent for wages. tax they rose by 16 per cent, compared with 6 How was this profits boom achieved, and why, for example, was there a decline in real After For cease to Опе guarantee. record Governments an Cabinet and to democracy the ideals.
unity of senior Government not forthcoming. On the contrary. The 1949 budget, with its reduction in food subsidies, 'tended', as Labour Research commented, to In 1949, the Government strengthened the 1921 Government of Ireland Act guaranteeing the partition of Ireland.
first time, Government declared that 'in no event will Northern Ireland or any part thereof part of His Majesty's Dominions without the consent Parliament of Northern Ireland'.
Labour minister, the present Lord Longford, protested against the He told the cabinet: •The of the Northern irish since Northern Ireland was established in 1920 has revealed an attitude to freedom of speech, a fair delimitation of constituency boundaries generally which quite out of keeping with our Labour Mongford argued for the political but he was told by members that the North of Ireland's 'continued adhesion to the United Kingdom' was necessary for 'defence purposes'. "An avowedly socialist government, with a clear parliamentary majority might well have been expe - Door on the NHS.
the Welfare State.
defence ment's later years.
In December 'shows how community circumstances.
blessings defences. reverse any redistribution from the rich to th Then came - and again the territory familiar — the cuts in public expenditure.
£35m was sliced trou th housing budget, f11.Sm from the educatio! budget and charges worth £10m were slappe The Times editorialised wit pleasure: 'Mr Attlee and his colleagues have a last set out on the right road.' The Financi Times commented: "Truly there has been th first tentative recession from the excesses o Why were the cuts necessary; why was th wage freeze necessary; where was the mone saved going to be spent? There is no simpl answer, but one major reason was the increas expenditure during the govern 1950, the then Chancello Hugh Gaitskell drew this conclusion as to th effects of stepping-up defence spending fron £790 to £1,100m: the increase, said Gaitskell completely unrealistic th continual pressure and demand for highe standards of living — from all sections of th must be in the presen instead of counting we must count our weatons must turn from dealing with the dollar gap t dealing with the all too evident gap in Europe Increased defence spending was just on reflection of a foreign policy which, perhap
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Women - back to the family