What were the key assumptions of British politics during this period?

Britain – Politics, 1945-55

In this course, Professor Vernon Bogdanor (King’s College London) explores British politics from 1945-55. In the first lecture, we think about some key assumptions of British politics during this period. In the second lecture, we think about how the Labour Party worked towards a socialist Britain from 1945-51. In the third lecture, we think about the impact of the 1942 Beveridge Report. Next, we think about some key criticisms of Churchill and Attlee as leaders. In the fifth lecture, we think about the factors which led to Labour’s loss of power in 1951. In the sixth and final lecture, we think about Churchill’s transformation from a divisive figure to one who supported political consensus.

What were the key assumptions of British politics during this period?

In this lecture, we think about the key assumptions of British politics during this period, focusing in particular on: (i) the first assumption being that the government could ensure full employment and economic stability, inspired by the work of John Maynard Keynes; (ii) the second assumption being that trade union activity would be restrained through cooperation and compromise with the government; (iii) Ernest Bevin, trade union leader and Labour politician, as a key driver for including trade unions in policy decision making; (iv) Bevin’s view that his approach to dealing with trade unions should become standard practice in Britain; (v) the third assumption being that social welfare was a government responsibility (vi) the establishment of a basic welfare state under Asquith’s Liberal government, comprising of health and unemployment insurance; (vii) Labour’s focus on implementing the proposals of the Beveridge Report of 1942, titled Social Insurance and Allied Services, assisting them in their political popularity; (viii) the fourth assumption being that Britain would have a National Health Service; (ix) Aneurin Bevan as the leader of the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948; (x) the two assumptions upon which the NHS was established being that it should be financed entirely through taxation and that hospitals should be nationalised; (xi) the proposal by Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Gaitskell for a charge to be placed through the NHS on false teeth and glasses, a proposal which harmed the Labour Party in their election campaign; (xii) Bevin’s resignation after losing the debate over the universal free at the point of use nature of the NHS; (xiii) the partial resolution of the debate around the privatisation of the NHS with the commencement of Tony Blair’s New Labour government in 1997; (xiv) the fifth assumption being that there should be a large nationalised sector of British industry.