British Politics and Society Essay Example for Free

British Politics and Society Essay Between 1947-51, there was a considerable degree of economic recovery from the severe crisis of 1945-57. Nationalisation of key industries, and creation of the welfare state Ernest Bevins work as the Foreign Secretary ensured continuation of special relationship with USA and the formation of NATO After losing power in 1951, labour only had two terms until Tony Blairs landslide victory in 1997 History of British politics society between 1951 1997 was framed by Attlees govt and the beginning of Blairs administration. Trends Developments 1951 1973 sustained periods of employment relative popularity the long post-war boom 1973 1979 oil price crisis 1979 1990 Thatcherism, industrial unrest, and privatisation of nationalised concerns. Post-war years= extensive social cultural change, with emergence of a youth culture, the advance of women, vast developments in the mass media the growth of multiculturalism. Politics Govt 1951-64 was marked by dominance of moderate Tory govts under Churchill, Eden Macmillan Between 1964 79, it was a period of mainly Labour govts under Wilson Callaghan, interrupted by Tory govt, under Heath 1970 4. 1979 97 era of Thatcherite conservatism During those years Labour fell into decline due to internal divisions and the formation of SDP 1969 98 problems of security in N.Ireland Foreign Affairs Period marked by slow uneven retreat from empire, with further decolonisation. Continuance of cold war enhanced Britains special relationship with USA , whilst relationship with Europe grew more complex Britain joined EEC 1973 Section 1 Dilwyn Porter that of a post-war consensus that the sense of national unity, which developed during and because of Peoples War was continued and consolidated by Attlees government Legacy of war years Post-war consensus after WW2 Attlee, Churchill Eden worked together in war time coalition PMs until Wilson in 1964 fought in WW1 Tony Blairs background fitted in with Tory mould as well or even better than Heath Right-winged Tories argued that continuation of Attlee legacy was a tragic socialist mistake Left-winged Bevanites argued Atlee legacy not socialist enough Political Tensions labour was subjected to a series of intense internal divisions and personality clashes throughout post war history post war labour didnt move with the post war consensus west Germany 1959, key turning point when SPD reformed and dropped Marxist ideology for modernisation and democracy Thatchers successful rebellion against Heath in 1975 marked the conservative party s shift from the post war consensus Thatchers election success marked the degree of part divisions Politics Tories could hardly be called right winged in the 1950s Both Churchill and Eden made radical movements to alter the relationships between the government and the trade unions Steel industry was denationalised in 1953 No attempt to reverse what the labour government had done between 1945 51 Macmillan government did more to consolidate the post war consensus than to challenge it 1959 Macmillans government continued to follow centrist policies Economic Policy continuation of the post war consensus under the government was referred to as butskellism Butler was a key figure in the conservative party (chancellor of exchequer) and was a serious contender for leadership in 1957 Butler clashed with Bevan over the costs of the NHS 1963 Gaitskell became leader of the labour party Gaitskell had open feuds about with the left wingers in his own party especially over nuclear disarmament a key feature of butskellism was the ideas that Butler and Gaitskell had much more in common with each other than rival wings in their own parties Foreign Policy Foreign policy was a major element of the Attlee legacy and the post war consensus which was summed up as a commitment to maintain both the welfare state and national greatness An issue was the dissatisfaction of the alliance with the USA, and large scale commitments such as the independent nuclear war deterrent and anti soviet policies of the cold war Labour politicians were sensitive about the claims that the socialism was unpredictable and unreliable and they wanted to prove the opposite Bevan had battle with the left wing and communists during the thirties Bevan was a supporter of Churchill and was proud of his successes such as the formation of NATO and wanted to keep their special relationship in good repair Many left wingers werent happy with the policies but were never able to do over turn them Post war consensus was put under strain due to the Suez crisis Macmillan read the lessons of the affair and was quick to mend bridges with the US Macmillans wind of change speech led the way to rapid decolonisation across Africa Macmillan applied to get Britain in the EEC which got declined due to De Gaulle Under the government of Wilson is when Britain was accepted into the EEC The significance of the 1964 The labour campaign made much of the theme of modernisation Public mood of expectancy in 1964 , reflected the sense that 1960s Britain was going through fundamental social and cultural change There was no change in political direction, in 1964 the labour governments under Wilson Callaghan succeed in carrying on with their radical promises Labours policies werent that different from what the conservatives would have done and there was emphasis on the economic modernisation Why were the labour governments between 1964 and 1979 unable to achieve more success? When Harold Wilson came into power in 1964 optimism among the labour supporters was high, Wilson seemed to be a talented leader who had a wide support in the country