labour essay

• Idleness


  One of the "giants" the Labour government attempted to deal with
• Labour government's main target for Idleness

  Get full employment
• Labour government's approach to major industries

  • Take over and run them for the benefit of the country rather than private owners
  • Profits would be used by the government rather than filling the pockets of private owners
• Industries nationalised by Labour government

  • Coal industry in 1947
  • Transport (railways) in 1948
• Labour government's nationalisation policies

  Cut unemployment to 2.5%
• Labour government's nationalisation policies

  Many industries were inefficient and should have been modernised
• After WW2 there was a need to recover and rebuild, therefore there was already a huge demand for workers
• Want


  One of the "giants" the Labour government attempted to deal with
• National injuries law (1946)

  1. Dealt with accidents at work

  2. Compensation paid by government, not employer

  3. £2.25 a week for injured worker

  4. 80p a week for wife

  5. 37.5p for first child
• National Assistance Act (1948)

  1. Set up to help those who could not afford to make insurance contributions

  2. Targeted elderly, low wages and handicapped

  3. Claimants had to pass a means test
• National Assistance Act


  Acted as a "safety net" to protect people from falling into poverty
• Labour government


  Met the needs of the people by reducing poverty and removing the fear of falling into long-term poverty
• Some people criticised the Labour government and said many people felt humiliated by the means test
• The Labour government did not completely eradicate poverty
• Another giant that the labour government attempted to deal with was disease
• The NHS began


  July 5th 1948
• Aims of the NHS

  • Universal access
  • Meet all demands
  • Treat all medical problems
  • No patient would pay for treatment
• Medical services provided by the NHS

  • GP visits
  • Dentists
  • Opticians
  • Specialist services
• The NHS provided medical services all free of charge
• The NHS also provided glasses, false teeth and maternity
• When the NHS started, the number of people that came forward was staggering and it showed how bad the nation's health was
• In the first year of the NHS 5.5 million glasses were distributed
• In the first year of the NHS 8 million dental patients were treated
• The death rates in young children dropped from 300 per million in 1930 to 48 per million in 1950
• The labour government provided a universal health scheme


  It extended the life of people in Britain, especially the poor
• The labour government had to backtrack due to the costs


  Patients had to start paying half the cost of glasses and false teeth in 1951
• Even though the charges for some services led to the poorest in society not being able to access all the medical attention that they needed, the Labour reforms did deal with the needs of the British people to an extent
• The NHS was arguably the greatest single achievement in the history of the welfare state
• The NHS still exists and affects the lives of everyone
• Another giant that the labour government attempted to deal with was ignorance
• Education Act


  1. Raised the school leaving age to 15

  2. All children to get free secondary education

  3. Provided meals, milk and medical services at every school

  4. Introduction of a tiered education system

  5. Each school was to have equal status in England (technical, grammar and secondary modern)
• The labour government created a tiered education system


  This caused a bigger division between the rich and poor
• The labour government's tiered education system


  Did not meet the needs of the people
• The labour government's reforms


  Were effective in meeting the needs of the people
• By 1951 the labour government had built 1000 new secondary schools
• School attendance increased and helped get children an education which helped give them a future without poverty