1945-51 Attlee Labour

• Labour Government led by Attlee

  1945-51
• Election


  1945
• Election results 1945


  • Conservative 213
  • Labour 393
  • Liberals 12
• Key figures in the Labour Government

  Ernest Bevin (Foreign Secretary), Stafford Cripps (Chancellor), Herbert Morrison (Deputy PM, foreign secretary in 1951 then Deputy Leader), Hugh Dalton, Ni Bevan (Minister of Health and creator of NHS) and Hugh Gaitskell (Chancellor in 1950)
• National Insurance Act 1946


  Built on the 1911 Act and created a system of universal and compulsory government, employer and employee contributions to cover unemployment, illness, maternity leave and retirement, the Industrial Injuries Act 1948 provided compensation for workplace injuries and the National Assistance Act set up a board to deal with poverty and hardship
• Family Allowances Act 1945


  Provided a weekly 5 shillings for every child after the first, paid directly to the mother
• National Health Services Act 1946

  Introduced a system of free medical and hospital treatment which was run by the Regional Health Board, there was resistance from the British Medical Association as they feared the loss of privileges and reduced income
• Nationalisation


  Labour planned the nationalisation of major industries, in 1946: coal, cable and wireless, Bank of England and Civil Aviation, in 1947: road haulage and electricity, in 1948: Gas and Railways, in 1949: Iron and Steel which was controversial as the industry was still profit-making
• War Debt and Economics

  Britain owed $4198 million to America and the Sterling Area, exports had dropped 60%, Dalton negotiated a $6 billion loan from the US and Canada, Britain also received $1.5 billion from the Marshall Plan, this was unsuccessful due to the "dollar gap" and resulted in an austerity policy and the pound ended up being devalued
• Bretton Woods Agreement 1944


  Agreement to stabilise international currencies after the war by tying currency to the dollar which was the value of gold, the International Monetary Fund attempted to provide loans to countries in economic crisis to prevent a depression
• In 1947 Convertibility of the Pound began and there was an outflow of $183 million in a week so in August this was suspended
• Austerity Britain


  Cripps replaced Dalton in 1947, implemented strict Austerity policies including wage restraint, a wealth tax, pay rose only 6% compared to 10% inflation, by 1948 there was a balance of payments surplus of £30 million based on a 25% increase in exports and decreasing imports(rationing), 1949 Recession led to the devaluation of the pound
• Housing


  Responsibility of Aneurin Bevan as Minister of Health but due to his focus on the NHS it was neglected and targets were not met, they had aimed to build 200000 per year but Bevan's minimum standards made them more expensive and even less were built
• Following Japan's defeat, Korea became independent

  The North declared itself communist and the South capitalist, the war is backed by the US and UN who want to contain communism but this is costly for Britain and leads to significant sums being spent on the military rather than the welfare state and includes NHS cuts such as prescriptions, dentistry and glasses
• A split occurs between consolidationists who are content with the welfare system and expansionists who want it to go further
• Election results 1950

  • Conservative 43%
  • Labour 46%
  • Liberals 9%