Post-war Britain (1945–1979)
Period of British history after World War II and during the Cold War
Post-war Britain (1945–1979)
After Britain emerged victorious from the Second World War, the Labour Party under Clement Attlee won the 1945 general election in a landslide, applying Keynesian Economics, and created a comprehensive welfare state, with the establishment of the National Health Service giving free healthcare to all British citizens, and other reforms to social welfare. The Bank of England, railways, heavy industry and coal mining were all nationalised. Unlike the others, the most controversial issue was nationalisation of steel, which was profitable. Economic recovery was slow, housing was in short supply and bread was rationed along with many necessities in short supply. It was an "age of austerity". American loans and Marshall Plan grants kept the economy afloat. India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon gained independence. Britain was a strong anti-Soviet factor in the Cold War and helped found NATO in 1949. Many historians describe this era as the "post-war consensus", emphasising how both the Labour and...
Read on Wikipedia · Image War Office official photographer, Major W. G. Horton, Public domain
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