Britain 1851-1951

1. Britain 1851-1951

2. Labour 1945-51

3. Labour 1945-51 • LEARNING INTENTIONS • Describe effect of the 1945-51 Labour governments’ social reforms: • Health (Disease) • Education (Ignorance) • Housing (Squalor) • Employment (Idleness) • Poverty (Want)

4. Background information

5. Labour 1945-51 The 1945-51 Labour Governments are often remembered for setting up the modern welfare state. These governments passed many changes which aimed to protect everyone in Britain (rich or poor) from the ‘cradle to the grave’.

6. Labour 1945-51 Before 1945 there was help available for people, including those introduced by the pre-WW1 Liberal governments. However many people were still very poor and needed more help. Others felt that after a war they should not continue to live in poverty.

7. Labour 1945-51 In 1942 a man called William Beveridge was asked by the wartime government to conduct a study into social problems in Britain at the time. The Beveridge Report (as it became known) was the basis for setting up the welfare state.

8. Labour 1945-51 The Beveridge Report identified five major problems in Britain. They became known as the ‘Five Giants’ and were: • Ignorance (lack of education) • Disease (poor health) • Squalor (poor housing) • Want (poverty) • Idleness (unemployment)

9. Labour 1945-51 Even before Labour’s election in 1945, the wartime government accepted the conclusions of the Beveridge Report. They wanted to plan for post-war life and so began to introduce changes before the war had come to an end, including to do with education.

10. Labour 1945-51 In July 1945 a general election took place. Labour won a huge – and surprising victory over the Conservatives. Clement Attlee became Prime Minister and set in motion a series of social reforms which aimed to fix the country’s problems.

11. Health (disease)

12. Labour 1945-51 The NHS The 1945-51 governments are remembered for many things but the most famous is setting up the NHS in 1948. The National Health Service aimed to eradicate the Giant of disease by offering healthcare to all.

13. Labour 1945-51 The NHS The NHS had three aims: • Universal access • Treat all medical problems • Free at the point of use Medical care was to be based on need, not a person’s money or background.

14. Labour 1945-51 The NHS Under the NHS, patients could access a range of treatments that previously they might have been denied, including: • Spectacles • False teeth • Maternity services

15. Labour 1945-51 The NHS Introducing the NHS meant that everyone in Britain could now get healthcare. Before this more than half of the British population had no medical cover, meaning they often went without treatment.

16. Labour 1945-51 The NHS One problem with the NHS was that many hospitals were out-of-date and in a poor condition. This limited the effectiveness of the treatment that patients received from the NHS.

17. Labour 1945-51 The NHS The costs of running the NHS were very high. In 1951 Labour voted to introduce prescription charges, which then happened in 1952. 9 Some government ministers resigned in protest at this decision.

18. Poverty (want)

19. Labour 1945-51 Family Allowances Act In 1945 the newly-elected Labour government brought in the Family Allowances Act. This was to help tackle ‘want’. The Act gave weekly payments to all mothers with two or more children. The payment was 5 shillings per week for each child (except the oldest).

20. Labour 1945-51 Family Allowances Act The Family Allowances Act was a huge help to families where the husband had been killed during the war. Also as it was paid directly to the mother it was felt that this would make it more likely to be spent on household items.

21. Labour 1945-51 Family Allowance Act The F.A.A. was hugely helpful to many – but it did not help families with only one child. Also the payment stopped at 18 which often forced the young person to work, rather than continue with their education.

22. Labour 1945-51 National Insurance Act The 1946 National Insurance Act built on the work started by the original Act in 1911. All working age people had to pay money to the government each week, which led to them being given help when they needed it.

23. Labour 1945-51 National Insurance Act People could get sickness and unemployment benefit, an old age pension (women at 60, men at 65) and other benefits such as maternity and death grants. This was a far more generous type of welfare cover than ever before.

24. Labour 1945-51 National Insurance Act Weekly contributions were around 5% of earnings, a lot to the very poorest people. People were only entitled to all benefits after paying national insurance for ten years, so some people missed out.

25. Labour 1945-51 National Assistance Act Many people could not afford to pay National Insurance, so in the 1948 the National Assistance Act was introduced. This allowed poor people to apply for extra financial help if they needed it.

26. Labour 1945-51 National Assistance Act This Act meant that the very poorest – who would have missed out on help – were given assistance e.g. £2 per week for married couples. This was especially helpful for elderly people that did not qualify for a pension.

27. Labour 1945-51 National Assistance Act Many people complained that people who had not paid anything were receiving government benefits. Also it was means-tested and not universal, which many felt went against the spirit of the welfare state.

28. Housing (squalor)

29. Labour 1945-51 New Towns Act The government tried to tackle the problems of overcrowding and slum housing by building new houses. In 1946 the New Towns Act was launched. This aimed to end the Giant of squalor.

30. Labour 1945-51 New Towns Act The Act aimed to improve housing by building new towns across Britain. 14 new towns were built by 1951, creating new homes and communities e.g. East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Livingston, Milton Keynes.

31. Labour 1945-51 New Towns Act The New Towns moved people out of overcrowded city slums and took them to nicer countryside areas. This not only improved their housing but also their standard of living, and health as well.

32. Labour 1945-51 New Towns Act There were few jobs or facilities such as shops created in the new towns. This meant that although people could live there they often faced long journeys to travel to work or to socialise.

33. Labour 1945-51 House building The government announced plans to build 200,000 new houses each year, with features such as central heating and indoor toilets. Most would be available for rent and so were affordable for ordinary workers.

34. Labour 1945-51 House building Pre-fab houses were quickly built and this played a role in reducing overcrowding. They also gave a higher standard of living than in other homes. Jobs were also created to construct these new homes, reducing unemployment.

35. Labour 1945-51 House building Many new houses were built - but less than the 200,000 per year which were promised. This meant that overcrowding continued and there were long housing waiting lists.

36. Education (ignorance)

37. Labour 1945-51 The Education Act The 1944 Education Act was designed by the wartime government, although brought by Labour to tackle ignorance. The Act aimed to improve education by raising the school leaving age to 15, meaning all children would get at least a secondary education.

38. Labour 1945-51 The Education Act Under the Education Act, all children sat an exam age 11 (called the 11+), sometimes called the ‘qualy’ in Scotland. Those that passed went to Senior Secondary schools, those that did not went to Junior Secondary schools.

39. Labour 1945-51 The Education Act Senior secondary schools focused on academic subjects; junior secondary schools focused on trades. This allowed young people to get an education based on their skills, and help clever poorer children work their way out of poverty.

40. Labour 1945-51 The Education Act The 11+ was criticised because children that failed often remained stuck in poverty. Many others argued that it was unfair to base a child’s future on one exam taken at age 11.

41. Jobs (idleness)

42. Labour 1945-51 Nationalisation The government believed that the country – not private companies - should control important industries such as coal mining, steel works and the rail network. As such Labour took control of these industries at different times e.g. steel, 1948.

43. Labour 1945-51 Nationalisation Nationalisations included: • Bank of England, 1946 • National Coal Board, 1947 • Railways, 1948 • Iron and steel, 1950 Owners/shareholders were compensated for their losses.

44. Labour 1945-51 Nationalisation Once the government owned these industries they could use tax money to keep unprofitable businesses going (stopping unemployment). Apprentice numbers could be high too. This helped tackle idleness.

45. Labour 1945-51 Nationalisation Many of the improvements after nationalisation helped people already in work, not create new jobs. For example paid holidays were introduced in the coal industry.

46. Labour 1945-51 Better working conditions The Labour government also introduced new laws to improve working conditions. The 1947 Dock Labour Scheme tried to end the temporary nature of dock work. This meant people could be more attracted to work in difficult jobs.

47. Labour 1945-51 Better working conditions However as with nationalisation these changes mostly benefitted people already in work. It did little to create work. Some argue it put firms off hiring extra staff too as it was more expensive.

48. Labour 1945-51 Unemployment Labour’s house building programme also helped tackle unemployment. Building jobs – and allied trades – were created all across the country, whether to build new towns or homes in established towns and cities.

49. Labour 1945-51 Unemployment The unemployment rate was generally low under Labour – only around 3%. However much of this was because of the jobs created by private companies, or US loans, rather than Labour’s policies.