The Evolution of Post-War Britain: From the Welfare State to the Suez Crisis

What was the victory of the Labour Party?

The election of July 1945 was won by the Labour Party that offered a new policy which focused on the new role of the government in looking after the interests and welfare of everyone, and it also had the responsibility to deal with the social problems of individual citizen. This kind of state became known as the “Welfare State”, a phrase used during the war in contrast with the Hitler’s “warfare state”.

Thanks to the US Marshall Aid Programme which aimed at helping European countries and preventing the weakest ones from falling under Russian influence, Britain had received large US loan and was able to recover quickly from the war.

Social issues and solutions

The most urgent problems was that of income or “social security”: people could fail to have enough to live on because they were unemployed, so it was essential to create job and avoid unemployment. The second problem was that of the provision of medical services, the third was to deal with the past disease caused by bad housing and the fourth regarded a decent education if people would participated fully in civilized society. The National Assistance Act of 1948 provided an increase of the benefits for the old, the ill, the unemployed and the poor and the National Health Service Act passed into low in 1946 providing medical treatment open and free to everyone. It started a process of nationalization of all the services, but it was the major issue between the Labour Party and Conservative parties, that return to power in 1951 which appeared to be shuttered by the Suez Crisis of 1956.

Suez Crisis and nuclear weapons

The war of one week against the Egypt showed that Britain hadn’t the power to carry out a sea-operation in the Middle-East. Another issue was the first British hydrogen bomb unacceptable by the population that was against nuclear weapons.
However, in 1950, was clear that a central feature of British values remained: the loyalty to the institution of the monarchy. In fact, after the death of George VI there was a widespread of sense of loss and the coronation of his daughter Elizabeth was watched on television by a large number of the population. That event was associated with the idea of a “New Elizabethan age” , in which Britain would still play a glorious role in the world.

Changes in family life

The family started to a have a growing importance as a center of consumption, becoming car-owners, installed telephone and other home appliances and began to buy their own homes.