Clement Attlee: 1945-51

1: Why did he win 1945 Election?
1. Wartime Experince
  1. During the blitz the British people had to sleep underground
  2. Different classes mixed together through hospitals, rationing and evacuation.
    1. created a sense of equality and want for better
    2. Didn't want to go back to an unequal society
    3. Labour party seen to be more likely to provide equality
  3. Labour was associated with communism, which previosly had been bad for them. But now that Russia had helped win the war this played in their favour
2. Beveridge Report: 1942
  1. Comprehensive report identifying social problems, which he called the five giants.
    1. 635000 copies bought during the war
    2. Want (poverty)
    3. Ignorance (lack of education)
    4. Disease (need of NHS)
    5. Squalor (poor living conditions)
    6. Idleness (unemployment)
    7. 86% of population were in favour of the report
3. Conservatives Not Trusted
  1. Campaign built around Churchill 'the man who won the war' instead of their policies.
    1. Chruchill attacked labour comparing them to the Nazi's - 'no socialist system can be established without political police....some form of Gestapo'
      1. Attlee replied cleverly, thanking him for 'having disillusioned' the British people who may have voted for him due to his wartime leadership. Showing the difference between the wartime churchill and peacetime leader.
  2. Did not want the Beveridge report
    1. Showed that Labour were more willing and wanted to change and help the people
  3. Broken Promises from Lloyd George
    1. Slogan of 'Home fit for heroes' but housing problem had not been solved
2: Reconstruction
1. Want
  1. Who?
    1. -Unemployed -Old people -Poor families - Handicapped - Widows
  2. How?
    1. Family Allowances Act 1945 National Insurance Act 1946
      1. -Family Allowances -Pensions (reduced age 65) -widows allowance -unemployement benefit
    2. Pad through a weekly contribution from working populace so no shame from from taking allowances
  3. Why?
    1. Remove the stigma of people not being able to care for themselves and take away the fear of workhouses were families were split up and worked hard
2. Ignorance
  1. Why?
    1. Poor Children were coming out of education too early and working because further education was to expensive
  2. How?
    1. 1944 Education Act
      1. School leaving age increased to 15
      2. Free secondary school education
      3. Pupils took an IQ test at age 11 to determine if they went to grammar schools (for academic pupils), secondary modern school (teaching practical subjects), or technical school (to teach practical skills).
  3. Results?
    1. Clever poor children were able to go to university
    2. easier to get an education
3. Squalor
  1. Why?
    1. The war had destroyed 700,000 houses, slums left from 19th century, lots of marriages after the war
    2. End social segregation with all classes living in council houses
  2. How?
    1. New Towns Act 1946 Town and Country Planning Act 1947
      1. New towns to be bulit outside cities e.g. Corby
      2. Target of 300,000 new houses a year and protected agricultural land with controlled urban development
  3. Results?
    1. 160,000 prefabricated houses were built - meant for temporary but stayed 20 years - they were well equiped
    2. By 1951 1.25 million houses council houses were built
    3. 14 new towns built
4. Disease
  1. Why?
    1. The sick (especially who were poor) werent treated properly if at all
  2. Results?
    1. Doctors, hospital, dentists, opticians, ambulances, midwives and health visitors were available, free to everybody.
  3. How?
    1. National Health Service Act 1948
    2. Sickness benefit through national insurance act
5. Idleness
  1. Why?
    1. in the 1930's 25% of Britians workforce were unemployed.
  2. How?
    1. Marshall Aid 1948
    2. Nationalisation
    3. Unemplyemnet benefit through national insurance act
  3. Results?
    1. By 1950 uneplyment down to 1.6%

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Clement Attlee: 1945-51

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	Created by Luca Sansone over 10 years ago