THE LABOUR GOVERNMENT 1945 – 51
COMMON QUESTIONS
To what extent did the Labour Reforms succeed in creating a modern Welfare State?
How successfully did the Labour Government deal with Britain’s social problems after WW2?
How significant an impact did the welfare reforms of the Labour Government 1945 – 1951
have on the lives of the British people?
KEY FIGURES
Clement Attlee (Labour Prime Minister 1945 – 51)
Hugh Dalton (Chancellor of the Exchequer)
Aneurin Bevan (Health & Housing Minister)
KEY EVENTS
Beveridge Report published (1942)
White Papers on Education, Health, Employment & Insurance (1943 – 4)
Education Act & family Allowance Act (1944)
Labour Election Victory (1945)
Industrial Injuries, National Insurance & National Assistance Acts (1946)
National Health Service Act (1946)
New Towns Act (1946)
NHS comes into operation (1948)
Labour majority significantly reduced in General election (1950)
Dalton & Bevan Resignations (1951)
Labour defeated by Conservatives in General election (1951)
BACKGROUND

The social impact of WW2 – bombing, rationing and evacuation – removed class
barriers and increased state dependency

The Beveridge Report (1942) revealed the extent of poverty in Britain and identified
the 5 Giant Evils – Want, Disease, Idleness, Squalor and Ignorance

Beveridge envisaged a welfare system that was ‘universal, comprehensive and
compulsory’

Both Conservatives and Labour recognised the need for post-war reform but the
Labour Manifesto captured the public imagination; Churchill was less enthusiastic
about the Beveridge Report

In July 1945, Clement Attlee became Prime Minister: between 1945-51, the Labour
government implemented a series of reforms that would provide cover ‘from the
cradle to the grave’.
WANT
The National Insurance Act (1946) was inherited from the wartime coalition government. It
was far more comprehensive than the previous Act. Workers made regular contributions to
the scheme in return for benefits in the event of sickness and unemployment.
The act also provided maternity payments, widows’ benefits and death grants.
The Industrial Injuries Act gave compensation to workers who suffered injuries in the
workplace.
The National Assistance Act (1948) made further provision for the most vulnerable in
society: the disabled, infirm and elderly.
The Family Allowance Act – again inherited from the wartime coalition government – gave
child benefits to families of two or more children.
National Insurance Benefits were at a ‘fixed rate’ for 5 years and failed to keep pace with
the cost of living. Many more people claimed benefits than expected. The financial cost to
the government rose alarmingly. The unpopular Means Test remained.
DISEASE
The NHS Act was passed in 1946 and came into operation in 1948, under the guidance of
Aneurin Bevan the Minister for Health & Housing.
It was designed to provide a free and comprehensive health-care system for all.
The scheme faced huge opposition from doctors who feared the loss of income from private
patients. Bevan had to compromise and offer financial incentives to compensate doctors.
The NHS proved very popular with the public but the number of patients overwhelmed
doctors, dentists and opticians.
Costs soared: the NHS became a massive tax-payers’ burden, costing 358 million per year by
1950, including 7 million per month on prescription charges alone.
Bevan had to compromise on free treatment, introducing prescription charges. Plans for new
hospitals were shelved. Nonetheless, the NHS is still regarded as the greatest achievement
of Attlee’s Government.
IGNORANCE
The Education Act was another piece of legislation inherited from the wartime coalition
government.
All pupils had to stay on at school until the age of 15.
The government introduced the controversial 11 plus test, creating a socially divisive tripartite system of ‘Grammar’, ‘Secondary Modern’ and ‘Technical’ schools depending on
ability.
This was intended to create a system better suited to pupils’ needs but seriously limited the
educational opportunities for children from working-class backgrounds and deprived areas.
The quality of education offered at Secondary Moderns was criticised; few Technical
Schools were ever built; the system was gradually phased out, replaced by Comprehensive
Schools.
SQUALOR
Due to aerial bombing there was a chronic shortage of housing at the end of WW2. There
was also a lack of building materials and construction workers.
Bevan made working class areas a priority by building council houses to a good standard.
Thousands of pre-fabricated houses were also built using cheap materials. These were
intended only as a temporary solution but many became permanent.
The New Towns Act (1946) helped reduce overcrowding in the cities. At first, some new
towns lacked public amenities and became ‘concrete jungles’. Depopulation of the cities
ripped the heart out of traditional communities.
Despite the Labour government’s housing programme, slum areas remained; by 1951 there
was still a shortfall of 750,000 houses.
IDLENESS
To meet the cost of welfare benefits, low unemployment was essential. Beveridge had
estimated a figure below 3% was required.
The Chancellor Hugh Dalton claimed the reduction of unemployment to 2.5% was a
remarkable achievement.
Unemployment remained at a low level, but this was partly due to industries being
nationalised and heavily-subsidised by the government.
This led to an inefficient economy and the devaluation of the pound.
Marshall Aid from the USA also helped to keep unemployment artificially low.
CONCLUSION
The Labour Government took an ‘interventionist’ role in tackling Britain’s social
problems and attempted to establish a Welfare State.
Much of the legislation was based on wartime coalition government White
Papers or Acts passed before 1945.
The establishment of the NHS was a major achievement of the Labour
government but in the end it was a compromise.
The Labour reforms were ambitious, well intentioned and relatively successful
but sometimes proved costly and inefficient.
It could be argued that despite criticisms over education & housing, the Labour
Government did fairly well given the many social problems of post-war Britain.
HISTORIOGRAPHY AND SOME USEFUL QUOTES
Some historians criticise the Labour reforms for being too ambitious, costly
and inefficient.
Other historians praise Labour for providing a ‘safety net’ for the poorest in
society and attempting to tackle the problems of post-war Britain.
‘The scheme is in some ways a revolution but in more ways a natural
development from the past.’ Beveridge Report
‘A dangerous optimism is growing up about the conditions it will be possible to
establish after the war.’ Churchill
‘Money ought not to stand in the way of obtaining an efficient health service.’
Bevan
‘We shall never have all we need. Expectations must always exceed capacity.’
Bevan
‘The greatest revolution brought about by the Labour Government.’ Dalton (on
low unemployment)