political, social and economic developments in post war wales and england
- Created by: loupardoe
- Created on: 27-10-16 11:26
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What was the condition of Wales and England in 1945?
- the war had brought economic ruin and the loss of the British empire
- Britain had spent close to £7 billion- a quarter of the national wealth
- factories that had once built cars, fridges, cookers and vacuum cleaners were turned to mass production of tanks, guns, bullets and bombs
- Britain was £3,355 million in debt
- the only country to emerge from the war intact, and in profit, was the USA
- the country's massive industrial strength largely won the war for the allies
- the american factories were able to turn quickly from producing war materails to consumer goods
- war damaged Britain was no longer able to compete
- Britain's industries were unable to match the American's industries in terms of the speed of change or the volume of their consumer goods production
- war damaged Europe was in no state to buy british goods
- Britain's traditional overseas markets, which had been in decline before the war, were effectively killed off by the disruption caused by the conflict
- Britain took american aid under the Marshall plan to rebuild the shattered economies of Europe
- it was to america that these new countries turned to for support
- America's wartime aid to Britain was stoppe din August 1945
- Britain was no longer in a position to offer either finanical or political support to anyone
- Britain was no longer a world power
- Britain had been overtaken by the USA and the USSR who became world superpowers
- Britain was militarily and economically weak
- Britain was unwilling to pay for a large army or navy
- not in a position to stop the British Empire from breaking up
- the british government encouraged the concept of a Commonwealth of Nations made up of former colonies
- not all doom and gloom
- the country had won a war
- full employment
- shipyards and coal mines were working to full capacity
- air of expectation of a better future
- attitudes were changing
- the majority of British people did not want a return to pre-war depression and unemployment
- it was clear to all that post-war Britain was no longer 'great'
- the UK was no longer a great military or imperial power neither was it a great economic power
- Great Britain had begun its post-war decline
The Beveridge Report
- one of the most significant impacts of the war was on government attitudes and ideas
- the socialists and other more progressive members of the government realised that the war would give them an opportunity to change and reshape British society
- Churchill concentrated on winning the war
- his deputy in the coalition government (clement attlee) was focused on planning for peace
- Attlee was keen to put his socialist principles into practice
- 1942- William Beveridge published a report entitled Social Insurance and Allied Services: Report
- this is more commonly known as the Beveridge Report
- he set out the kind of social reforms that he thought the government should carry out after the war
- pointed out that there were five 'giant evils' in society…
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