Britain Since 1945

This final section of Chapter 3 covers the political, social and economic changes in Britain from the end of the Second World War to the present, including the welfare state, post-war migration, the Swinging Sixties, key British inventions, and the road to Brexit.

The Welfare State

The 1945 election brought a Labour government under Clement Attlee, who introduced the welfare state outlined in the Beveridge Report. In 1948, Aneurin Bevan established the National Health Service (NHS), guaranteeing free healthcare at the point of use. A national benefits system was introduced to provide "social security" from "cradle to grave," and the railways, coal mines, and gas, water and electricity supplies were nationalised.

Former colonies also began gaining independence — including India, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1947, with many more African, Caribbean and Pacific colonies following over the next 20 years. The UK developed its own atomic bomb and joined NATO. The Conservatives governed from 1951–1964, a period of post-war economic recovery.

Post-War Migration

Rebuilding after the war created labour shortages, and the government encouraged workers from Ireland and Europe to help with reconstruction. In 1948, people from the West Indies were also invited to work in the UK, and through the 1950s, industries recruited workers from the West Indies, India, Pakistan and (later) Bangladesh — for example, centres were set up in the West Indies to recruit bus drivers.

Social Change in the 1960s

The "Swinging Sixties" brought growth in British fashion, cinema and music, with bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones achieving global fame. Social laws liberalised around divorce and abortion, and new laws gave women the right to equal pay and made it illegal to sack women for getting married. Britain and France developed Concorde, the world's only supersonic commercial airliner. New immigration laws in the late 1960s reduced migration from the West Indies, India and Pakistan, requiring a strong connection to Britain through birth or ancestry — though Britain still admitted 28,000 Ugandan Asians who'd been forced to leave Uganda in the early 1970s.

Great British Inventions of the 20th Century

Economic Troubles and Northern Ireland in the 1970s

The post-war economic boom ended in the late 1970s as prices rose and the pound's exchange rate became unstable. Strikes and tension between trade unions and government grew common. In Northern Ireland, the parliament was suspended in 1972 and direct rule imposed from Westminster; around 3,000 people lost their lives in the violence of "the Troubles" after 1969.

Britain was a full member of the European Economic Community (later the European Union) but never adopted the Euro. The UK formally left the European Union on 31 January 2020.

Thatcher, Major, Blair and Brexit

Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first woman Prime Minister, led the Conservative government from 1979 to 1990, privatising nationalised industries and curbing trade union powers; the City of London grew as a global financial centre while traditional industries like shipbuilding and coal mining declined. In 1982, Britain recovered the Falkland Islands after Argentina's invasion.

John Major succeeded Thatcher and helped establish the Northern Ireland peace process. In 1997, Tony Blair's Labour government created a Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly (now the Senedd), and built on the peace process with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in 2007.

Since 2000, British forces have taken part in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the international fight against terrorism. A referendum on EU membership, held on 23 June 2016, saw the UK vote to leave the EU by 51.9% to 48.1%. The UK formally left the European Union on 31 January 2020.

Check That You Understand

• The establishment of the welfare state
• How life in Britain changed in the 1960s and 1970s
• British inventions of the 20th century (you don't need to remember exact dates)
• Key events since 1979, including Brexit