Flashcards: Britain in Transition: Postwar Society and Politics — 22 cards

Labour’s 1945 promises

Build homes, welfare, nationalise key industries.

Welfare state components

NHS, benefits, pensions.

Rationing extension

Extended beyond wartime into the postwar years.

Nationalisations policy

State owns key industries like steel and coal.

1951 Conservative campaign focus

More homes, criticising high military costs.

Postwar economic trend

Prosperity, consumerism, full employment.

Relative decline indicator

Slow GDP growth, reliance on old industries.

Decolonization impact

Shift from empire to Commonwealth, power decline.

Suez Crisis cause

Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal.

Suez Crisis outcome

Eden resigned; Britain’s power diminished.

EEC creation

Treaty of Rome, 1957.

Britain’s EEC entry

Vetoed by de Gaulle in 1961.

Scandal that ended Eden’s career

Suez Crisis.

Profumo Affair

1963 scandal involving a government minister.

Wilson’s modernization phrase

White heat of the technological revolution.

Consumerism development

More goods, credit, travel after 1954.

Class change in Britain

Welfare and WWII reduced differences, class persists as mindset.

Youth culture in 1950s

Teenagers, rock ’n’ roll, moral panic.

Teddy Boys

Working-class youth subculture, fashion, music.

Protest and satire impact

Less respect for authority, scandals, TV shows.

Deference decline factors

Scandals, TV satire, youth rebellion.

Postwar consensus

Agreement on welfare, economy, and nationalisation.