Thirteen wasted years'? Or the dawn of a new 'affluent society'? This book explores which description more appropriately fits the era of Conservative government in Britain after 1951. The author assesses the changing fortune of successive administrations under Churchill, Eden, Macmillan and Douglas-Home. He also analyses broader questions such as post-war 'decline', the nature of 'consensus politics' and the electoral effects of Britain's entrenched class system. In the first major stuy to have access to all official papers for 1951-64, Dr Jefferys provides a fresh critique of a key period in British political history.
Inhalt
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Setting Britain Free, 1951-55
The Best Prime Minister We Have, 1955-57
Never Had It So Good, 1957-59
Mac The End, 1959-63
The Stagnant Society
Modernising Britain
The Opportunity State
Welfare Policy under the Tories
The Affluent Society
Popular Politics and Voting Patterns
Smart Alec vs Dull Alec, 1963-64
Conclusion
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index.