Between 1945 And 1951 The Labour Party Brought About Many Welfare

Between 1945 and 1951 the Labour Party brought about many welfare reforms in an effort to positively impact the lives of British people. When they came into power Britain was seriously struggling both economically and structurally wise as well. This was due to the events in the Second World War which damaged many parts of British society and this created a feeling in the population that 'post-war would have to be better than pre-war'. The New Labour idea of creating a welfare state tried to ensure that everyone would be taken care of from cradle to grave and tried to prevent everyone from going into poverty. In 1942 a document called the Beveridge Report was published which identified the five main causes of hardship and poverty. The most significant of these causes that were tackled by Labour was bad health as many had to pay for healthcare. They also greatly helped those who were in poverty and who were struggling to survive day to day life. Finally, Labour tackled the problems of bad housing, poor education and unemployment. The Labour Party overall helped as they improved Britain, a country which when they took over was at rock bottom. Their impact of welfare reforms was very significant between 1945 and 1951 and on the whole improved the lives of British people for the better.

Labour impacted the lives of those who were in 'disease', also known as bad health,massively as their reforms gave financial and practical benefits that helped those who struggled not only with illness but things like the financial cost of care as well. Before 1948 most health care had to be paid for. This put difficult financial pressures on individuals and families and often contributed to people falling into poverty. These individuals would often rely on the support of friends, neighbours and local charities for assistance in times of medical difficulties. However, on the 5 July 1948 the National Health Service (NHS) was introduced which was based on three main aims; it would be universal, it would be comprehensive and finally it was free at the point of use. This offered great assurance at the time to the people of Britain as they felt they would no longer have to worry about things like not being able to pay for treatment and that they could now rely on being treated and assisted in times of health problems.

However, the NHS was a huge cost and the extent of ill-health across the population meant its budget rose from £228 million in 1948 to £356 million in 1950. This huge cost would have slowed Britain's recovery from war and the government consider altering policies in order to reduce running costs. In 1951, to the discontent of some Labour politicians like Bevan who was the Minister for Health, these changes materialised as the government charged adults half the cost of false teeth and spectacles. This fundamentally broke the aim of healthcare being free at point of use and would have left not only politicians but many in the public worried that further cuts may take place that would affect the NHS and therefore their own health treatment. Overall, the welfare reforms that Labour introduced had a monumental and positive effect on the lives of British people as it affected the lives of everyone not only in the past, but also in the present day as well.

Another great impact that Labour had during their welfare reforms was in the aspect of 'want', which was also known as poverty, as they tried to enable people to insurance and benefits that would have helped prevent people from falling into the dangerous depths of poverty. In 1945 the Family Allowance act was implemented. It was set up to attack household poverty. They did this by giving a small amount of payment to mothers of two or more children and it was not means tested. This would have given great responsibility to mothers who were recognised as being able to buy what the children and household needed. This would have also reduced the chances of households going into poverty as the money was not able to be wasted by the man of the house who was often perceived to spend money on alcohol and going to the local pub. In the following year the Industrial Injuries Act was put in place enabled every worker the right to compensation that was paid for by the government. This was a significant improvement on previous legislation which made it very expensive for a worker to claim. Furthermore, this new act made it far easier for workers to prove injury or disability had been caused by their job and the fact that it cost them nothing meant they did not have to worry about the financial hardship of claiming that was experienced prior to 1946.

Also, in 1948 the National Assistance Act was set up which benefited people who were not in work or who had not paid enough contributions to qualify for full benefit. People in need could apply for further assistance from national assistance boards where they were means tested and received money from the government. This money was raised through taxes and was not a matter for local administration. This provided a new social security structure and provided a safety net so people could be spared from falling into a serious state of poverty. These insurance acts removed the fear of poverty for vast amounts of people. Labours positive impact of help and assurance that was also created by these new policies created the feeling in many British people that the party really did look after the welfare of its citizens.

Labour significantly impacted the lives of people who were struggling with 'squala' as they tried hard during tough economic times to regenerate many towns and individual buildings throughout Britain. 'Squala' was the name given towards bad housing. This deterioration was apparent in 1945 where most of Britain's cities had slum like areas and overcrowding, which was made worst by the bomb damage during the war. People felt that Britain needed a rebuilding programme to generate more properties and so they could feel safe and secure in well made accommodation. Labour listened to these calls and set about an aim to build at least 200,000 houses each year. Although, for the first few years they failed in this aim, by 1948 they managed to build well in excess of the target and this trend even exceeded to 1951. This was a great improvement as the new council houses on the outskirts of cities especially were seen as saviours for people who wanted to move out of the cramped and polluted conditions of city centre living at the time.

Also, the fact that council housing rent was one third of that of the private sector meant people found it easier to pay for the day to day cost of living which included bills and general shopping. In 1946 the new Towns Act laid plans for 14 new towns to be built that would help accommodate the lack of housing and help people get out of the unfavourable cities. The Government decided where to build the towns and by the end of 1951 had succeeded in establishing the aim of building 14 of them. These towns and new housing in general would have created a healthy and pleasant environment for people to live in which would have improved not only their lives but further generations to come.

Labours impact on tackling 'Ignorance' was only slightly significant in improving people's lives as the proposals introduced were increasingly criticised by many who saw the new legislation as divisive. 'Ignorance' is also known as bad education and before 1939 children did not receive schooling after primary school. This was tackled by the Education Act of 1944 (Scotland 1945) which raised the leaving age to 15 and offered free education. This would have given children better opportunities to get more qualifications and it would have given poorer children the opportunity to try and get good jobs. This would then enable them to bring up their own children in a healthier and financially stable environment. The act also aimed to offer equality through opportunity and allow the working class to progress through school without being restricted through things like financial cost.

However, it soon became apparent that the reality of the act was rather different from its original aims. A R.A. butler set up a three tier system of technical, grammar and secondary modern schools. In Scotland the last two were known as senior and junior secondary. The system soon became very divisive as quickly the Grammar schools were seen as the 'best'. This made people extremely angry as they saw the only real opportunities as going towards these pupils. In Scotland the eleven plus exams put great pressure on pupils due to the fact that if they failed it meant they could not go to a Grammar school and faced a world of 'inferior' education. The system also baffled many Labour politicians who did not understand the system and saw it as a waste of money that would be better spent elsewhere. Although Butler had never intended such harsh decisions to be made about children and was doing it in his and the countries best interests the reality of his proposals did become increasingly criticised. The decisions that he and Labour made would have impacted virtually all of Britain's children at the time and would have improved those who were clever enough, however for those children that were not they faced a difficult education with a lack of serious opportunities once they left school.

Labour also only had a minor impact on the lives of people British people who were experiencing 'Idleness' as although they did try to stick to a policy of full employment many do not credit the Labour Party with taking full responsibility for maintaining the goal of ' jobs for all'. ' Idleness', known as unemployment, was a problem which Labour tried to solve with nationalisation. This had its roots in Labours socialist beliefs and was adopted as part policy after WW1. In theory it meant that the government would take over major industries and run them for the benefits of the country. This sounded very positive to many as they thought it would mean the economy being run more effectively and would help retain full employment. Many revisionists believe however that the Labour Party was not totally responsible for maintaining the employment goal. Although the eventual figures tumbled to full employment' they simple believe that it was down to the boom in private investment and building after 1945. This soaked up many workers after the war to try and rebuild Britain. Although the Labour Party gladly took the credit for reducing unemployment the fact that it was down to private investment and not their actual policies shows that they had little impact on improving the job situation in Britain.

In conclusion, the Labour welfare changes that were introduced between 1945 and 1951 had varying levels of positive impact in the lives of British people.

On the one hand, the way Labour dealt with disease had the biggest impact as their health acts like the NHS are still in existence today and have been used to save vigorous amounts of lives. The changes that they implemented with poverty through different insurance and benefits also had a great impact as it significantly reduced the chance of people falling into serious poverty. A large impact was also the work that they did with bad housing as they improved the number of available houses and the living conditions that people actually lived in. On the other hand, Labour only had a slight impact on people's lives when trying to improve education as the legislation introduced only benefited some children and affected the future prospects of many more. Labour also only had a minor impact on tackling the issue of unemployment as it was down to private investors and not really a result of Labour that unemployment figures tumbled. Overall, the Labour Party did exceptionally well considering the tough economic times that their Government and Britain were experiencing. They brought positive welfare changes to all ages and groups of society and laid policies that are still in use in modern day Britain today. This is why the Labour Government and their welfare reforms had a significantly positive effect on the lives of British people between 1945 and 1951.