The Post-War Consensus: Redefining Party Policy in Modern Britain

The post-war consensus was a period in the history of modern Britain during which the Labour and Conservative parties, in various governments, adhered to a set of principles and policies that blurred their traditional political lines. This piece will investigate the post-war consensus and its impact on the party lines held by Labour and the Conservatives.

The post-war consensus originated from the policies pursued by the Labour Party under Clement Attlee following the conclusion of World War II. The main components of the consensus included heavy regulation, high taxation, and nationalisation to create a welfare state. Another aspect was the promotion of Keynesian economic policies, which advocated state intervention to regulate supply and demand. Successive Conservative governments under Churchill, Eden, Macmillan, and Douglas-Home maintained the status quo of the post-war consensus rather than challenge it. This consensus continued through the sixties and seventies under the premierships of Wilson, Heath, and Callaghan.

The principles central to the post-war consensus further blurred party positions. For example, the Conservative Party, traditionally adhering to free market principles, adopted Keynesian economics and cooperated with trade union demands. This was demonstrated when Churchill, during a rail union strike threat at Christmas, phoned Chancellor Butler to boast about handling the incident. When asked which side's terms had been favoured in the settlement, Churchill replied, "Theirs, old cock." The Conservative Party also did not undo the nationalisations enacted by the Labour government nor provide solutions to counter the strengthened trade unions. It was only during Thatcher's premiership in the eighties, through her suppression of miners' strikes, that union activity became less frequent.

Similarly, the Labour Party also found its party lines blurred despite its many socialist achievements between 1945 and 1951. This issue is exemplified by the debate over prescription charges, which led to the resignation of former Health Minister Aneurin Bevan. The issue of nationalisation per Clause IV of the party constitution also became a contentious issue, as seen when leader Hugh Gaitskell's attempt to alter the clause was defeated at the 1959 Labour Party conference. The consensus created further problems for Wilson's governments in the sixties and seventies, evidenced by constant strikes and economic downturns during the latter half of the consensus period.

The consensus was not to last. While the 1950s, dubbed "never had it so good" by Macmillan, were prosperous, the sixties and seventies were marked by continuous strikes, such as the seamen's strikes of 1967 and 1969, and external events like the Yom Kippur War in 1973. These problems were not exclusive to Labour governments; during the Conservative government between Wilson's Labour governments, Heath faced similar issues, including a miner's strike that forced his government to introduce a three-day work week. These issues provided Thatcher with a launchpad to introduce neoliberal solutions to the problems caused by the consensus. The 1979 election marked a political shift for Britain, ending the era of the post-war consensus as Thatcher sought to reduce state intervention and pursue free market policies. This realignment shifted the Conservative Party away from One Nation ideas towards a more economically liberal approach. The post-Thatcher Conservative Party valued a dogmatic belief in capitalism over pragmatic concerns about unchecked capitalism.

The consensus also realigned the political position of the Labour Party, which adopted a more centrist stance since the premiership of Harold Wilson, a trend accelerated by the heavy defeat in 1983 under Michael Foot. Tony Blair's removal of Clause IV from the Labour Party constitution ended its dedication to nationalisation. The unions were also not a central focus for Labour under Blair, as reflected by Mike Whelan's comparison of the growingly distant relationship between unions and Blair to an embarrassing uncle at a family reunion. Despite maintaining the nationalised healthcare service, Blair's government continued to privatise aspects such as the GP, though the decade under Blair was referred to as the "golden years" of the NHS by staunch socialist advocate Dennis Skinner.

To conclude, the post-war consensus has had long-standing impacts on the blurring of party lines. To maintain the consensus, each party had to compromise its traditional outlook on politics. The abolition of the consensus further adjusted the political alignment of both parties.

Bibliography

Hennessy, Peter, Having It So Good (London: Allen Lane, 2007)

Hood, Christopher, and Rozana Himaz, A Century of Fiscal Squeeze Politics: 100 Years of Austerity, Politics, and Bureaucracy in Britain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017)

Michaelis, Andreas, The ‘Post-War Consensus’ and Its Meaning for Our Understanding of British Politics(London: GRIN Publishing, 2014)

Seldon, Anthony, Blair’s Britain, 1997–2007 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007)