How did the Second World War and its aftermath reshape British politics and society between 1939 and 1951?
Unit 1 Option (e.g. Y113 Britain 1930 to 1997): Churchill and the wartime coalition, the impact of total war on society, the Labour landslide of 1945, and the achievements and difficulties of the Attlee government to 1951.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 1 British period study guide to Britain from 1939 to 1951. Covers Churchill and the wartime coalition, the social impact of total war and the Beveridge Report, the Labour landslide of 1945, and the achievements and economic difficulties of the Attlee government, with the period-essay and enquiry skills the paper rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
For the modern British option, Britain 1930 to 1997, the war years and their aftermath are pivotal. You study Churchill and the wartime coalition, the social impact of total war, the Labour landslide of 1945, and the achievements and difficulties of the Attlee government to 1951. The Section B essay (AO1) typically asks you to judge the causes of the 1945 result or the record of the Attlee government across the period.
The answer
Churchill and the wartime coalition
The impact of total war on society
Total war reshaped British society and expectations: the Blitz and evacuation mixed social classes and exposed inequality; rationing and shared sacrifice fostered a sense of fairness; and the Beveridge Report (1942), proposing to slay the "five giants" of want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness, became a bestseller and created huge popular demand for post-war social reform.
The Labour landslide of 1945
The Attlee government 1945 to 1951
The Attlee government delivered a remarkable programme while managing acute economic weakness:
- The welfare state, above all the NHS (1948), free at the point of use, and a comprehensive social security system built on Beveridge.
- Nationalisation of coal, rail, steel, electricity and the Bank of England.
- A commitment to full employment, and Indian independence (1947).
- Severe difficulties: post-war austerity, the dollar shortage, the harsh fuel crisis of 1947 and the devaluation of the pound (1949).
The settlement it created, the mixed economy, welfare state and full employment, became the basis of the post-war consensus that lasted into the 1970s.
Examples in context
A model paragraph on the Attlee record would argue that the welfare state was the most enduring achievement (the NHS survived every later government), but that the government's success must be judged against the near-bankrupt economy it inherited, which makes its delivery of reform amid austerity all the more striking.
Try this
Q1. How far do you agree that the social impact of the Second World War was the main reason for the creation of the welfare state? [20 marks]
- What the marker wants. An AO1 essay weighing the war's social impact (shared sacrifice, the Beveridge Report, changed expectations) against other factors (the Labour movement, pre-war reform, Attlee's mandate), with a judgement.
Q2. What did the Beveridge Report of 1942 propose to combat? [2 marks]
- Cue. The "five giants" of want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness, providing the blueprint for the post-war welfare state.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H505 Y113 201820 marksTo what extent was the Labour landslide of 1945 caused by the experience of the Second World War?Show worked answer →
A Section B period study essay (AO1) ranking the causes of the 1945 result and judging. Level 6 weighs the war against longer-term factors.
For. Total war shifted attitudes towards collectivism and planning, the Beveridge Report of 1942 created huge popular demand for social reform, and Labour was credited with the home front while the Conservatives were blamed for the 1930s and appeasement.
Against. Long-term factors mattered too: the growth of the Labour movement, the discrediting of the National Government over unemployment and Munich, and Churchill's poor campaign (the "Gestapo" speech). Some change predated the war.
Level 6 judges that the war was decisive in crystallising demand for reform, while setting it against the longer decline of Conservative dominance, and reaches a supported conclusion.
OCR H505 Y113 202020 marksHow far do you agree that the Attlee government's main achievement was the creation of the welfare state in the years 1945 to 1951?Show worked answer →
A Section B essay (AO1) weighing the welfare state against the government's other achievements and difficulties.
For. The welfare state, above all the NHS in 1948, was the government's defining and most enduring achievement, alongside the wider social security system built on Beveridge.
Against. Nationalisation, the commitment to full employment, decolonisation (Indian independence in 1947) and the management of a near-bankrupt economy were also major; and the government faced severe difficulties (austerity, the dollar crisis, the 1947 fuel crisis, devaluation in 1949).
Level 6 judges whether the welfare state outweighs these other achievements and the economic difficulties, reaching a balanced conclusion.
Related dot points
- Unit 1 Option (e.g. Y113 Britain 1930 to 1997): the slump and the National Government, the post-war consensus and the welfare state, the politics of the 1950s and 1960s, and the Thatcher governments and the breaking of the consensus.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 1 British period study guide to British politics and government from 1930 to 1997. Covers the slump and the National Government, the post-war consensus and the welfare state, the affluent society of the 1950s and 1960s, and the Thatcher governments that broke the consensus, with the period-essay and enquiry skills the paper rewards.
- Unit 1 Option (e.g. Y106 England 1485 to 1558): Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation, the protectorates of Somerset and Northumberland, the rebellions of 1549, the succession crisis of 1553, and Mary I's Catholic restoration, marriage and rebellion.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 1 British period study guide to the mid-Tudor crisis from 1547 to 1558. Covers Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation, the rule of Somerset and Northumberland, the rebellions of 1549, the disputed succession of 1553, and Mary I's Catholic restoration, Spanish marriage and Wyatt's rebellion, with the debate over whether there was a crisis.
- Unit 1 Section A: the enquiry question, evaluating four contemporary sources for their use in testing a given hypothesis, weighing content and provenance against the historical context (AO2).
An OCR A-Level History Unit 1 guide to the Section A enquiry. Explains how to answer the source question, evaluating four contemporary sources for their use in testing a hypothesis, weighing content and provenance against the historical context, with a Tudor worked example and the AO2 skills the enquiry rewards.
- Unit 1 Section B: the period study essay, building a sustained analytical argument across the period that ranks factors and reaches a substantiated judgement (AO1).
An OCR A-Level History Unit 1 guide to the Section B period study essay. Explains how to read the command, plan a ranked thematic argument across the period, deploy precise evidence and reach a substantiated judgement for AO1, with a worked Tudor example and the essay skills the paper rewards.
- Unit 3 Option (e.g. Y319 Civil Rights in the USA 1865 to 1992): the thematic study of civil rights across four strands (African American, Native American, women's, and trade union rights) over the whole period, assessing change, continuity and the drivers of progress.
An OCR A-Level History Unit 3 thematic study guide to Civil Rights in the USA from 1865 to 1992. Introduces the four strands of African American, Native American, women's and trade union rights, the role of federal government, the Supreme Court and protest, and how to write the synoptic thematic essays across the whole period.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level History A (H505) specification — OCR (2015)