A History of Britain

Jeremy Black

Description

In 2016, Britain stunned itself and the world by voting to pull out of the European Union, leaving financial markets reeling and global politicians and citizens in shock. But was Brexit really a surprise, or are there clues in Britain's history that pointed to this moment? In A History of Britain: 1945 to the Brexit, award-winning historian Jeremy Black reexamines modern British history, considering the social changes, economic strains, and cultural and political upheavals that brought Britain to Brexit. This sweeping and engaging book traces Britain's path through the destruction left behind by World War II, Thatcherism, the threats of the IRA, the Scottish referendum, and on to the impact of waves of immigration from the European Union. Black overturns many conventional interpretations of significant historical events, provides context for current developments, and encourages the reader to question why we think the way we do about Britain's past.

Preface: From Empire to Where?
Prime Ministers from 1945
Abbreviations
1. Environment under Strain
2. Economy under Strain
3. Changing Society
4. Changing Culture
5. The After-Echoes of War, 1945-60
6. The Politics of Crisis, 1961-79
7. Thatcherism, 1979-90
8. Changing Directions, 1990-2016
9. British Issues, 1945-2016
10. European and World Questions
11. Into the Future
12. Conclusions
Selected Further Reading
Index

Sujets

• Modern
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Aftermath of World War II
• Modern history
• General officer
• Thatcherism
• History of Europe
• English Civil War
• Great Britain
• General
• Obermodern-Zutzendorf
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 21 août 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9780253030184
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

A HISTOR Y OF BRITAIN
1 945 TO BRE XITM25
M 4
! Inverness
Scotland
Glasgow
! ^
Edinburgh
Newcastle
! !Londonderry
Belfast^N. IrelandN. Ireland
Blackburn
Barrow in Furness! Burnley
LeedsBlackpool! !! Hull! !
!Scunthorpe!Liverpool! !Sheffield
Manchester
Ireland England
Norwich
!CorbyBirmingham !!
CambridgeNorthampton! !
Wales Milton Keynes ! ! Ipswich
Swansea Oxford Watford!
!! Reading London! ^ !
Basingstoke!Wells! Chatham Dover!
Portsmouth
!Exeter!
!
Plymouth Dawlish!
Sp ainFrance
Made with Natural Earth. 2016
M 1A HISTOR Y
OF BRITAIN
1 945 TO BRE XIT
JEREMY BLACK
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESSTis book is a publication of Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI
Indiana University Press Z39.48–1992.
Ofce of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350 Manufactured in the United States of
1320 East 10th Street America
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
Cataloging information is available from
iupress.indiana.edu the Library of Congress.
© 2017 by Jeremy Black ISBN 978-0-253-02972-0 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-253-03018-4 (pbk.)
All rights reserved ISBN 978-0-253-02999-7 (e-bk.)
No part of this book may be reproduced 1 2 3 4 5 23 22 21 20 19 18
or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the
publisher. Te Association of American
University Presses’ Resolution on
Permissions constitutes the only exception
to this prohibition.
Te paper used in this publication
meets the minimum requirements of
the American National Standard for For Anthony SeldonC O NTE NT S
ix
Preface: From Empire to Where?
xiii
Prime Ministers from 1945
xv
Abbreviations
1 151
1. Environment under Strain 7. Tatcherism, 1979–90
33 169
2. Economy under Strain 8. Changing Direction s,
1990–2016
56
3. Changing Society 186
9. British Issues, 1945–2016
92
4. Changing Culture 198
10. European and World Questions
119
5. Te Afer-Echoes of War, 228
1945–60 11. Into the Future
132 234
6. Te Politics of Crisis, 1961–79 12. Conclusions
243
Notes
249
Selected Further Reading
251
IndexPR E FAC E
FROM EMPIRE TO WHERE?
1In June 2016, Britain voted to come out of the European Union (EU)-. Every
one rightly said that this was, and is, a pivotal historic moment. Te book
can in part be read as showing how Britain has got to this point. Tis entails
looking at the postwar (post–World War II) world, in particular the economic
problems, political issues, and social changes leading up to Britain joining the
Common Market or European Economic Community, the predecessor of the
EU, in 1973. Tere was the deindustrialization that, without necessarily being
linked to this, followed, as well as the more acute pressures aris-ing from glo
balization, especially from the 1980s, notably the decline of industry, and as a
related factor, of the old industrial areas, as well as the marked growth of the
service economy, and the rise of London.
As a result of these and other factors, a metropolitan liberal elite emerged
and came to dominate both the Conservative and the Labour parties, as well
as Britain in general. In turn, there was disillusionment, notably with the rise
of Scottish nationalism from the late 1960s, and later, what can be seen, in the
vote to leave the EU, as the revolt of the English provinces, both rural and
old urban. Tis vote has led to the probable reshaping of Britai-n, economi
cally, socially, geographically, and politically, in the next ten or twenty years,
a reshaping that will be deeply problematic. Tis summary provides a c- hrono
logical dynamic for what is the frst historical account of our new dramatically
changing times.
Let us turn back to the start. Exhausted by war, Britain in 1945-, neverthe
less, was victorious and was still the world’s greatest empire. Tat was, and is,
clear. Its subsequent path and destination have repeatedly been unsettled and
ixx  Preface
uncertain, but they have been of consequence not only for Britain but also, to
a degree, at the world scale. Tis is that history. Of course, the impact of the
present on our understanding of the past is most readily apparent for recent
history. Te present to which this history appears to be trending c-hanges con
stantly, and with those changes comes altering assessments of the past and of
the signifcance of developments within it. Tis is the case not only in general
but also with reference to particular topics such as environmental change or
military history.
In the specifc case of modern Britain, major developments in the 2010s,
notably in Scottish politics and in the relations with the European mainland,
led to a reading back and doing so very much looking for anticipations or,
indeed, contrasts. So in the 2010s did Labour’s marked movement lefward
and, separately, the high rate of demographic (population) growth. Tis then
is a history from the mid-2010s of post-1945 Britain, and a history for the
late 2010s. It is up to date and will also look to the future. Tis history will
not require any prior knowledge of British history. Te book will be largely
designed for non-British, especially American, readers, but will a-lso be perti
nent for their British counterparts.
I have written before on parts of the period but not for more than a decade
and not covering the period as a whole. Moreover, the nature of the present
and our understanding of the past have both altered. Te “death o- f Tory Brit
ain,” which appeared readily apparent during the Blair government (1997–
2007) afer three successive Labour victories in general elections in 1997, 2001,
and 2005 is no longer the case, or at least, not as far as England is concerned.
Moreover, in 2016, the Conservatives took second place in the elections to the
Scottish Parliament behind the Scottish National Party, pushing Labour into
third place, results that earlier, and as recently as the early 2010s, would have
seemed inconceivable. Te current projections for the next British p- arliamen
tary election, assuming the revision of constituency boundaries that is due in
order to bring constituency electorates into roughly consistent size, suggest a
signifcantly larger Conservative majority.
I have benefted greatly from teaching the subject and from traveling
widely in the British Isles, the latter taking me to many difere-nt environ
ments, from Holy Communion service at Holy Trinity Dalston in London,
with its largely black and markedly enthusiastic congregation, to the far
reaches of the Outer Hebrides. I have also been fortunate to be able to meet
and talk with several of those mentioned in this text including Kenneth Baker,
Tony Benn, Alec Douglas-Home, Douglas Hurd, Edward Heath, John Major,
Robert Runcie, Margaret Tatcher, and Jeremy Torpe.P r e f a c e  x i
While thinking about and writing this book, I have discussed themes
with a number of Members of Parliament (MPs), including Ben Bradshaw,
Douglas Carswell, Greg Clark, Oliver Colvile, Graham Evans, Michael Gove,
Damian Green, John Howell, Andrew Lansley, Julian Lewis, Oliver Letwin,
David Lidington, Peter Luf, Gordon Marsden, Andrew Mitchell, and David
Willetts, as well as with others, including Melvyn Bragg, Phil Collins, Richard
Dales, Frank Kitson, William Salomon, Richard Scrivener, and Geof Tould.
Clearly, this is in part a personal account, but that is true of all recent history. I
would like to thank Steve Bodger, George Boyce, Roger Burt, David Coleman,
Eileen Cox, Bill Gibson, David Gladstone, Sergio José Rodríguez González,
Nick Lewis, Tomas Otte, Murray Pittock, Peter Spear, Peter Temple-Morris,
Richard Toye, Nick White, and two anonymous readers for commenting on
all or part of an earlier draf. I have benefted in considering this topic from
opportunities to speak to the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the World
Afairs Council, the University of Virginia’s Oxford program, and Sherborne
School. I am most grateful to Jennika Baines for proving a most h - elpful pub
lisher. Tanks also to Teresa Quill for creating the map.
Tis book is dedicated to Anthony Seldon, an invariably shrewd analyst
and perceptive commentator on these years, and a scholar whose friendship I
greatly appreciate.PRIME MINISTERS FROM 1945
Clement Attlee, Labour, 1945–51
Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1951–55
Anthony Eden, Conservative, 1955–57
Harold Macmillan, Conservative, 1957–63
Alec Douglas-Home, Conservative, 1963–64
Harold Wilson, Labour, 1964–70
Edward Heath, Conservative, 1970–74
Harold Wilson, Labour, 1974–76
James Callaghan, Labour, 1976–79
Margaret Tatcher, Conservative, 1979–90
John Major, Conservative, 1990–97
Tony Blair, Labour, 1997–2007
Gordon Brown, Labour, 2007–10
David Cameron, Conservative, 2010–16
Teresa May, Conservative, 2016–
xiiiA BBR E V I AT I ON S
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
Brexit Britain exiting from the EU
EEC European Economic Community
EU European Union