Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-tsvsl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-27T11:10:27.872Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Revisionists and Fundamentalists: the Labour Party and Economic Policy during the Second World War1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

Stephen Brooke
Stephen Brooke
Affiliation:
The Queen's College, Oxford
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

‘Labour Comes of Age’, Kingsley Martin observed a few days after the party's electoral landslide of 1945. This might have been more precise if a chorus had added, sotto voce, ‘…And Comes Into an Inheritance’, for since the publication of Paul Addison's The road to 1945 (1975), the history of the Labour party during and after the war has been dominated by the notion of a political consensus forged during the Churchill coalition and left as a legacy to the Attlee government. According to Addison, it was the consensus of Keynes and Beveridge that shaped post-war politics rather than any distinctive contribution from Labour.

Type
Articles
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , March 1989 , pp. 157 - 175
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

2 New Statesman and Nation (London), 4 08 1945Google Scholar.

3 See Jeffreys, Kevin, ‘British politics and social policy during the Second World War’, Historical Journal, XXX (1987), 123–44CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Morgan, Kenneth O., Labour in power 1945–1931 (Oxford, 1984)Google Scholar.

4 Public Record Office, PREM 4/65/61, Beaverbrook to Churchill, 4 February 1944.

5 Labour party conference report (1918), p. 140.

6 Schneer, Jonathan, ‘The Labour left and the General: Election of 1945’, in Bean, J. M. W. (ed.), The political culture of modern Britain: essays in memory of Stephen Koss (London, 1987), pp. 270, 274Google Scholar.

7 For a further examination of this theme, see Brooke, Stephen, ‘Labour's war: party, coalition and domestic reconstruction, 1939–45’ (unpublished D.Phil, thesis, Oxford, 1988)Google Scholar.

8 Labour party archives, post-war finance sub-committee minutes (I), 12 November 1941.

9 Tawney, R. H., ‘The choice before the Labour party’, Political Quarterly (London), III (1932), 325Google Scholar.

10 British Library of Political and Economic Science, James Meade papers, 2/7: Hugh Dalton to James Meade, 9 October 1933.

11 Dalton, Hugh, Practical socialism for Britain (London, 1935), p. 26Google Scholar.

12 Labour party, For socialism and peace (London, 1934), p. 14Google Scholar.

13 Cole, G. D. H., ‘Socialist control of industry’, in Problems of a socialist government (London, 1933), P. 166Google Scholar.

14 Labour party, Labour's immediate programme (London, 1937)Google Scholar.

15 Attlee, C. R., The Labour party in perspective (London, 1937), p. 153Google Scholar.

16 See B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/74, Labour party policy no. 301, ‘Memorandum on the nationalisation of the English banking system’, June 1935.

17 See B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/74, Labour party, finance policy no. 1, Dalton, Hugh, ‘Labour policy and the foreign exchange market’, 11 11 1938Google Scholar.

18 See Labour party, Socialism and the condition of the people (London, 1934), pp. 13–14Google Scholar; Clark, Colin, The control of investment (London, 1933), pp. 16–25Google Scholar.

19 See Labour party, Labour's financial policy (London, 1935), p. 7Google Scholar; Gaitskell, Hugh, ‘Financial policy in the transition period’, in Catlin, George (editor), New trends in socialism (London, 1935), pp. 176–86Google Scholar; Barger, Harold, Foreign trade (London, 1936)Google Scholar; B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/74, Labour party finance policy no. 1, ‘Labour policy and the foreign exchange market’, 11 11 1938Google Scholar.

20 Labour party, Labour's immediate programme (London, 1937), p. 3Google Scholar.

21 Durbin, Elizabeth, New Jerusalems (London, 1985), pp. 147–59Google Scholar.

22 Jay, Douglas, The socialist case (London, 1937), pp. 218–19Google Scholar.

23 Jay, Douglas, The nation's wealth at the nation's service (London, 1938)Google Scholar.

24 Labour party conference report (1932), p. 192.

25 Keynes, J. M., How to pay for the war (London, 1940)Google Scholar.

26 Daily Herald (London), 7 12 1939Google Scholar.

27 See New Statesman, 2 March 1940; Tribune (London), 29 03 1940Google Scholar.

28 See Labour party archives, LG 164, Pethick-Lawrence, Frederick, ‘The Keynes scheme of deferred pay’, 04 1940Google Scholar.

29 See Labour party archives, LG 163, Jay, Douglas, ‘Paying for the war’, 03 1940Google Scholar; LG 148, McKenzie, Grant, ‘Problems of wartime economic policy’, 02 1940Google Scholar; Durbin, Evan, How to pay for the war (London, 1939)Google Scholar.

30 See Sayers, R. S., Financial policy 1939–1945 (London, 1957)Google Scholar; Sabine, B. E. V., British budgets in war and peace 1332–1945 (London, 1970), pp. 181–201Google Scholar.

31 Some of the members of the post-war finance sub-committee, such as Gaitskell, Piercy and Berry, were also involved in the Fabian Society economic committee which, under the chairmanship of Evan Durbin, prepared evidence for the Beveridge inquiry into full employment. See Nuffield College, Fabian Society papers, K 18/2. Much of the work done by Durbin and Piercy in the office of the deputy prime minister found its way into the summation of this evidence, published in February 1944 as The prevention of general unemployment (London, Fabian Research series no. 79, 1944)Google Scholar.

32 Pimlott, Ben, Hugh Dalton (London, 1985), p. 395Google Scholar.

33 B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 15/90, E. F. M. Durbin to C. R. Attlee, 2 March 1945.

34 Dalton, Hugh, The fateful years (London, 1957), p. 423Google Scholar.

35 Labour party archives, RDR 200, ‘Post-war employment policy’, March 1943.

36 Wiles, J. D., ‘Pre-war and wartime controls’, in Worswick, G. D. N. and Ady, P. H. (eds.), The British economy 1945–1950 (Oxford, 1952), p. 128Google Scholar.

37 B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/12, ‘Notes on the machinery of control’, no date.

38 B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/24, E. F. M. Durbin to C. R. Attlee, 25 January 1944.

39 B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/12, ‘Notes on public ownership of all forms of banking’, no date.

40 B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/12, ‘A very hasty note by W.P.’, no date.

41 Labour party archives, RDR 173, ‘Post-war monetary policy’, January 1943.

42 B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/12, E. F. M. Durbin to C. R. Attlee, 25 April 1944.

43 B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/12, ‘Draft bill for national Investment Board’, no date.

44 Though the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation established by the coalition in 1945 was seen as a model for the kind of activities which a National Investment Board might eventually attempt. See Ward-Perkins, C. N., ‘Banking developments’, in Ady, and Worswick, (eds.), The British economy 1945–50, p. 223Google Scholar.

45 Labour party archives, RDR 222, Gaitskell, Hugh, ‘Notes on post-war taxation policy’, 03 1943Google Scholar.

46 Labour party archives, RDR 175, Jay, Douglas, ‘Post-war financial policy’, 03 1943Google Scholar.

47 Labour party archives, RDR 222, Gaitskell, Hugh, ‘Notes on post-war taxation policy’, 03 1943Google Scholar.

48 B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/24, ‘Draft evidence for Sir William Beveridge's enquiry into full employment’, no date.

49 B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/24, E. F. M. Durbin to C. R. Attlee, 20 January 1944.

50 See, for instance, B.L.P.E.S., Evan Durbin papers, 6/1, E. F. M. Durbin to G. D. H. Cole, 25 January 1943.

51 Worswick, G. D. N., ‘The economic strategy of the transition to socialism’, Fabian Quarterly, XXXIX (1943), 13Google Scholar.

52 ‘Full employment’, Mew Statesman, 3 June 1944.

53 Labour party archives, RDR 265, ‘Full employment and financial policy’, April 1944.

54 Congress House, T.U.C. economic committee, 11/1, ‘The public ownership and control of industry’, 9 April 1944.

55 Interview with Lord Jay, 19 June 1986.

56 Labour party archives, transport sub-committee minutes, 14 October 1944.

57 Durbin, E. F. M., ‘The economic problems facing the Labour government’, in Munro, Donald (ed.), Socialism: the British way (London, 1948), pp. 10–11Google Scholar.

58 B.L.P.E.S., Evan Durbin papers, 6/1, ‘The economics of democratic socialism’, draft notes no date [1943–7]. See also Stephen Brooke, ‘Evan Durbin: the education of a democratic socialist, 1940–8’ (forthcoming).

59 Public Record Office, GAB 87/5, reconstruction committee minutes, R (44) 36, 8 May 1944.

60 Cmd. 6527, Employment policy, June 1944.

61 Though this was obviously a prime concern of the Trades Union Congress. See Congress House, economic committee, ‘Employment policy – government White Paper’, 14 June 1944.

62 B.L.P.E.S., William Piercy papers, 8/24, E. F. M. Durbin to C. R. Attlee, 18 May 1944.

63 Parliamentary debates (Commons), fifth series, 401, 23 June 1944, 526–532. Under the pseudonym ‘Celticus’, Bevan, made similar arguments in Why not trust the tories? (London, 1944)Google Scholar.

64 Labour party archives, RDR 271, ‘A short-term programme’, September 1944.

65 Labour party conference report (1944), pp. 160–1.

66 Pimlott, Ben (ed.), The Second World War diaries of Hugh Dalton (London, 1986), 22 08 1944, P. 780Google Scholar.

67 See for instance Public Record Office, CAB 87/5, reconstruction committee minutes, R 18. (44), 28 February 1944.

68 Labour party archives, National Executive Committee minutes (18) 1943–4, 29 October. 1944.

69 Ian Mikardo to author, 24 March 1987.

70 Labour party conference report (1944), p. 164.

71 Labour party archives, National Executive Committee minutes, 1943–4 (18), 29 October 1944.

72 Labour party conference report (1944), pp. 164–7.

73 Labour party conference report (1944), p. 164.

74 Ibid. pp. 163–5.

75 Interview with Lord Jay, 19 June 1986.

76 Labour party, Let us face the future (London, 1945), pp. 3–7Google Scholar.

77 Dalton, , The fateful years, p. 432Google Scholar.

78 Jay, Douglas, Change and fortune (London, 1980), p. 124Google Scholar.

79 Labour party conference report (1945), p. 89.

80 Ibid. p. 92.

81 Beer, Samuel, Modem British politics (London, 1965), p. 178Google Scholar.

82 Socialist commentary (London), 03 1950Google Scholar.