ABSTRACT
The years of consensus are marked at their beginning by the wartime coalition governments and at their end by the Thatcher Conservative Governments. In between lay nearly forty years of so-called political consensus which was characterized by two themes. First, there was broad agreement by both parties on the style of government in Britain which became, after 1951, increasingly one of governmental consultation with key groups in society and especially the trade unions – the move towards corporatism. Second, there was equally broad agreement about the range of policies to be pursued by either party when in government. The latter were easily identifiable and owed their paternity to two great personalities who had shaped both economic and social policy in the recent past. On the one hand there was John Maynard Keynes whose name was synonymous with the government's use of fiscal techniques to control the economy, especially on the demand side, and thus ensure full employment. On the other hand there was William Beveridge whose influence gave rise to a commitment to the provision of social welfare to the country's citizens as well as control of essential sectors of the economy. Both ideas were certainly well within the remit of any Labour government. After the ‘Hungry Thirties’ the promise, or commitment to, full employment was the least that a Labour government could take to the electorate. Similarly, government control of welfare, and some goods and services, also fitted neatly into the party's ideas of nationalization and a controlled economy, and the principles of social justice. For the Conservatives the acceptance of consensus was less easy but none the less necessary. The experience of the war years had shown the population's growing awareness of their plight, not against Germany as such, but against the injustices that had marred so many lives in the years up to 1939. The spirit of the war years was clearly carried into the post-war years and the population's expectations had risen. Most of the electorate did expect a land fit for heroes and waited in anticipation for jobs, housing, health services, better education for their children, and a growing need for greater equality and justice. If the Conservative Party needed persuading that this was the new path for British politics then the massive Labour victory in the 1945 election was sufficient. A Labour majority of 146 seats and a clear lead of 9 per cent in the popular vote over the Conservatives was the most graphic way of demonstrating that the nature of British politics was about to change. With it the parties would also have to adapt to new ideas and policies and if the Conservatives wished to remain a force in British politics then they too would have to change as they had done in the twentieth century. Full employment and production Labour 1951
Full employment through six years of peace is the greatest of all Labour's achievements. It has never happened before. It has meant a revolution in the lives of our people. Today, there are half a million unfilled vacancies at the employment exchanges. Under Labour – more jobs than workers. Under the Tories – more workers than jobs.
Largely due to full employment, with everyone contributing to the national product, production in Britain since 1945 has risen twice as fast each year as under the Tories. Our industrial and agricultural output is now 50 per cent above pre-war, but we must do better still to improve our living standards, to fulfil our obligations in collective defence and to play our part in assisting under-developed regions. Almost 20 per cent of the national income is now devoted to new capital equipment for the nation. This is higher than ever in British history.
World shortage of raw materials has steeply raised the prices of our imports and reopened the dollar gap. The difficulties are great. But we can conquer them.
Full employment Conservative 1955Under Conservative administration a working population of record peace-time size has been kept fully employed, without Socialist controls and without continual inflation. Our record speaks for itself. In the intensely competitive times ahead, continued full employment must mean, not only everyone in a job, but everyone doing their job to the full. Only with a high output-high earnings economy can we maintain and improve our trading position.
The Government has sought, with an encouraging measure of success, to create the right climate of confidence and to foster the idea of a common interest and task. Teamwork is an essential driving force of a dynamic economy. There is really only one side in modern industry, and all of us are on it. As Conservatives we have always believed this.
Labour 1959We do not say that the task of combining an expanding economy with full employment and steady prices is an easy one. Indeed it will remain impossible until we have a Government which is prepared to use all measures, including the Budget, in order to expand production and simultaneously to ensure that welfare is developed and prosperity fairly shared. Labour's five-year programme of action has been carefully worked out to achieve these aims.
Employment and economic change Conservative 1959So long as Conservative policies of sound currency and expanding trade are continued, and unity at home maintained, full employment is safe. But patches of local unemployment can be created by swift changes in markets, methods and machines.
Labour 1964The aims are simple enough: we want full employment; a faster rate of industrial expansion; a sensible distribution of industry throughout the country; an end to the present chaos in traffic and transport; a brake on rising prices and a solution to our balance of payments problems.
Growth without inflation Conservative 1964In thirteen years of Conservative government the living standards of the British people have improved more than in the whole of the previous half-century.
The working population is up by two million and over 98 per cent are in jobs. Rising incomes and lower taxes have made possible a spectacular increase in spending on the essentials, the comforts and what were once regarded as the luxuries of life. At the same time, personal savings have grown from £100m in 1951 to nearly £2,000m, last year – providing funds for the modernisation of Britain, security for the individual, and substance to the Conservative concept of a property-owning democracy.
