ABSTRACT
The 1970s had seen the end of post-war optimism that cyclical de cline and mass unemployment had been defeated. The 1980s and 1990s were to produce world and British economic experiences that appeared to have much in common with the inter-war years. Deep cyc lical slumps at the beginning of each decade were followed by prolonged periods of recovery. Though many additional jobs were created, structural adjustments, first in manufacturing industry and later in service sectors, contributed to levels of unemployment not known since the 1920s and 1930s. This rapidly changing economy created new standards of material wellbeing for many but a signifi cant minority were excluded from its benefits. Society’s divisions became much more apparent. While the relative performance of the British economy remained open to debate, for much of the period it was no longer the case that the country was doing significantly worse than others and Conservative politicians were able to claim (with some support from statistics) that Britain was actually out-performing many of her economic rivals.
