To what extent can the period of Conservative dominance 1951 to 64 be viewed as ‘Thirteen wasted years’?
In their 1964 election manifesto, the Labour government claimed that the period of 1951 to 1964 was ‘thirteen wasted years’, as they believed it had brought disarray. This is in contrast to the optimism that MacMillan had of the time stating that the people had ‘never had it so good.’ He also told supporters to ‘go round the country... and you will see a state of prosperity such we never have had before’. This could be accurate in regards to social, economic and political factors, especially considering that rationing had ended, there was continual investments in Atlee’s NHS and there was much employment during this period which, in turn, increased the purchase of consumer goods such as refrigerators and televisions which were being produced in the UK. Therefore to thoroughly understand to what extent the period of conservatism dominance was viewed as ‘Thirteen wasted years’ we need to look at both the successes and failures of the economy, society and the political aspects of the time.
The optimism that MacMillan had when he said that most of our people have never had it so good relates to the fact that the country was riding high on post-war economic boom; there was increased production in major industries such as coal and steel; the only industries notably effected negatively by unrest were ship-building, mining and docks which only employed 7% of the population. There was also great advances in technology which, combined with a generous budget, had created a surge of growth, seemingly leaving the public more prosperous and with more objects to spend their new found disposable income on. Wage, exports and investment were all increased, for example, wages rose by 72% - this had positive effects on the economy as it increases spending on consumer goods. Therefore this shows that the conservative dominance during 1951-64 should not be viewed as ‘Thirteen...