The Politics of Decline: An Interpretation of British Politics from the 1940s to the 1970s

by G. Fry

Overview

Britain was victorious in the Second World War, and yet thirty years later she had many of the characteristics of a defeated nation. What went wrong? The Politics of Decline sets out the assumptions of the 1940s and clinically examines the records of successive Governments as they strove to run the country in the approved manner. The I.M.F. crisis of 1976 brought these efforts to a shuddering halt. Using original sources, this book marshals the evidence to support a compellingly written interpretation of events.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780333726228
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	12/07/2004
Edition description:	2005
Pages:	307
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.04(d)

About the Author

GEOFFREY K. FRY has been Professor of British Government and Administration at the University of Leeds since 1993. He has written several previous books, including Statesmen in Disguise which has established itself as the standard history of the British Higher Civil Service, and other important academic works such as The Politics of Crisis, to which The Politics of Decline is the successor volume.

Table of Contents

Preface 'A Period of National Humiliation and Decline' Ghost in the Machine: Britain as a Great Power Ghost in the Machine: The Keynesian Full Employment Welfare State Ghost in the Machine: The Electoral Revolution of 1945 and the Veto Wheat and Tares Together Sown: The Attlee Labour Governments 1945 Fast Falls the Eventide: The Churchill Conservative Government 1951 The Reckoning: The Eden Conservative Government 1955 The Failure of the Middle Way: The Macmillan and Home Conservative Governments 1957 The Wrong Revolution: The Wilson Labour Governments 1964 The Heath Experiment: The Conservative Government 1970 The Last Act: The Labour Governments 1974 References Bibliography Index