Governing Post-War Britain

GLEN O'HARA Reader in the History of Public Policy at Oxford Brookes University, UK. He is the author of several books about modern British history, including From Dreams to Disillusionment: Economic and Social Planning in 1960s Britain, and Britain and the Sea since 1600.

Glen O'Hara draws a compelling picture of Second World War Britain by investigating relations between people and government: the electorate's rising expectations and demands for universally-available social services, the increasing complexity of the new solutions to these needs, and mounting frustration with both among both governors and governed.

Acknowledgements List of Charts and Tables Introduction: Progress and its Paradoxes PART I: IDEAS FROM 'THE OUTSIDE' The Use and Abuse of Foreign Archetypes in British Economic Policy Archetype, Example or Warning? British Views of Scandinavia PART II: SLIDING AWAY FROM STABILITY President Kennedy, Prime Minister Macmillan and the Gold Market, 1961-63 President Johnson, Prime Minister Wilson and the Slow Collapse of Equilibrium, 1964-68 PART III: GOVERNING BRITAIN The Creation and Early Work of the Parliamentary 'Ombudsman' Sir Alec Cairncross and the Art and Craft of Economic Advice, 1961-69 'An All Over Expansion': The Politics of the Land in 'Golden Age' Britain PART IV: EDUCATING THE NATION Planning the Education System in the Post-War Era Slum Schools, Civil Servants and Sociology: Educational Priority Areas, 1967-72 Conclusion: Strange Triumphs? Bibliography Index