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LESSON 10 BRITAIN AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR

The Second World War was precipitated by the policies of the Western

powers that did their utmost to direct fascist aggression against the

Soviet Union. The Soviet Union on its part consistently urged Britain and

France to undertake collective measures to halt the advance of fascism and

defeat its aggressive aims. The Chamberlain government however, exertedevery effort to prevent this, and the outcome was the outbreak of World War

II. Britain hoped to kill two birds with one stone that Germany and Japan

involved in the war against Soviet Russia would be seriously weakened,

the problem of Bolshevism so much hated by the ruling oligarchy would be

solved and Britain would maintain her superiority in world affairs. However,

these hopes crashed in September 1939 when war between the two imperialist

groups headed by Germany and Britain started. Despite the seriousness of

the situation the war was carried on by Chamberlain with great reluctance.

The lack of any military activity until the spring of 1940 won this period

the title of 'the phoney war'. The military activity of Britain was confined

to limited air raids or naval skirmishes. This period ended in April 1940

when Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway and drove out a small Anglo-

French force. The dreams of the men of Munich were now smashed: war

was on Britain's threshold. Such a development of events created an uproar of

protest both in the country and in Parliament. The working class of Britainfully supported the slogan of the British Communist party 'Men of Munich, go!'

In Parliament Lloyd George said that Chamberlain's best contribution to the

war effort was to resign as prime minister. After a stormy debate the House of

Commons forced Chamberlain to resign and Winston Churchill became Prime

Minister of a coalition government which included Conservatives,

representatives of the Labour party and Liberals. This occurred on May 10,

1940, the day on which Hitler opened his offensive on the western front. Threedays after the attack in the west, Churchill warned Parliament, 'I have nothing

to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the

most grievous kind. We have before us many long months of struggle and

suffering'. For Britain World War II was now assuming an anti-fascist

character when in the summer of 1940 an immediate danger of fascist

invasion became imminent.

The German Blitzkrieg went ahead with overwhelming mechanized force and

bewildering speed. Germany overwhelmed the neutral countries of Belgium,

Holland and Luxembourg without warning. The Anglo-French forces were cut

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in two, when the main German attack broke through near Sedan. By May 20

the fascist armored forces reached the sea. Holland and Belgium surrendered.

The trapped British expeditionary forces hurriedly evacuated from Dunkirk

leaving much equipment and ammunitions to the enemy. The simple people of

Britain displayed outstanding patriotism and courage in helping to save the

British force from complete defeat by hurriedly evacuating the soldiers onevery kind of craft that was available. More than three hundred thousand

Anglo-French soldiers were thus transported in a motley array of vessels.

Nevertheless Dunkirk became a synonym of disastrous defeat for Britain.

Fascist Germany resumed its advance on June 5 which ended with the

capitulation of France. In 1940 Italy joined the war against Britain. At this

stage of the war Hitler began to make preparations to invade Britain. He

attached great importance to victory in the air. Victory in the air was necessary

to the fascists before they could attempt invasion. From August 1940 came the

permanent bombing of British cities and military installations, popularly

called the 'Blitz'. These attacks caused serious damage and took many lives.

The 'Blitz' brought its own terrors, and put a heavy strain on civilians.

Nevertheless the British people did not flinch or hesitate in their

determination to defeat fascism. In the spring of 1941 the raids ended as

Hitler moved his forces east to prepare for the invasion of the Soviet Union. On

June 22, 1941 fascist Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The participation ofthe Soviet Union changed the whole content of the war.With the German

onslaught on the Soviet Union, Hitler's invasion plan of Britain 'Operation

Sea-Lion' was abandoned. In July 1941 the Anglo-Soviet treaty of united

action against Germany was signed in Moscow. The British people

demanded urgent action to be taken as regards launching an offensive in the

west against fascist Germany. Especially pressing were these demands when

the Red Army routed the German forces near Moscow in December 1941.When the Japanese fleet in December 1941 attacked the American naval base

of Pearl Harbour the USA declared war both on Japan and Germany. This

added a new dimension to the war: the antifascist coalition of the Soviet

Union, the USA and Britain was thus created. It was a great victory of

Soviet foreign policy. A powerful united front against fascism and

militarism was formed. The Anglo-Soviet treaty signed in London in May

1942 obliged Britain together with the USA to open a second front.

However, these promises were constantly delayed. For the next two years

discussions were on about a second front in Europe, and this vital

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prerequisite for allied victory was postponed by Churchill in favour of new

military actions in North Africa, and then in Italy. Britain's imperialist

interests in Africa came before a speedy victory in Europe, until it became

clear that the Soviet army could defeat Hitler's Wehrmacht by itself.

During the autumn and winter of 19423 the whole tide of war turned. The

Stalingrad battle broke the backbone of the Hitler war machine: the Sovietarmy launched a counter-offensive in November 1942 and eventually

destroyed the 300 thousand German army besieging it, taking prisoner

Field Marshal von Paulus (January February 1943). The summer and

autumn offensive of the Soviet army in 1943 consolidated the basic gains in

the war against fascism and created an entirely new situation. The Soviet

victory gave a powerful fillip to the resistance movement all throughout

occupied Europe.

Meanwhile the British Eighth Army under general Montgomery together with

the American forces defeated Rommel and his army at El Alamein (1942) in

North Africa. Further Churchill Roosevelt meetings took place in

Casablanca (January 1943) and Washington (May 1943) where it was finally

decided to open the second front only in May 1944. Finally, at Teheran,

Churchill and Roosevelt met Stalin to agree on a united strategy for this

decisive stage of the war. The Normandy landings in France took place on

June 6, 1944 (D-day) a month after the agreed date, and the end of the warwas no longer in doubt. The best German forces had been made harmless by

the Soviet army long before thai. Paris was soon liberated by the French

Resistance. Late in September 1944 the Anglo-American army reached the

western border of Germany. However, even at this final stage of the war the

Soviet Union once again proved its readiness to help the allies when they

suffered a serious setback. In December 1944 the German army launched a

surprise attack in the Ardennes (in south-east Belgium) and found a weak spotin the American lines. The German tanks went through and the allies were on

the brink of a major disaster. On January 6, 1945 Churchill appealed to the So-

viet government to launch an offensive in Poland to divert the German

forces from the west. The Soviet High Command was preparing for an

offensive to be carried out some time later. However, in this situation the

Soviet army intensified its preparations and launched a massive counter-

offensive on January 12. This saved the Anglo-American army, for the

German forces were hurriedly directed to the east and the allied line was

restored. Fascist Germany was now on the brink of a complete defeat. Under

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such circumstances it was necessary to hold a summit meeting to solve the

urgent problems of the final phase of the war and especially postwar issues.

Such a summit meeting between the Soviet Union, the USA and Britain took

place at Yalta in February 1945. The Conference demonstrated the sense of

unity between the allies and destroyed all fascist hopes that a united front

would not hold. The Yalta Conference elaborated an extensive programme ofliquidation of German militarism and nazism. It was a genuine democratic

programme which answered the interests of the peoples of the world. However,

postwar developments demonstrated the reluctance of the Western powers to

carry out this programme.

The fascists surrendered unconditionally in May 1945.

The military theatre became concentrated in the Far East. True to its

commitments the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan. Though the

Americans dropped their atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August

6 and 9, killing almost 250 thousand people, Japan was far from intending to

surrender. However, the mass offensive undertaken by the Soviet army in

Manchuria against the best Japanese forces the Kwantung army and its

overwhelming defeat led to the final capitulation of Japan. On September 2,

1945 World War II the greatest war in history was over. Britain had

survived but in the course of the long and exhausting conflict, much in the

world had changed, and new problems and new perils stood ahead.This period saw a tremendous upsurge of political interest in factories and

offices as well as in the armed forces.

In spite of the position of the official Labour party leadership, many

campaigns during the war constantly united Labour and Communist party

members as the centre of a wide popular movement calling for a second front

in Europe, the struggle to get maximum production for the war effort. In all

these campaigns the unity of the left was strengthened and the leadership of theCommunist party was more and more widely appreciated. Its membership

grew more than three times as compared with the pre-war days. The part

played by the Daily Worker in leading class struggles and in winning wider

respect for the Communist party was vital. The government scared by the

popularity of the paper banned it in January 1941. However, this aroused

widescale protest among the working class. The campaign grew so strong in

1942 that the Labour party conference in July passed a resolution demanding

an end to the ban which was issued by the Home Secretary Herbert

Morrison, a violently anti-Communist Labour party leader. Under the pressure

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of the British working class the Daily Workerwas allowed to come out again

from August 26, 1942. This was an important illustration of the growth of

left-wing feelings in the country. However, the right wing leadership of the

Labour party undertook every effort to check the spread of socialist ideas.

Though nationalization was included into the programme of the party in 1918

the right wing leaders only paid lip service to this clause. Socialism wasinterpreted in general terms without any concrete measures aimed at changing

capitalism. Nevertheless pro-socialist views were so strong that in 1945 the

Labour party produced an election programme 'Let Us Face the Future', which

was comparatively progressive, and which was to win the general election.

After victory over Germany, Churchill urged to preserve the government coali-

tion until the victory over Japan. However, the masses discontent with the

reactionary policies of the Conservatives rejected this plan. The broad masses

wanted no return to the past associated with the Tories. Despite Churchill's

personal popularity which the Tories tried to exploit the masses rejected the

party of 'big business'. The elections of July 5, 1945 ended in a landslide

victory for the Labour party and Clement Attlee became Prime Minister of the

new Labour government. Two Communists William Gallacher and Phil

Piratin were elected to parliament which was a major event in the history

of the British working class movement. A favourable background was

created for the adoption of progressive socio-economic legislat ion, whichsubstantially improved labour conditions and social security.

POSTWAR BRITAIN

Britain emerged from the war in a weakened position both economically and

politically. Her losses in human lives were comparatively small, about three

hundred thousand, which was four times less than in 191418. Material

damage and losses were much more substantial, about 25 billion pounds.

British exports fell drastically too, while high imports continued due to thestructure of the economy and its dependence on raw materials and foodstuffs.

Britain had to sell about half of her foreign capital investments to pay for the

war, and in addition to borrow money widely. In that situation Britain tried to

maintain its social and economic position by accepting the role of junior

partner of the USA. This was the background to the policy described as a

'special relationship' with the United States in the notorious speech of

Winston Churchill at Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946. This speech was

popularly regarded in the west as the start of the cold war against the Soviet

Union. It was a policy that was to impose heavy burdens on the British

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people. British industry had been neglected in favour of capital investment

abroad; it was technically backward, especially in the basic industries, and its

exports did not cover in earnings the imports. The difference or deficit had

been met by the huge flow of superprofits derived from the colonies. Now

these profits were cut by half due to the sales of capital during the war. A

further strain was the cost of military bases maintained by Britain abroad.Before the war the peoples of the colonies paid for these costs. As the old

colonial system collapsed more had to be paid by Britain itself. Such was the

background of Britain's slow economic advance after the war, the slowest in

the capitalist world. However, advance did take place, in spite of financial

crises, the devaluation of the pound in 1949. and the growing waste of men and

materials in rearmament. This economic advance was characteristic of a normal

postwar boom. Throughout this period of moderate economic expansion there

was an increasing trend towards monopoly development in the main branches

of industry. Such were the problems which the Labour government (1945

51) faced. If the British Labour government of Attlee Morrison Bevin

had really been socialist, as it claimed to be, it would have solved the problems

of the country by taking measures against the domination of monopoly capital

at home and stopping the export of capital abroad. However, the right-wing

Labour leaders borrowed widely from the USA thus becoming more and

more dependent on the USA. Britain became an automatic supporter ofwhatever the American government chose to do. In the UN organization, in

the Central Control Commission in Germany, in West Berlin, on all issues

Britain danced to the tune of the USA. The Potsdam agreement was ignored by

the Western powers, the cold war against the Soviet Union and the countries

of peoples' democracies was stepped up. The NATO bloc was formed in

March 1949. Britain's military role as the junior partner of the United States

was that of an 'unsinkable aircraft carrier'. The occupation of Britain byAmerican bombers began in July 1948, American bases were extended all

over the country.

The British Labour government paying lip service to the principles of socia-

lism carried out nationalization of derelict industries, such as mining, energy,

the railways, means of communication. The Bank of England was

nationalized too. However, this was typical capitalist nationalization. Lavish

compensation was given to the ex-owners. The workers were completely

deprived of any control of the nationalized sector. The Labour government

claimed that it had made important social advances with security

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guaranteed to the workers in nationalized industries, and the introduction

of a system of social security that was hailed to be the best in the world. But

the hopes of the workers were soon disappointed. Social insurance, with the

new free health service, was paid for by contribution from the worker (35

per cent), the employer (33 per cent), and the state (32 per cent). However,

the share of the state was passed on to the public, that is mainly to theworkers, in the form of increased indirect taxation. It is necessary to

emphasize that the social benefits granted by Attlee's government were largely

nullified by a steady increase in the burden of indirect taxation. The

construction of state hospitals was carried out at a low pace, municipal

housing was limited, the number of pensioners was restricted and the

pensions were quite inadequate to make a living. Labour leaders had claimed

that a social revolution had been carried through with their establishment of

a 'welfare state'. In fact this was a complete fraud. The improved social

services had been paid for by the workers themselves through increased

taxation. Moreover, when more money was needed for rearmament the

government cut allocations for social needs. Social injustice continued to

prevail in the country. The Oxford Institute of Statistics showed that in the

1950s 60 per cent of the adult population owned less than 100 pounds each,

totalling only about 4 per cent of the nation's capital, but 63 per cent of the

total capital was owned by a mere 3 per cent of the adult population. TheLabour government having implemented a programme of limited reforms

began to carry out a typical policy of wage-freeze, demanding from the workers

an increase of production without any wage increase. Such a policy in the face

of a constant growth of prices on food and consumer goods meant an actual

deterioration of the living standards of the British people. This was coupled

with tax increases and social security cuts. It was quite logical that discontent

with the policies of the Labour government became widespread. The riftbetween the popular masses and the Labour government was quite vividly

expressed in the results of the general election in 1950 when the Labour

party won a marginal victory and remained in office till 1951. In foreign

policy the Attlee government was especially unpopular. The Labour

government did its utmost to delay independence to India. However, under the

pressure of the national liberation movement it was forced to grant

independence to India in 1947, then to Burma and Ceylon in 1948. Political

independence was granted to India but the country was divided into two

states, the Hindu state of India and the Moslem state of Pakistan, in

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accordance with the classical imperialist strategy of 'Divide and rule'. Other

colonial peoples were held down by force as long as possible. In 1948 the

Attlee government unleashed a typical colonial war against the people of

Malaya. Neo-colonialism too was widely pursued by Britain in her policies

against the newly-independent states. As a result of such unpopular policies

the British working class turned away from the Labour government, and theConservatives exploited the situation to their advantage and won the elections

in 1951 on the wave of mass Labour discontent. The government of 'big

business' held power till 1964. In this period the Communist Party of Great

Britain played an important role in uniting the progressive forces in the

country and stepping up the struggle of the working class for its rights. In

this respect the new draft programme of the British Communist party

'Britain's Boad to Socialism' published in 1951 contributed to the whole

labour movement. This programme reaffirmed that the only solution to

the problems of the British people was socialism. The winning of this

aim had to be considered in the light of the new world situation, with one-

third of the world in the socialist camp, with the breakdown of the old

imperialist system, and a new balance of forces. The new Conservative cabinet

of Churchill Eden (19515) facing serious economic and financial

problems caused by growing military expenditures tried to solve them at the

expense of the British people by slashing social security programmes andcurbing imports. Such a policy was a continuation of the policy of the right-

wing Labour leaders. The British working class staunchly opposed such

moves. The national strikes of the engineering workers and of the dockers

in 19534 clearly expressed the resolution of the workers to defend their

cause. Tension grew within the Conservative government and Churchill was

forced to resign in 1955. He was succeeded by Eden, a 'progressive

Conservative'. The temporary improvement of the economic situation coupledwith a modest pay rise contributed to the victory of the Conservative party in

the 1955 elections. However, soon the election promises were broken and

forgotten. The growth of labour opposition expressed in the number of strikes

forced the government to cancel its direct attempts to ban strikes. This was an

important development in the conflict between labour and capital. The crisis

of the colonial system hit Britain especially hard. Under the pressure of the

national liberation movement British colonialism was forced to retreat. In

1954 British forces withdrew from the Suez Canal zone. However, when

President Nasser of Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956 the combined

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Anglo-Franco-Israeli intervention of Egypt took place. British imperialism

once again exposed its aggressive nature.

There was world-wide condemnation of this act. Moreover, the Soviet Union

issued a stern warning. Under such circumstances Eden resigned in

January 1957 to be followed by Harold Macmillan. The unpopular actions of

the Conservatives eventually brought them to defeat which occurred inOctober 1964 when the Labour party regained office and Harold Wilson

became prime minister. The Suez disaster proved that the days of colonialism

were over.

Progress Test Questions and Assignments

Analyse the initial stage of World War II observing the policy of the

British government in 'the phoney war'.

Narrate the main developments of the war against fascist Germany, paying

special attention to the decisive role of the Soviet Union in defeating

fascism.

What caused the defeat of the Conservatives in 1945?

Observe the main policies of the Labour government (194551).

Give an argumentative criticism of the so-called 'welfare state' and of the

reforms implemented by the Labour party leadership.

CONTEMPORARY BRITAINIn 1950 the United Kingdom's gross national product (GNP) was the second

largest in the capitalist world after the USA, and in terms of GNP per head it

ranked fifth. In the 1980s Britain stands only fifth in terms of total GNP and

twentieth in terms of GNP per head. Britain's share of visible world trade

also declined in 1950 it accounted for 11 per cent of world trade, but by

the 1980s it went down to 56 per cent. Especially acute was the fact that

Britain continued to lag behind the other capitalist rivals both in the rate ofeconomic development and modernization. The country experienced a

chronic deficit in the balance of payments which meant that it could not

compete efficiently on the world markets.

After World War II there was an emergence of new industries and the

renewal and improvement of the country's infrastructure. However, these

developments were not of such a vast character as they occurred in other

capitalist countries such as Japan, the USA, West Germany or France. At the

same time in spite of short periods of growth the rate of economic growth

was low in comparison with the rates in other industrialized capitalist

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countries, never exceeding 2-3 per cent annually up to the 1970s, but much

lower in subsequent years. Moreover, there were years of minus growth.

Stagflation was the term which could be applied when assessing the condition

of the British economy, i. e. stagnation coupled with inflation. True, the latter

was reduced in the 1980s, but this was carried out at the expense of the

working class and mass unemployment became an immediate consequence.In short, Britain came to be known as 'the sick man of Europe'. The

democratic elements in the trade union and labour movement were aware

of the fact that the immediate problems of the state were caused by the

imperialist ambitions of the British governments which led to costly military

expenditures. Moreover, the continuing export of capital abroad by the

monopolies in search of super-profits contributed to the deterioration of the

economic position of the state, as well as the inconsistent policies of the British

governments concerning nationalization. However, the politicians and

ideologists of the British Establishment disregarding existing reality alleged

that the problems of the country were caused by the high living standards of

the British people and by the excessive demands of the working class. This

claim was completely false. Hence, on such an assumption the monopoly

class and the political elite advocated a policy of wage-freeze which on a

background of soaring prices meant a steady deterioration of the living

standards of the British people. This in its turn led to a growth of labourmilitancy associated with ensuing strikes. The effect of growing militancy

within the trade unions was shown in actions like the national engineering

strike of 1957 and the strike of London busmen in 1958. 1958 was a year

which brought a record number of stoppages of work (2,859) due to

industrial disputes, involving loss of 8,412,000 working days. Union

leaders tried to stop workers from striking, but strikes went on. In these

conditions when right-wing trade union leaders advocated a policy of classcollaboration, the role of shop stewards became more important. The shift to

the left was reflected also in the struggle within the Labour party. In the

1950s the right wing, headed by Hugh Gaitskell, the leader of the Labour

party since the resignation of Attlee in 1955, launched an offensive to delete

Clause 4 from the party constitution. This clause adopted in 1918 proclaimed

the socialist aim of 'common ownership of the means of production,

distribution and exchange'. True, the right wing never regarded this clause

seriously. However, it still remained an obstacle on the path of open

submission to the demands of the employers. The right-wing leaders alleged

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that the defeat of the Labour party in the elections of 1951 and 1955 was

caused by the demands for further nationalization. However, in reality the

electorate turned away from Labour due to its inconsistent policy concerning

nationalization. Despite its frenzied efforts the right-wing leadership was

defeated over this issue at the Labour party conference in 1960. Clause 4

remained in the party consitution. The delegates of the conferenceoverwhelmingly supported Frank Cousins and his formula: 'You may have

nationalization without socialism, but you cannot have socialism without

nationalization'. Despite this severe setback for the right wing it continued to

advocate and implement reactionary anti-socialist views within the Labour

party.

The Suez disaster of 1956 led to a wider interest taken by the people in

problems of foreign policy.

The British people rejected the policy of subservience to American imperia-

lism, of making the country an 'unsinkable aircraft carrier'. In 1958 the

Macmillan cabinet signed an agreement with the USA on the deployment of

American missiles in Britain. It aroused a storm of protest all throughout the

country. The Communist party was in the forefront of this campaign

organizing mass rallies and demonstrations against nuclear weapons and bases.

In this atmosphere of mass opposition the prominent scientist Bertrand

Russell together with a group of progressives formed a new anti-warorganization, 'Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament' (CND) which demanded

unilateral nuclear disarmament. In April 1958 the first peace march was

organized to Aldermaston the centre of British nuclear research. Since

then the Aldermaston marches have become an important event in the peace

campaign in the United Kingdom. Under the pressure of broad sections of

the British public the Conservative government accepted the proposals of the

USSR on banning nuclear tests in 1963. However, the Conservativegovernment faithfully supported US policies and in particular it gave full

backing to the formation of multilateral nuclear forces initiated by the US

government which gave the West German militarists a finger on the nuclear

trigger. Military expenditures were enhanced by the Nassau agreement (the

Bahamas) signed between Britain and the USA. The programme of

supplying Britain with American Polaris missiles meant an end to Britain's

independent nuclear forces. Meanwhile, the British industrialists found it

profitable to join the Common Market (the European Economic Community,

EEC) hoping to gain access to the rich European market. Voicing these hopes

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the Conservative government started negotiations to join the EEC. Strong

inside opposition was coupled with France's refusal to accept British terms.

Macmillan was forced to interrupt the negotiations on entry. This was a

personal setback for the prime minister who resigned in 1963. Macmillan

was succeeded by Alec Douglas-Home, formerly foreign secretary, but better

known as Neville Chamberlain's parliamentary private secretary and a leadingsupporter of his notorious Munich policy. The Conservative government had

completely discredited itself by its home and foreign policy and the general

election of 1964 ended thirteen years of Tory rule.

Shortly before the elections there was a change of leadership in the Labour

party: Gaitskell died suddenly in 1963 and a more popular-looking leader

was found. He was Harold Wilson, a former professor of economics at Oxford.

He criticized the incompetence of the Conservative party, excessive military

expenditures, stagnation, etc. Though he was considered to be a

representative of the centre of the party he soon showed that in twelve years

he had fully absorbed the outlook of the right wing.

In spite of Wilson's leadership the working class and other progressive people

rallied round the Labour party in 1964, and even more so in 1966, giving it a

comfortable majority in parliament.

When the Labour party came to power in 1964 it faced a very serious

situation: the majority in the House of Commons was marginal. Laboursupporters were asked to give the government a chance, 'not to rock the boat',

to maintain unity to keep the Tories out. These motives undoubtedly had an

effect on left-wing criticism. Harold Wilson began carefully with reforms

appealing to large numbers of voters: increases in old age pensions, increased

government help for municipal housing, restoration of some measures of rent

control, and cautious support for a more general advance towards a

comprehensive secondary school system. He was forgiven a lot because ofhis tiny majority in parliament. On coming to power Wilson faced a balance

of payments crisis (the deficit amounted to 800 million pounds). Urgent

measures were to be taken. These steps were characteristic of orthodox Tory-

style economy cuts and a wage-freeze policy. The government was bent on

greater state involvement in the affairs of the economy to achieve greater

nationalization, modernization of industry and redistribution of national

resources. Wilson believed that close cooperation between the government, the

monopolies and the trade union movement would contribute to the solution of

the ills of British society. In 1965 parliament adopted the five-year

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national plan. There were some positive elements in the plan concerning

economic recovery but in general the plan was a failure for it was bent not on

continued nationalization but on encouraging monopoly development. Under

the pressure of the labour movement Wilson's government contributed to

raising the school-leaving age to 16, it extended comprehensive education,

renationalized the steel industry and lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. Inforeign policy Wilson maintained continuity of Tory principles. However,

in the first years of Labour government there was a turn for the better in

Anglo-Soviet relations, though in the late 1960s these relations deteriorated

because of British involvement in an anti-Soviet campaign. The prestige of

the Labour government was still further lowered by its unpopular policy in

Northern Ireland where the Catholic minority started a peaceful campaign for

equal economic, political and social rights. The Northern Ireland Civil Rights

Association formed in 1967 organized mass peaceful rallies and demonstrations

demanding equal civil rights with the protestants. However, this peaceful

movement was met by brutal force by the protestant extremists. The Labour

government under the pretext of restoring law and order sent troops to

Northern Ireland. In reality the British army carried out punitive operations

against the victims of protestant outrages. The British government dealt

severely with the participants of the civil rights movement because it was a

challenge to the system which had long served the interests of Britishcolonialism. Mass arrests took place, concentration camps were set up where

the British authorities carried out interrogations using torture and other

illegal methods of brutal force. The inability of the Labour government to

solve the Ulster issue on democratic lines caused wide-scale discontent both in

Northern Ireland and Britain itself.

However, especially unpopular was Wilson's attempt to solve the economic

and financial problems of the country at the expense of the British people. Thiswas the gist of the 'prices and incomes policy'. The government stipulated that

the annual growth of wages should not exceed 3.5 per cent which was much

lower than the actual growth of prices. In other words it was a typical wage

freeze policy which led to wide-scale industrial unrest. Frank Cousins

resigned from the cabinet in protest against the Wilson line. Labour unrest

grew: if in 1967 734 thousand workers went on strike, in 1968 the figure

grew to 2,258 thousand. In 1968 the centenary congress of the trade unions

movement passed a resolution overwhelmingly deploring government

intervention in collective bargaining and demanded the repeal of the Prices

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and Incomes Act. Even more important, for the first time in a hundred

years there appeared a significant left-wing group in the leadership of the

TUG.

In January 1969 the government produced a White Paper called In Place of

Strife which proposed new legislation under which workers taking part in

unauthorized strikes could be fined. It gave the government powers to enforcea 'cooling-off period, delaying strikes for 28 days. The latter proposal was

based on similar laws in the USA. The plan to fine workers was regarded as a

most hostile anti-trade union measure. The whole trade union movement united

to oppose these proposals. The British communists again were in the front

ranks of this struggle. Protest strikes in February and May 1969 involved

hundreds of thousands of workers, particularly in London and Liverpool. In

April a National Convention of the left was organized by the Communist

party together with various left-wing Labour groups. An extraordinary

conference of the TUG, the first called in over 40 years, was held in June. In

face of determined opposition Wilson climbed down and withdrew his plans

for a new law. The mass media spoke of his humiliation. The negative effects

of Wilson's policies were clearly reflected in the general election of June

18,1970. Only 69 per cent of the electorate participated, the lowest percentage

since World War II, and within this lower poll the percentage of Labour

votes dropped to 43. This meant that over two million Labour voters hadabstained in protest against right-wing policies. On this background the

Conservatives won the election and Edward Heath formed the new Tory

government. The 1970s saw a rapid deepening of the economic and political

crisis of Britain. The lack of modernization in the period of scientific and

technological progress due to the outflow of capital, huge military

expenditures had a most negative effect on the performance of British

industry. Being a trading nation it failed to compete successfully on the worldmarkets because the economies of her main capitalist rivals had

experienced wide-scale modernization, especially after World War II and

their goods were comparatively cheaper. This had an adverse effect on the

country's balance of payments which is a ratio between the earnings of a

country through exports and the expenditures due to imports. With a deficit

in the balance of payments a country is forced to make loans. Hence financial

difficulties become imminent and the national currency is devalued.

Such a situation occurred in Great Britain in the given period: the

devaluation of the pound became a grim reality for British industry,

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finances and for the nation as a whole. Especially hard hit were the working

people whose inadequate earnings did not keep pace with soaring prices.

1973 was an important landmark in British history for on January 1, 1973 Bri-

tain was admitted to the European Economic Community together with

Ireland and Denmark. When it was formed in 1958 the United Kingdom

remained outside, still giving prevalence to sustaining links with theCommonwealth. With the former colonies gaining greater independence

economically the big monopolies decided to gain access to the rich European

market. However, inter-imperialist rivalries and strong opposition at home

held up these moves of the British governments. Britain's membership meant

serious changes for the country and especially for the people. Prices on

foodstuffs and consumer goods went up which meant new hardships for the

working people. Trading patterns changed too: Western Europe became the

dominant focus while Commonwealth links weakened.

Northern Ireland remained a burning issue. Despite the presence of the British

army which turned a blind eye to the violence and crimes of the

protestant ultras the province was on the brink of an open civil war. On

Sunday, January 30, 1972 British paratroopers fired on a peaceful civil

rights demonstration of Irish catholics in Londonderry, killing sixteen

people. This was bloody Sunday which will always be remebered as one of

the tragic days in the history of the nation. The Tory government furtheredits offensive against the civil rights movement by suspending the local

parliament and imposing direct rule from London in 1973. However, there

was no end to the crisis because official London refused to grant the

democratic reforms which could solve the crisis.

In foreign policy the Heath government supported the traditional Conservative

line; full support of American imperialism, NATO and of other

reactionary blocs such as CENTO (the Central Treaty Organization) andSEATO (the South-East Asia Treaty Organization), neo-colonialism in every

possible way, hostility to the world socialist community headed by the Soviet

Union, support of reactionary regimes such as the white minority regime of

Ian Smith in Bhodesia and the southern bulwark of imperialism in Africa

the racist regime in the South African Republic. Nevertheless, pressed by new

realities Heath had to accept the new balance of forces and Britain signed the

Four-Power treaty on Berlin in 1972 and finally recognized the GDR in 1973.

Meanwhile the crisis sharpened still further in Britain itself with inflation

rising from 10 per cent to about 20 per cent a year, the negative trade

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balance getting still worse, especially after entry into the Common Market,

and unemployment rising to around a million. Heath decided to show his firm

hand by a dramatic confrontation with the miners at the end of 1973, forcing

them to strike for higher wages and then, as coal stocks began to run out,

ordering all industries to limit work to three days a week. Heath called a

general election for February 1974 and expected a great victory. In fact theworking class totally rejected the Conservatives and brought them down to a

humiliating defeat: the Tories lost over a million votes. The Labour party

won. However, the Liberal party too made a startling success. The increase of

votes for the Liberals as well as for the Scotch and Welsh National parties

showed that the electorate was disappointed with the inconsistency of the

right-wing Labour leadership. Heath's defeat led to his resignation as leader

of the Conservative party in 1975. Margaret Thatcher, a representative of

the right wing, became leader of the party of 'big business'. It was a break with

established traditions when only men were considered to be suited for such

activities.

Having won a small majority the Labour government held another election in

October 1974 winning a workable majority. The new Labour government of

Wilson Callaghan (Wilson retired for personal reasons in 1976) learned the

necessary lessons of its previous defeat. Therefore it was more cautious

especially in regard of its policies toward the labour movement. Somepositive measures were taken: the notorious Industrial Relations Act was

repealed, the miners received a wage increase, the full working week was

restored, municipal housing rents were frozen. In foreign policy a positive

move was undertaken when Wilson paid a visit to Moscow in February 1975,

which marked a new stage of improved Anglo-Soviet relations.

However, the main problem of his government was still the economic and

financial crisis and here Wilson faithful to his right-wing convictions hadnothing new to offer. But he was able to disguise the old policies by proposing

a 'voluntary' wage-freeze policy called the Social Contract. It was based on

the bourgeois view that high wages were the main cause of inflation and

financial troubles. The acceptance of this policy by the TUG and Labour

party conferences in 1975 under the influence of right-wing ideas was a

major setback for the working class. It showed the continuing strength of

reformist illusions and the weakness in theory which has long been a feature

of the British working-class movement. This was the background to the 34th

Congress of the British Communist party held in November 1975. Gordon

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MacLen-nan was elected the new general secretary. The forum of British

communists emphasized the necessity to win left unity, to force the Labour

government to adopt left policies, to attack the power of the monopolies.

Under this influence the working class stepped up its struggle against the

social contract and opposed any intervention of the government in collective

bargaining. In 1976 the TUG demanded an end to this anti-working-classpractice. However, Callaghan, a typical right-winger, opposed these demands

which led to a fall of Labour support. The by-elections in 1977 reduced

Labour majority in parliament and it was forced to act in alliance with the

Liberals, a party of the middle class. This led to new concessions made by the

Labour government in favour of the monopoly class. Hence, the downfall of

the Labour party was imminent. The May elections of 1979 brought the

Conservatives to power and Margaret Thatcher became the first woman

prime minister in the history of Great Britain.

The 1980s were marked by a prolonged state of depression of the British

economy. Only in the second half of 1983 were there some indications of

industrial activity, when the gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2 per

cent. However, industrial output even in 1986 remained lower than the pre-

crisis level. This temporary recovery was primarily due to North sea oil and

gas and the extension of services. The manufacturing industry the backbone

of the British economy continued to be depressed. 25 per cent of thecountry's industrial capacity remained idle. Though there was an improvement

in the balance of payments, the country's foreign debt remained high.

The government's economic policy was bent on encouraging private enterprise

and de-nationalization. The most profitable state owned enterprises were sold

out to private capital.

The home policy of the Thatcher cabinet was based on stringent principles of

monetarism associated with limiting the circulation of money. In order tostimulate capital investment the government shifted emphasis from direct

taxation to indirect, thus reducing direct taxes on the biggest monopolies

by 3.5 billion pounds (simultaneously increasing indirect taxes twice). State

expenditures were cut by 4 billion pounds which meant that social security

funds, construction, science and culture would be the main losers. The

Thatcher cabinet intensified the process of de-nationalization which hard hit

the steel, oil, aerospace and other industries, as well as air transport. In

October 1980 the government removed all restrictions on the export of

capital which existed for more than 40 years. Overseas investment in 197984

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equalled 50 billion pounds. The bank rate was raised to 17 per cent. These

measures explicitly expressed the interests of 'big business'. Moreover, the

encouragement given to the development of high technology industries at the

expense of the traditional industries of the country precipitated the problem of

mass unemployment, which by far exceeded 3.3 million in 1986 according to

official statistcs and by trade union estimates was more than 5 million. Themilitary expenditures, over 18 billion pounds in the 19856 fiscal year, a

22 per cent increase as compared with 1979, meant a deterioration of the

living standards of the British people. The Conservative government

launched an ambitious programme of stepping up nuclear arms, rearmament of

the British submarine fleet with Trident missiles. The Thatcher cabinet gave

full approval of British participation in the notorious 'star wars' project.

The foreign policy of the Conservative cabinet is motivated by the interests of

the British ruling class and by its commitments to NATO of which Britain is

an active participant.

The war between Britain and Argentina in 1982 over the disputed Falkland

Islands indicated that Britain was ready to use force to defend its territorial

ambitions overseas. The Falkland Islands or the Malvinas as the

Argentinians call them, situated in the South Atlantic at a distance of 400

miles from Argentine territory and more than 8,000 miles from Britain were

seized by the British colonizers in the 1830s. Argentina never recognizedBritish sovereignty over the islands. In 1982 war broke out between the two

countries. Britain using her military might and with full American backing

won the war, which cost the British people more than 2 billion pounds.

Moreover, further military construction on the islands meant 4 billion

pounds out of the budget. The British government attaches strategic

importance to the islands. The United Nations overwhelmingly backed

Argentina in her claims of sovereignty over the islands.The policy of Great Britain towards South Africa is motivated by the

interests of 'big business', which is deeply involved in the economy of South

Africa. The British monopolies derive great profits by exploiting the vast

resources of the state. This explains why Margaret Thatcher stubbornly

refused to impose sanctions against the apartheid regime defying the appeals

of the African and Asian states to take joint action against a white minority

regime based on terror and mass police reprisals against the African majority.

As regards Anglo-Soviet relations one should note their changeable character

with all their frosts and subsequent thaws. Recent years, especially after the

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official visit of the Soviet parliamentary delegation headed by M. Gorbachev

to Britain in 1984 are marked by most positive developments. There has been

an increase in the volume of bilateral trade which exceeds 2 billion roubles.

The official visits of the British Prime Minister to the Soviet Union in 1987

and of Geoffrey Howe, the Foreign Secretary, in 1988 contributed notably

toward the development of a dialogue between Britain and the Soviet Union inall fields of cooperation. However, the official state visit of M. Gorbachev to

Britain in 1989 with all the ensuing results heralded a new most positive page

in the history of Anglo-Soviet relations. The summit meeting between M.

Gorbachev and M. Thatcher gave a powerfull fillip to a marked improvement

of relations between the two states in all fields of cooperation in full keeping

with the concept of a new mentality in international relations advocated by

the Soviet government.

The British government greeted the INF (Intermediate Nuclear Forces) treaty

signed between the USSR and the USA in 1987. However, Margaret

Thatcher refused to abandon her nuclear deterrent policy. The champions of

peace demand that the British government should take practical steps to a

non-nuclear world and to an end of the arms race.

The home policy of the Thatcher Cabinet was characterized by new anti-trade

union legislation: three acts were passed in 19804 aimed at curbing trade

union activity and splitting the ranks of trade unionists. Moreover, moveswere taken to pass a fourth act banning support given by one union to

another in the event of a labour conflict.

The actions taken by the Conservatives led to a future polarization of

British society. Living standards in Britain in the 1980s were about 11 per

cent lower than the West-European average. The number of poor people

increased from 6.1 mln in 1979 to 11.9 mln in 1986. Statistics indicated that in

1987 every third adult in Britain was living on the verge or under the officialpoverty level. The gap between the rich and the poor widened greatly in the

years of Tory government. Unemployment figures indicate that about 10 per

cent of the economic active population remained jobless and a large percentage

was unemployed for more than a year. Especially hard hit are the young

people, women and the non-white population.

The working class of Great Britain is conducting a resolute struggle against

the onslaught of the Tory government under adverse conditions of mass

unemployment and stringent anti-working class legislation. Labour militancy

was reflected in the unique year long miners' strike of 19845 against the

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attempts of the Tory government to make thousands of workers jobless. There

was mass solidarity with the miners both at home and abroad. Workers of

more than 50 countries including the Soviet Union supported the British

miners. Once again the Britith working class displayed its militancy and

determination to resist the Tory onslaught. Working class unrest was vividly

expressed in the printers' strike of 1986, the actions taken by nurses and othermedical workers for the improvement of labour conditions within the

national health service in 1987 and many other labour disputes in the country.

The peace and anti-missile movement reached unheard-of heights, especially in

1982 3. Hundreds of thousands of people of all faiths and occupations

protested against nuclear arms, deployment of American missiles in Britain.

The mass protests at the Greenham Common base in which women of all ages

actively participated caught the sympathy of the people in Britain and

abroad. The shift to the left was reflected in the Labour party when a new

leader, Neil Kinnock, was elected. It was also reflected in the change of rules

in the Labour party in electing the leader and selecting MPs, in the positive

Labour programme of unilateral nuclear disarmament and support of the

latest peace proposals of the Soviet Union. Positive changes were adopted by

the latest congresses of the trade unions. The Communists in Great Britain

together with other progressives in the labour movement struggle to unite

all the left forces in the country against the onslaught of the monopolyclass. These aspirations were vividly expressed by the delegates of the 41st

Congress of the British Communist party held in December 1989.

In June 1987 the Conservatives won their third successive victory in the

general elections (42.3 per cent of the votes cast) securing 375 seats in the

House of Commons. However, in fact only a third of those who had electoral

rights voted for the Conservative party. A mere 75 per cent of the electorate

participated in the elections. The election results clearly manifested theundemocratic nature of the electoral system.

Different factors contributed to the victory of the Conservative party. The

capitalist mass media launched a mass campaign presenting the Tories and

their leader as the most efficient managers of the British state.

The elections were timed to coincide with a boom experienced by the economy

which benefited mainly from North Sea oil.

Margaret Thatcher won support among those sections of British society which

benefited from her policy of privatization: 'big business', the well-paid highly

skilled workers (the labour aristocracy), the new owners of houses. In the

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course of denationalization the Tory government sold out shares to

individual holders: by 1986 there were 3 million share holders in the country.

Cheap municipal housing was treated likewise: more than one million units of

municipal housing were sold out on favourable terms. As a result the well-paid

employees and workers became owners of individual housing. The reduction

of the inflation rate was most benefited by the well-to-do too. All in all acombination of these factors widely propagated by the bourgeois mass media

contributed to the Tory victory.

However, many serious analysts in the country, including the Labour party

maintain that the government's claims of success were inflated by distortion

and that these gains would not hold. The introduction of the community

charge or the poll tax met overwhelming opposition in the country. This led

to a serious setback experienced by the Conservative party in the local

election in May 1990 and to a fall of the popularity of the Prime minister.

Under such conditions the only option for the working class and all the

democratic forces in the country is to attain unity of action. The future

development of the country depends in the long end on the class-

consciousness of the working people, their unity and determination to

promote peace, security and friendship among the nations of the world.

Progress Test Questions and Assignments

Assess the economic position of Great Britain in the 1960s and 1970s.Explain the reasons of the difficulties of the state.

Analyse the working-class movement in these years, outline the role of the

British Communist party.

Observe the main foreign policy developments of the Conservative

governments. Narrate the main aspects of the policies of the Wilson Cabinet

(196470). Why was the prices and incomes policy unpopular with the

working class? How did the working class respond?Give the gist of the Industrial Relations Act. What toppled the Heath

government? How would you explain the unpopularity of the Wilson-

Callaghan policy line on labour relations?

Examine the history of British attempts to join the Common Market. What

were the consequences of Britain's entry in the EEC?

Explain the present state of the crisis in Northern Ireland. Examine the

roots of the crisis.

Analyse the home and foreign policies of the Thatcher government.

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Identify: CND, UCS, EEC or Common Market, the Social Contract,

monetarism, the Falkland Islands (the Malvinas), the INF treaty.

In written form summarize your observations on the basis of current press

reviews concerning Britain's policy towards the EEC.

POPULATIONNatural Population growthMigration Distribution Density Social structure Civil

We in Britain must always remember that we are part of the Continent, but

we must never forget that we are neighbours to it.

Henry Bolingbroke

Rich is rich and poor is poor And ne'er the twain shall meet. East is East

and West is West

And only one shall eat.

The micro-chip has come of age

And Man is obsolete.

Popular song from U. B. 40

1 he people who now inhabit the British Isles are descended mainly from

the people who inhabited them nearly 9 centuries ago. The English nation

was formed as a result of the amalgamation of the native population of the

British Isles the pre-Celts and the Celts with the invaders: the Germanic

tribes of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, the Danes, the Normans. The last ofa long succession of invaders from Scadinavia and the Continent of Europe

were the Normans, a branch of the Scandinavian Vikings who, after settling in

Northern France, intermarrying with the French, and assimilating their

language and customs, conquered England in 1066. The language of this

nation was formed only in .the 14th century. It is mainly a marriage of

Anglo-Saxon and Norman-French, while the use of Celtic languages

persisted in Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, the Highlands of Scotland andin Ireland. Today in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland,

English is the language predominantly spoken. In Wales, however, Welsh,

a form of British Celtic, is spoken by some 20 per cent of the population (about

half a million people). The Welsh Language Council, an official body,

promotes the use of the language and there is a number of bilingual schools

in Wales. In Scotland over 80,000 persons, mainly in the Highlands and

western coastal regions, speak the Scottish form of Gaelic. A few families

in Northern Ireland still speak the Irish form of Gaelic. But in general the

number of people speaking the above-mentioned languages other than

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English is declining. The Cornish variety of Celtic is no longer effectively a

living language, although there is a revival of cultural interest. For centuries

the British governments promoted the spread of English at the expense of

other languages. Moreover, at times it was strictly forbidden to study any of

the languages of the minorities living on the British Isles. Today some of the

country's ethnic minorities formed as a result of recent immigration havetheir own languages, normally as well as English. Among the Asian

community, for example, the most usual languages are Punjabi, Gujerati,

Bengali or Urdu, the languages of the Indian and Pakistani communities.

The available records do not enable any precise estimates to be made of the size

of the population until the beginning of the 19th century. Censuses of the

people of Great Britain have been taken regularly every 10 years since 1801,

except that there was no census in 1941 because of the Second World War.

The latest census was taken in 1981. It is believed, however, that at the end

of the llth century the population of Great Britain was about 2 million, while

at the end of the 17th century the population was about 6.5 million. The main

factor in this gradual growth of population was a slow natural increase, with

high death rates and, in particular, very high infant and maternal mortality.

Immigration began to play a more important role in population growth more

recently, especially from Commonwealth countries.

In number of population (57.1mln1990) Great Britain holds one of the firstplaces among the European countries. Britain ranks fourteenth in the world

in terms of population. The English make up over 4/5 of the total

population of the country. They inhabit England proper and many of them

live in industrial cities of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The

proportion of the Scotsmen, Welshmen and Irishmen is about 15 per cent. This

group includes foreigners too. The inhabitants of Wales, Scotland and

Northern Ireland have preserved their culture, originality and to a certaindegree their languages (in Wales and Scotland), but practically all speak

English. The most intensive growth of the population of Great Britain took

place in the 19th century, when the number of the inhabitants increased from

9 million to 38 million, despite mass emigration (mainly of the ruined

peasants and the unemployed of the towns).

The recent tendency as regards population growth is that of extremely small

growth. In fact in the period 19758 for the first years since records began

(other than in war) the population fell slightly. This trend common to

much of Western Europe, is mainly the result of a sharp fall in birth rates.

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Annual births have fallen by some 30 per cent since the mid-1960s. The upward

trend was resumed in 1979. Projections for the future suggest that the

traditional increase in population will be resumed, though growth will take

place at a much slower rate than was expected a few years ago. Britain's

total population is expected to be 58.4 mln in 2001 and 60 mln in 2020.

The country as a whole has a population density of about 233 people to thesquare kilometre (1989), but in England proper 363 people to the square

kilometre, in Wales 137, in Scotland 66, in Northern Ireland 112.

The Highlands of Scotland, the northern Pennines and mountainous Wales

are very sparsely populated. The most highly populated regions are the

industrial ' districts: South East England with Greater London, the

Midlands, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, South Wales, Clydeside in Scotland

and North-East England. In some of these districts the density reaches 1,000

and even more people per one square kilometre. In Greater London, for

example, it is 4,288 people per square kilometre.*"

Annual birth rates have fallen since the mid-1960s. The birth rates declined

from 18 live births per 1,000 population in 1966 to 13.6 in 1989. The main

reason accounting for the sharp drop in the birth rate is associated with the

social conditions in the country: the growth of unemployment, deterioration

of the living standards of the British people, social tension, expensive

housing, lack of pre-school institutions, etc. As a result of the drop of thebirth rate there is a substantial fall in the natural increase of the

population provided that the mortality rate remains more or less stable

about 12 per 1,000 population. During the last 50 years the natural increase

was very small 4-6 people per thousand and even lower. Thus the

country has a considerable per cent of the ageing population.

At birth the expectation of life for a man is just about 72 years and for a

woman it is 78 years. K. Marx in his time pointed out the dependence of thedeath rate on the incomes of the population. In Britain today the average life

expectancy among unskilled workers is 8 years shorter than among managers

and highly qualified specialists. The estimated age distribution of the British

population in mid-1989 is roughly as follows: under 16 years, about 20 per

cent; 16-64, 64 per cent; and 65 and over, 16 per cent. Some 18 per cent of

the population were over the normal retirement ages (65 for men and 60 for

women), compared with 15 per cent in 1961.

The main feature of the changing age structure is the increasing number of

elderly people. The lot of the elderly people in Britain is a serious social

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problem. The majority of the aged depend vitally on their meagre

pensions and in the face of inflation and cuts in social security they hardly

make ends meet. Traditionally Britain has a net outflow of people to the

rest of the world. During the 100 years, from 1836 till 1936 about 11 million

people left the British Isles. This mass emigration especially in the 19th

century was a movement of ruined peasants, the unemployed people whohoped to find new opportunities and happiness on new territories. The

migrants went mainly to North America (the USA, Canada), Australia, New

Zealand, South Africa, to other lands in Asia and Africa, where they

settled, spreading the economic, political and cultural influence of Great

Britain, as well as the English language, which became the state language

of many countries. Mass emigration from Great Britain stopped during and

after World War I, when the traditional receiving countries, such as the USA,

Canada and other countries imposed strict limitations on immigration. There

were periods when on the contrary the country experienced a large influx of

people. This was in the 1930s when there was a considerable flow of

refugees from continental Europe as a result of fascist persecution, and in

the late 1950s and early 1960s mainly the result of a large influx of people

from the West Indies and the Indian sub-continent. After the 1950s and in

the 1960s considerable numbers of people entered Britain from

Commonwealth countries, especially from the West Indies, Asia andAfrica and settled permanently in the country. They made an important

contribution to the development of the economy and the public services.

British monopolies derived great profits from the exploitation of cheap

migrant labour. The population of New Commonwealth (all Commonwealth

countries except Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and Pakistani ethnic

origin is over 2 million (about 3.6 per cent of the total population) of

whom 40 per cent were born in Britain. Nearly three quarters live in thesouth-east and in the

west Midlands. Although formally according to the Race Relations Act 1976

the migrants should be treated as equals, they suffer from race discrimination.

They occupy low-status and poorly paid jobs in poor environments of the

older towns (the slums), unemployment is very high among these ethnic

groups. The desperate conditions of these ethnic groups found expression in

the violent riots which took place in Brixton (London), Manchester,

Liverpool and other cities recently. The police brutally crushed the protest

movement of the coloured people of Britain. Even an official enquiry was

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compelled to acknowledge the abnormal conditions under which the coloured

minorities live and work in Britain. This report known as the Scarman Report

was compelled to acknowledge the fact that the coloured people 'are born and

raised in insecure social and economic conditions and in an impoverished

physical environment', which have a negative effect on their future life.

It is necessary to note that today in Britain there are also sizeable groups ofAmericans, Australians, Chinese and various European communities such as

Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Italians and Spaniards living in Britain. In the

last generation British society has therefore become more multi-racial as

ethnic minority groups from almost all parts of the world have made a

permanent home in the country. Although a small proportion of the total

population, they represent a significant element in certain areas (in the urban

centres, especially the largest towns, and in particular areas within these

centres). Regarding migration one should note that the traditional pattern of

migration in Britain has been maintained recently, with the exception in

1979 and 1986 when more came than left.

There are about 6 per cent more male than female births every year.

Because of the higher mortality of men at all ages, however, there is a

turning point, at about 50 years of age, at which the number of women

exceeds the number of men. This imbalance increases with age so that there

is a preponderance of women among the elderly. In the population as awhole there are nearly 105 females to every 100 males.

Marriage trends since the 1930s have been towards a higher proportion of

people marrying and an earlier age pattern. The proportion of the

population of Great Britain who were or had been married rose from

about 50 per cent in 1939 to 60 per cent in the 1980s, while the proportion of

single persons in the population aged 16 years or over fell from 33.3 per cent

to 23.4 per cent. The average age for first marriages is just over 26 for menand 24 for women with a marked fall in the proportion of church

marriages: today more than 50 per cent of marriages have been solemnized

by a civil ceremony in a Register office. The proportions of people divorcing

are growing: in 1989 about 13 decrees of divorce were made absolute for

every 1,000 married couples in England and Wales, compared with 2 in 1961,

though the rates are lower in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The population of England is and has been for centuries, greater than that

of all other parts of Britain. The distribution of the British population by

country is shown in the following table.

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Population 197

Distribution of the British Population by Country (1989)

Englan

Wales Scotlan

Norther

United

Population 47,407 2,836 5,112 1,575 56,930

Population 363 137 66 112 233

As regards the proportion of urban population Britain probably holds the

first place in the world. Over 90 per cent of its population live in towns. In

Britain there are 91 towns with the population of over 100 thousand people.

About one third of the country's population is concentrated in the town

districts, which comprise numerous merged towns and are called

conurbations. The seven major metropolitan areas which have been denotedas 'conurbations' in successive population censuses accommodate a third of

Great Britain's people while comprising less than three per cent of the total

land area. They are: Greater London, Central Clydeside, Merseyside, South-

East Lancashire, Tyneside, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire. These

regions are famous for their poor and worn out residential districts and high

population density and narrow streets of old towns and cities. They create

very serious problems, including traffic congestion. The proportion of

residents in Greater London and most of the metropolitan areas of England

has recently been falling. People, particularly the well-to-do, have tended to

leave city centres and conurbations because of their unhealthy environment,

although such migration may not necessarily mean a change of job but rather

an increase in the distance of travel to and from work. In other cases it has

been a consequence of falling employment in city centres.

More than 1.5 million people left major British cities during the 10 years

between the censuses of 1971 and 1981. The figures of the 1981 census

indicate that the larger the city, the larger the exodus. Greater London's

population fell by 756,000 to under 7 million for the first time since 1901. In

some districts of London, such as Kensington and Chelsea the population fell by

almost 30 per cent. Among the many reasons which have contributed to this

exodus (some were referred to above) one should also point out the unhealthy

environment, transport congestion, noise pollution, poor municipal services,

the growing crime rate. Soaring rents and high unemployment are alsoimportant factors which drive the people out of the big cities.

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In general about half the population lives in a belt across England with

south Lancashire and west Yorkshire at one end, and the London area at

the other, having the industrialized Midlands at its centre.

Other areas with large populations are: the central lowlands of Scotland;

north-east England from north of the river Tyne down to the river Tees; south-

west Wales; the Bristol area; and the English Channel coast from Poole, inDorset, eastwards. Less densely populated areas are the eastern fringes of

England between the Wash and the Thames estuary, and the far south-west.

Rural settlements of Great Britain differ from the traditional villages situated

in other countries. They are located not far from towns and resemble their

suburbs. They are inhabited by farm workers, clergymen, teachers, shop-keepers,

old-age people. Lately there has been a strong influx of townsmen to villages,

where houses are cheaper. Farmers do not live in such places. The farmers

live in isolated farms scattered all over the farm land.

The development of capitalism in Britain has led to a sharp class stratification

of the population. This in its turn increased the antagonism between the two

main classes of British society the working class and the bourgeoisie. In

1854 K. Marx noted that in Britain there was no extensive class of peasantry,

or of artisans, typical of many continental European countries. In Britain there

occurred a complete break between property and labour.*

There is no capitalist country in the world which has such a great percentageof workers and employees as it is in Britain. They comprise 92 per cent of the

gainfully occupied population.

Despite the propaganda bluff of British ideologists that Britain is a welfare state,

where there is equality and social justice this is far from true. According to the

official report 'Inequality in Contemporary Britain' 1 per cent of the

population of Great Britain owns 25 per cent of private property in the country

and 5 per cent of the population owns 50 per cent of the property. At the sametime 80 per cent of the population owns less of the national wealth than 1

per cent of the population. The bourgeois newspaperDaily Telegraph the

mouthpiece of the Conservative party openly states, 'We are to rid ourselves

of the illusion that postwar Britain is a country of social justice. In a free

society social justice is unthinkable'.

The 1980s witnessed a steady growth of mass unemployment and a deterioration

of the living standards of the people. The number of officially unemployed

increased from 1.3 mln in 1979 to 3.3 mln in the mid-1980s, though trade union

estimates indicated a figure of 4 mln jobless. Moreover, the number of people

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unemployed for more than a year increased notably. Especially hard hit are the

regions of the North, the North-West, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The number of poor people in the country reached about 12 mln. Statistics

indicated that in 1987 every third adult in Britain was living on the verge or

under the official poverty level. There are more than 200 thousand homeless in

the country. Income tax eats away 30 per cent of the wages of the workingpeople. At the same time as a result of the incentives created by the

Conservative government, the profits and dividends of the large firms and

corporations soared, and the rich became still richer while the poor poorer.

The number of millionaires increased from 1982 to 1987 by 40 per cent

reaching the figure of 7 thousand. Simultaneously, in the same period the

number of homeless increased by 38 per cent.

Today the total working population is over 26 mln of which workers and

employees comprise about 22 mln, the self-employed (that is owners of big and

small enterprises, farmers, etc.) exceed 1.5 mln.

Civil employment is as follows (the proportion engaged in different industries

and services, per cent): 1.6 1.4 24.3 5.2 1.4 5.9 13.3 32.6 6.7 7.6

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Mining and quarrying

Manufacturing industries

ConstructionGas, electricity and water

Transport and communications

Distributive trades

Professional, financial, scientific

and other services

National and local government services

Employers and self-employed(all industries and services) 100.0

The most notable trend in the employment pattern during the last years has

been the growth of people employed in services. This is a typical feature

which is observed in all developed countries. Such developments reflect

improved labour efficiency in industry, a change of employment patterns

caused by growth of high technology industries and a comparative decline of

the old traditional industries. Hence surplus labour is released and much of it

can be directed to services. Another important factor is the growth of the role

of science and technology in the life of the economy. International tourism also

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boosted the development of the service sector. The capitalists besides political

parties have their own industrial organization which deals with the problems of

management, industry, labour relations, employment, etc. This organization is

known as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) with the central

headquarters and local organizations all over the country.

Progress Test Questions and AssignmentsWhat are the main languages spoken in Great Britain today?

Speak of the numerical growth of the population of Britain in the past,

present and future.

How densely is the country populated?

Narrate the main factors of the natural growth of the population.

1 200 Population

5 Describe the role of migration in the growth of the population and the

consequences of immigration.

Discuss the distribution of the population urban and rural, the

tendencies of movement out of the cities. Name the main conurbations.

Give a detailed account of the class and social structure of British

society. Britain a country of two nations.

Write a two-page essay about the position of the non-white

population in contemporary Britain.E

SYSTEMovernmentDemocracy must be democratic in substance, not only in form. This means

that the process of choosing and changing holders of power shall be

unaffected by privilege of established organization and wealth, that the

holders of political power, when an election comes, shall compete with their

opponents on equal terms.

Lord Beveridge