2. The Commonwealth

The story of Britain's Empire after World War II is a story of gaining inde­pendence by former colonial territories and establishing their own governments and policy. This issue was of primary importance in post-war British history and politics.

As it was mentioned above, the British Empire united two separate entities — there were the Commonwealth countries and colonies. The Commonwealth coun­tries, formerly Dominions, were totally self-governing after the Statute of West­minster in 1931, but they accepted Britain's monarch as their head of state and fol­lowed Britain's lead in defence and foreign affairs. In 1945, these were Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Eire and South Africa.

Colonies were governed directly from London via a British-run administra­tion, which supervised road-building, schools, medical services and other benefits for the colonies. The colonies were situated mainly in Africa, though they were also in the Far East (Singapore, Hong Kong), the Mediterranean (Malta, Cyprus), the Caribbean (Jamaica) and in other different parts of the world. These territories were at the same time a source of raw materials and an important market for Brit­ish economy. In the post-war years, the colonies developed self-government ac­cording to the United Nations Charter of 1945.

In India the nationalist movement led by Mahatma Gandhi made the British leave India in 1947, after this the country divided into a Hindu state and a smaller Muslim state called Pakistan. Ceylon and Burma became independent in 1948, the

same year Eire left the Commonwealth. South Africa also left the Commonwealth in 1961. All in all more than 500 million people in former British colonies became completely self-governing between 1945 and 1955.

The policy of decolonization was continued after the 1950's as well. In the 1960's and 1970's, self-government was granted to Nigeria, Cyprus, Tanzania, Si­erra Leone, Jamaica and Uganda. By 1979, only isolated colonies like Gibraltar, the Falklands and Hong Kong remained dependent.

Today the small remnants of the Empire wish to continue with the imperial arrangements. These are Gibraltar, St. Helena, the Ascension Islands, the Falk-lands/Malvinas and Belize. These small countries are a source for Britain's pride on one hand (they show how beneficial the British imperial administration is), but on the other hand it's a heavy burden — the possession of these territories does not fit the image of a modern democratic state and it costs the British taxpayer money.

Today the British Commonwealth of nations unites many of the former Brit­ish colonies. Though this union does not give any economic and political advan­tages, it keeps cultural contacts between its members alive.

3. Domestic Affairs

In his speech during World War II British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said: “We are not fighting to restore the past. We must plan and create a noble future.”

The years during and immediately after the war the British government con­centrated on the reforms providing social welfare in Britain. These reforms were introduced by both the Conservative and Labour Governments. In 1944, free com­pulsory secondary education (up to the age of fifteen) was established. This inno­vation gave rise to secondary modern schools, which were soon set up all over the country.

In 1946, the National Health Service was established to provide free treat­ment for different layers of society.

Both the Conservative and Labour Parties shared the ideas of the welfare state, which gives support to people in need. The state provided for its people all basic human rights — the government not only gave financial help, but also looked after people's welfare.

Gradually the life after World War II became better. Due to the US Marshall Aid Programme helping the countries that had suffered in the war, Britain could quickly restore its economy. Thanks to the economic recovery, the living standards rose. People began to buy cars, which were now much less expensive. The 1950's and 1960's are considered to be favourable years for British economy and social life.

But beginning with the 1970's Britain was gradually falling behind its Euro­pean neighbours — by 1979 Britain had become almost the sick man of Europe, economically declining. It happened as a result of rising prices and growing unem­ployment coupled with the arrival of immigrants from the former colonies into the country. The number of unemployed people reached 3,5 million by 1985. In many

towns 15% of the working population were out of work. Difficult conditions of liv­ing were worsened by the inflation — between 1954 and 1984 the prices multiplied by six.

This was the period, when the first woman — the leader of the Conservative Party Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister; Mrs. Thatcher called the nation for hard work, patriotism and self-help. She attached great importance to free trade, individual enterprise and minimal government interference in econ­omy. A number of nationalized industries were returned to the private secipr. By 1987, telecommunications, gas, British Airways, British Aerospace and British Shipbuilders were already in private ownership. However, the industrial decline was not stopped. From 1979 to 1983, industrial production fell by 10% and unemployment rose to over 3 mil­lion. But the most serious problem was that society became more unequal — a society of "two nations" — the wealthy and the poor.

The number of poor people, who received only government help increased from 12 million in 1979 to over 16 million in 1983.