Not many people are familiar with former Prime Minister Clement Attlee or the work of his governments, often being overshadowed by the wartime efforts of Sir Winston Churchill. However, one of the most contentious governments in post-war history have a lot more to it than meets the eye, as Attlee’s Labour Governments 1945-51 promised to delve into.
Attlee’s Labour Governments 1945-51 walks readers through the post-war governments ran by the veteran politician Attlee. Originally intended as a book to assist study, it describes in detail the achievements, failures, origination and downfall of these governments, as well as the party politics which made it all happen. It also covers to an extent some high-ranking cabinet members who had a clear effect on Attlee and his means of ruling.
I’ve known of Attlee for a while but never fully explored him and his premiership until reading this publication, which was very informative and detailed. It covered everything I would have wanted it to do, and highlighted the main achievements of Attlee’s governments (the most notable of which being the founding of the National Health Service). Whilst informative as it was, the nature of the book left me wanting a bit more in-depth analysis. It was written well but as intended more of a study-aid, the volume was very short and covered the main beats of Attlee’s governments whilst avoiding a lot of detail. It also (understandably) focused heavily on the Prime Minister himself and the great offices of state (Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary), so didn’t cover many of the other roles within government, which I would have liked to read more about.
This pamphlet is a simple and effective way to learn a lot about the Attlee administrations and the effects these had on (at least) the post-war decade of British history. But if you want a full insight into the governments in question, you may want to source a different book, as this is largely an introductory work.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Attlee’s Labour Governments 1945-51 (ISBN: 0-415-08893-3) was published in 1993
