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Post by Toreador on Jan 17, 2023 10:07:11 GMT
Yes, the Tories hold the record for the most Council Houses built in a single year (1953) Not so surprising given that so many houses were destroyed by the air raids. I remember some of what we referred to as the 'hollers' or 'ollers' in Liverpool in the late 1950s, empty areas were houses once stood. I played footie on a couple of them. I wonder if 'Up in no time' Prefabs where counted. I suppose they would have been. Oddly enough the conctrete prefabs were a massive help and far better than the concrete monstrosities of the 60s/70s. |
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Post by see2 on Jan 17, 2023 10:19:34 GMT
The Attlee government did many good things but inherited an economic nightmare after WW2. So yes, it did not succeed in building as many houses as future governments. The Tories from 1951 to their credit decided to give housing construction, including social housing, something of a priority. They had not yet arrived at the cynical calculation that council housing provision bred Labour voters and was thus undesirable in large numbers. The Tory governments of 1979-97 and since 2010 built far less social housing per year than any of the governments between 1951 and 1979. That New Labour built even less during their tenure is a damning indictment of their failure re housing. But then, they did pretty much continue with thatcherite housing policies, prioritising helping a few to buy over more social housing to rent or a fairer deal for private tenants. That they did even worse than the Tories with the same policies is also pretty poor. Had they done that and built more council houses they'd have weighed in with a stonking majority in 1950 and could then have started on a program of nationalisation and maybe realise that it wasn't always the best idea. As for the NHS, although it was introduced by Labour, the idea was a wartime cross-party idea. Interestingly I was treated during the war and to get treatment, we paid a small fee to see the doctor (a shilling comes to mind) and 1/6d a week into the HSA (Hospital Savings Association). You could see a doctor the same day and access a local hospital within days. Highlighted above is a Tory fallacy used as anti-Labour propaganda. British industry was geared up at the end of the war, and the UK had an open market to sell cars in Europe. Unfortunately they sold inferior cars and quickly lost their market advantage. Meanwhile the Germans were building car production plants in other countries. While British industrialists sat back and plodded along in their old way. If you want to look for reasons for British incompetence look no further than the so called Captains of Industry and the people with the power and wealth in the country. Both Steel and Railways were nationalised because of the abysmal performances before the war. British rail went downhill because of lack of funding, the nationalised railways of Germany and France went on to produce High Speed Rail and IIRC fully electrified railways. |
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Post by see2 on Jan 17, 2023 10:23:07 GMT
Not so surprising given that so many houses were destroyed by the air raids. I remember some of what we referred to as the 'hollers' or 'ollers' in Liverpool in the late 1950s, empty areas were houses once stood. I played footie on a couple of them. I wonder if 'Up in no time' Prefabs where counted. I suppose they would have been. Oddly enough the conctrete prefabs were a massive help and far better than the concrete monstrosities of the 60s/70s. I agree, and they were well equipped, IIRC they even had a built in fridge. My point was that they were quick and easy to put up so masses could be erected quite quickly. |
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Post by Toreador on Jan 17, 2023 10:33:03 GMT
Oddly enough the conctrete prefabs were a massive help and far better than the concrete monstrosities of the 60s/70s. I agree, and they were well equipped, IIRC they even had a built in fridge. My point was that they were quick and easy to put up so masses could be erected quite quickly. They were a Scandinavian idea and were put up by Labour just after the war, I knew people who got one, I don't think any were put up by the Tories. It's not that long ago many still existed and were still being used. |
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Post by see2 on Jan 18, 2023 12:35:40 GMT
Both Ok I’ll expand that. It’s clear that the unions are now engaged in the sort of actions in collaboration that thatcher declared should be made illegal. On the other side it is also clear the government are quite deliberately refusing to do anything about the pay and conditions of any except the merchant bankers to whom most will turn for continued income streams after they are ejected from Westminster in late 2024 The current economic conditions have been created by a set of policies operated by parties in power since the 1980s. Aided and abetted by the 'I F Meltdown', Austerity alone instead of hand in hand with growth, then Covid 19 and now with the invasion of the Ukraine. Not helped by various lack luster governments. |
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