J. E. D. Hall

Intriguing, well-balanced and light in tone review of the first year of the Attlee Labour Government, 1945-1946. One gets a strong sense, from reading the account, just how strong a commanding position Attlee had, and how little the Conservative opposition could do on a practical level to stop the wave of socialist legislation that came through. This is not to say that Labour gets off scot-free; the issue of the management of food supplies comes to the fore, though the resignation of the Minister of Food (who is a figure of pity by the author) gets passed over lightly. One mild surprise is how much space the independents get, especially A.P. Herbert, the humourist/legal scholar, who gets a number of mentions. Also a good look at how Parliament worked in those days, inclusive of its relations (sometimes strained) with the House of Lords. Quite interesting.… (mais)