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offtopic:clement_attlee

Clement Attlee

Smoking kills, kids…good thing he invented the NHS, then…

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1945-1951, succeeding Winston Churchill after the latter's shock defeat in the 1945 general election. Attlee had previously served in Churchill's national unity wartime government, during which Churchill described him as “a modest man who has much to be modest about”. He presided over one of the most left-wing governments in British history, overseeing the nationalisation of most industries and services. Most importantly, he also instituted the National Health Service in the face of widespread opposition from doctors; the success and popularity of Britain's new universal healthcare provision rapidly became such that even the ultraconservative Churchill consented to retaining it after he became PM again in 1951. Attlee's government laid the foundations for what is known as the socialist post-war consensus, where the Conservatives accepted their nationalisation policy and did not attempt to reverse it. This lasted until the crises of the late 1970s, culminating with the election of Margaret Thatcher and the start of Thatcherism.

Attlee's government was rather inept in terms of foreign policy, being far too naive towards the Soviet Union (for example, freely giving them British jet engine technology) while simultaneously alienating Harry Truman and the United States. However, all anyone remembers about him nowadays is the NHS and his pipe.

offtopic/clement_attlee.txt · Last modified: 2019/03/29 15:13 by 127.0.0.1

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