The Five Giants - Cradle to the grave

The Five Giants - Cradle to the grave

1. idleness

   • Assessment in 1951
     • America was unhappy with the labour government as they objected to the socialists policies of nationalisation
     • many industries needed huge investments which the government could not afford to invest
       • railway networks and stock
     • many argued that it created "jobs for life" and removed motivation and incentives to work thus affecting production
     • unemployment never went above 2.5% in their 5 year
   • Problems pre 1945
     • mass unemployment through great depression in 1930s
     • old industries were hit badly
       • shipping, mining and steel
     • whole communities decimated by unemployment and unemployment
   • Problems facing Labour
     • had to use Marshall plan - money to buy key industries
     • many people were unhappy at nationalisation and did not believe this is how the money should have been spent
   • Solutions of Labour
     • as close to 0% unemployment as possible
     • large building projects
       • towns
       • schools
       • infrastructure
       • road
       • trains
       • airports
     • nationalised all the major public amenities - gas, electric, rail transport and telecommunications

2. Disease

   • Problems pre 1945
     • no universal health care system
     • covered NI worker did not get hospital treatment
     • no wide spread vaccination system
     • large portion of society could not afford to see a doctor let alone pay for medicine if they could pay for one
     • large problems with TB, measles, mumps etc
   • Solutions of Labour
     • National Health Servise
   • Assessment in 1951
     • the NHS was a great success the crowning glory and lasting legacy of the post war Labour government
     • great deal more expensive than first believed
       • had to introduce charges for dental and optical care
   • Problems facing Labour
     • had to convince doctors and BMA as they did not support the idea
       • until they were promised they could still keep private patients and were given a set amount per NHS patient

3. Squalor

   • Assessments in 1951
     • aim of building 4-5 million not realised in fact only 1/5 was built
     • prefabs became permanent abodes
     • initial high quality housing was ditched when they ran out of money
   • Problems facing Labour
     • lack of building materials
     • ran out of money
     • lack of skilled workers (lack of education)
   • Solutions of Labour
     • short term - "prefabs" 156000
     • town and country act creating new towns
     • 200000 houses built p.a. so 1 million overall
   • Problems pre 1945
     • bombing
       • 750000 houses destroyed
     • slums
       • appalling conditions and overcrowding
     • 2 million houses needed before WW1 now worse

4. Want

   • Assessment in 1951
     • hugely beneficial and successful changes many of which are still in use today
       • in the long term it created what became known as "a nanny state"
   • Problems pre 1945
     • pensions were not enough to keep people out of poverty
     • National insurance system could not cope with the mass unemployment caused by the great depression in its different state
       • to few paying in and too many in need
     • means testing was degrading and humiliating
     • due to living conditions many did not reach pension age
   • Problems facing Labour
     • system was heavily reliant on near full employment
     • system required a large budget and effective collection scheme
   • Solutions of Labour
     • scrapped means testing being intrusive
     • lower pension age to 65 for men and 60 for women
     • introduced child benefits
     • unemployment system universal
       • two tier programme
         • one for those who paid stamps to get a higher grade
         • those who had not paid enough stamps on their stamp payment ran out
     • created cradle to the grave support
     • introduced maternity benefit and improved the grant

5. Ignorance

   • Assessments in 1951
     • kids "discarded" if they failed 11+ exam and failed to gain large numbers from working classes going to higher education as hoped
     • three tier secondary system accused of being too elitist and favoured middle class children and made it more difficult for working class to progress
     • built enough primary schools
     • failed to build enough secondary schools and this prevented them from raising the school leaving age to 16
   • Problems pre 1945
     • there was no secondary education
       • no secondary schools
     • many existing schools bombed in the war
     • not enough primary schools (baby boom)
   • Solutions of Labour
     • build more schools
     • free universal secondary three tier system
     • 1 year teacher training courses
     • build more colleges but also polytechnics
     • grants for poorer children for further and higher education
   • Problems facing Labour
     • ran out of building materials and money
     • not enough skilled workers to build schools