Do you agree with the view expressed in source 6 that the achievements of Attlee’s government were remarkable? 40 marks.
Although many believed that Attlee's years were a triumph, there is dispute over how successful they actually were. Both sources 4 and 6 emphasise the successes of the Labour government through the creation of their new policies. Whereas, source 5 suggests that the government did not prioritise the needs of the people, and the new policies did not reflect the concerns prevalent at the time, thus the achievements were not extraordinary. I, however, will be arguing that the achievements of Attlee’s government were remarkable, in agreement with the view expressed in source 6.
James Barber, author of source 6 promotes the…show more content… There was very little opposition to the nationalisation of industries like coal and the railways and civil aviation had been closely associated with the state since the 1920s. Nationalisation brought benefits to some industries, for example, the supply of electricity and gas was expanded. James Barber is a historian, thus his message will dependable and not one that we should disregard. However, the nationalised industries did not always benefit from state control. Even then, with nationalisation, Britain was only brought back into line with other European countries, so Labour were not on the verge of a breakthrough. Those who agree with Martin Daunton would argue that the nationalised industries were ‘remote, unaccountable and inefficient.’ The apparent success of Labour in terms of nationalisation is undermined by the fact that several industries were desperate to be taken over, in particular the coal and railway industries. During the post war slump, without nationalisation, these industries would have grounded to a halt. Labour did not directly include consumers or workers in the decision making and running of these industries. Thus, they would agree with the point raised by Martin Daunton that Labour ‘showed scant…show more content… The convertibility crisis that resulted from the US loans was a foremost failure of Attlee’s government. This triggered the dollar crisis in 1947, and, anticipating that the price of the pound would decline, foreign countries sold their stocks of sterling. To stabilise the price, Britain was forced to buy sterling which cost £645 million during 1947-1949. The loan put a strain on the sterling and no sooner was convertibility stopped. Thus, the government devalued the pound in 1949. However, it could be argued that without the negotiation of this loan, Britain would not have been able to rebuild stability and security within the country, or gain any of the benefits advocated by Sam