LESSON 10 BRITAIN AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR The Second World War was precipitated by the policies

of the Western powers that did their utmost to direct fascist aggression against the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union on its part consistently urged Britain and France to undertake collective measures to halt the advance of fascism and defeat its aggressive aims. The Chamberlain government however, exerted every effort to prevent this, and the outcome was the outbreak of World War II. Britain hoped to kill two birds with one stone that Germany and Japan involved in the war against Soviet Russia would be seriously weakened, the problem of Bolshevism so much hated by the ruling oligarchy would be solved and Britain would maintain her superiority in world affairs. However, these hopes crashed in September 1939 when war between the two imperialist groups headed by Germany and Britain started. Despite the seriousness of the situation the war was carried on by Chamberlain with great reluctance. The lack of any military activity until the spring of 1940 won this period the title of 'the phoney war'. The military activity of Britain was confined to limited air raids or naval skirmishes. This period ended in April 1940 when Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway and drove out a small AngloFrench force. The dreams of the men of Munich were now smashed: war was on Britain's threshold. Such a development of events created an uproar of protest both in the country and in Parliament. The working class of Britain fully supported the slogan of the British Communist party 'Men of Munich, go!' In Parliament Lloyd George said that Chamberlain's best contribution to the war effort was to resign as prime minister. After a stormy debate the House of Commons forced Chamberlain to resign and Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of a coalition government which included Conservatives, representatives of the Labour party and Liberals. This occurred on May 10, 1940, the day on which Hitler opened his offensive on the western front. Three days after the attack in the west, Churchill warned Parliament, 'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many long months of struggle and suffering'. For Britain World War II was now assuming an anti-fascist character when in the summer of 1940 an immediate danger of fascist invasion became imminent. The German Blitzkrieg went ahead with overwhelming mechanized force and bewildering speed. Germany overwhelmed the neutral countries of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg without warning. The Anglo-French forces were cut
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in two, when the main German attack broke through near Sedan. By May 20 the fascist armored forces reached the sea. Holland and Belgium surrendered. The trapped British expeditionary forces hurriedly evacuated from Dunkirk leaving much equipment and ammunitions to the enemy. The simple people of Britain displayed outstanding patriotism and courage in helping to save the British force from complete defeat by hurriedly evacuating the soldiers on every kind of craft that was available. More than three hundred thousand Anglo-French soldiers were thus transported in a motley array of vessels. Nevertheless Dunkirk became a synonym of disastrous defeat for Britain. Fascist Germany resumed its advance on June 5 which ended with the capitulation of France. In 1940 Italy joined the war against Britain. At this stage of the war Hitler began to make preparations to invade Britain. He attached great importance to victory in the air. Victory in the air was necessary to the fascists before they could attempt invasion. From August 1940 came the permanent bombing of British cities and military installations, popularly called the 'Blitz'. These attacks caused serious damage and took many lives. The 'Blitz' brought its own terrors, and put a heavy strain on civilians. Nevertheless the British people did not flinch or hesitate in their determination to defeat fascism. In the spring of 1941 the raids ended as Hitler moved his forces east to prepare for the invasion of the Soviet Union. On June 22, 1941 fascist Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The participation of the Soviet Union changed the whole content of the war.With the German onslaught on the Soviet Union, Hitler's invasion plan of Britain 'Operation Sea-Lion' was abandoned. In July 1941 the Anglo-Soviet treaty of united action against Germany was signed in Moscow. The British people demanded urgent action to be taken as regards launching an offensive in the west against fascist Germany. Especially pressing were these demands when the Red Army routed the German forces near Moscow in December 1941. When the Japanese fleet in December 1941 attacked the American naval base of Pearl Harbour the USA declared war both on Japan and Germany. This added a new dimension to the war: the antifascist coalition of the Soviet Union, the USA and Britain was thus created. It was a great victory of Soviet foreign policy. A powerful united front against fascism and militarism was formed. The Anglo-Soviet treaty signed in London in May 1942 obliged Britain together with the USA to open a second front. However, these promises were constantly delayed. For the next two years discussions were on about a second front in Europe, and this vital
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prerequisite for allied victory was postponed by Churchill in favour of new military actions in North Africa, and then in Italy. Britain's imperialist interests in Africa came before a speedy victory in Europe, until it became clear that the Soviet army could defeat Hitler's Wehrmacht by itself. During the autumn and winter of 19423 the whole tide of war turned. The Stalingrad battle broke the backbone of the Hitler war machine: the Soviet army launched a counter-offensive in November 1942 and eventually destroyed the 300 thousand German army besieging it, taking prisoner Field Marshal von Paulus (January February 1943). The summer and autumn offensive of the Soviet army in 1943 consolidated the basic gains in the war against fascism and created an entirely new situation. The Soviet victory gave a powerful fillip to the resistance movement all throughout occupied Europe. Meanwhile the British Eighth Army under general Montgomery together with the American forces defeated Rommel and his army at El Alamein (1942) in North Africa. Further Churchill Roosevelt meetings took place in Casablanca (January 1943) and Washington (May 1943) where it was finally decided to open the second front only in May 1944. Finally, at Teheran, Churchill and Roosevelt met Stalin to agree on a united strategy for this decisive stage of the war. The Normandy landings in France took place on June 6, 1944 (D-day) a month after the agreed date, and the end of the war was no longer in doubt. The best German forces had been made harmless by the Soviet army long before thai. Paris was soon liberated by the French Resistance. Late in September 1944 the Anglo-American army reached the western border of Germany. However, even at this final stage of the war the Soviet Union once again proved its readiness to help the allies when they suffered a serious setback. In December 1944 the German army launched a surprise attack in the Ardennes (in south-east Belgium) and found a weak spot in the American lines. The German tanks went through and the allies were on the brink of a major disaster. On January 6, 1945 Churchill appealed to the So viet government to launch an offensive in Poland to divert the German forces from the west. The Soviet High Command was preparing for an offensive to be carried out some time later. However, in this situation the Soviet army intensified its preparations and launched a massive counteroffensive on January 12. This saved the Anglo-American army, for the German forces were hurriedly directed to the east and the allied line was restored. Fascist Germany was now on the brink of a complete defeat. Under
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such circumstances it was necessary to hold a summit meeting to solve the urgent problems of the final phase of the war and especially postwar issues. Such a summit meeting between the Soviet Union, the USA and Britain took place at Yalta in February 1945. The Conference demonstrated the sense of unity between the allies and destroyed all fascist hopes that a united front would not hold. The Yalta Conference elaborated an extensive programme of liquidation of German militarism and nazism. It was a genuine democratic programme which answered the interests of the peoples of the world. However, postwar developments demonstrated the reluctance of the Western powers to carry out this programme. The fascists surrendered unconditionally in May 1945. The military theatre became concentrated in the Far East. True to its commitments the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan. Though the Americans dropped their atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, killing almost 250 thousand people, Japan was far from intending to surrender. However, the mass offensive undertaken by the Soviet army in Manchuria against the best Japanese forces the Kwantung army and its overwhelming defeat led to the final capitulation of Japan. On September 2, 1945 World War II the greatest war in history was over. Britain had survived but in the course of the long and exhausting conflict, much in the world had changed, and new problems and new perils stood ahead. This period saw a tremendous upsurge of political interest in factories and offices as well as in the armed forces. In spite of the position of the official Labour party leadership, many campaigns during the war constantly united Labour and Communist party members as the centre of a wide popular movement calling for a second front in Europe, the struggle to get maximum production for the war effort. In all these campaigns the unity of the left was strengthened and the leadership of the Communist party was more and more widely appreciated. Its membership grew more than three times as compared with the pre-war days. The part played by the Daily Worker in leading class struggles and in winning wider respect for the Communist party was vital. The government scared by the popularity of the paper banned it in January 1941. However, this aroused widescale protest among the working class. The campaign grew so strong in 1942 that the Labour party conference in July passed a resolution demanding an end to the ban which was issued by the Home Secretary Herbert Morrison, a violently anti-Communist Labour party leader. Under the pressure
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of the British working class the Daily Worker was allowed to come out again from August 26, 1942. This was an important illustration of the growth of left-wing feelings in the country. However, the right wing leadership of the Labour party undertook every effort to check the spread of socialist ideas. Though nationalization was included into the programme of the party in 1918 the right wing leaders only paid lip service to this clause. Socialism was interpreted in general terms without any concrete measures aimed at changing capitalism. Nevertheless pro-socialist views were so strong that in 1945 the Labour party produced an election programme 'Let Us Face the Future', which was comparatively progressive, and which was to win the general election. After victory over Germany, Churchill urged to preserve the government coalition until the victory over Japan. However, the masses discontent with the reactionary policies of the Conservatives rejected this plan. The broad masses wanted no return to the past associated with the Tories. Despite Churchill's personal popularity which the Tories tried to exploit the masses rejected the party of 'big business'. The elections of July 5, 1945 ended in a landslide victory for the Labour party and Clement Attlee became Prime Minister of the new Labour government. Two Communists William Gallacher and Phil Piratin were elected to parliament which was a major event in the history of the British working class movement. A favourable background was created for the adoption of progressive socio-economic legislation, which substantially improved labour conditions and social security. POSTWAR BRITAIN Britain emerged from the war in a weakened position both economically and politically. Her losses in human lives were comparatively small, about three hundred thousand, which was four times less than in 191418. Material damage and losses were much more substantial, about 25 billion pounds. British exports fell drastically too, while high imports continued due to the structure of the economy and its dependence on raw materials and foodstuffs. Britain had to sell about half of her foreign capital investments to pay for the war, and in addition to borrow money widely. In that situation Britain tried to maintain its social and economic position by accepting the role of junior partner of the USA. This was the background to the policy described as a 'special relationship' with the United States in the notorious speech of Winston Churchill at Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946. This speech was popularly regarded in the west as the start of the cold war against the Soviet Union. It was a policy that was to impose heavy burdens on the British
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people. British industry had been neglected in favour of capital investment abroad; it was technically backward, especially in the basic industries, and its exports did not cover in earnings the imports. The difference or deficit had been met by the huge flow of superprofits derived from the colonies. Now these profits were cut by half due to the sales of capital during the war. A further strain was the cost of military bases maintained by Britain abroad. Before the war the peoples of the colonies paid for these costs. As the old colonial system collapsed more had to be paid by Britain itself. Such was the background of Britain's slow economic advance after the war, the slowest in the capitalist world. However, advance did take place, in spite of financial crises, the devaluation of the pound in 1949. and the growing waste of men and materials in rearmament. This economic advance was characteristic of a normal postwar boom. Throughout this period of moderate economic expansion there was an increasing trend towards monopoly development in the main branches of industry. Such were the problems which the Labour government (1945 51) faced. If the British Labour government of Attlee Morrison Bevin had really been socialist, as it claimed to be, it would have solved the problems of the country by taking measures against the domination of monopoly capital at home and stopping the export of capital abroad. However, the right-wing Labour leaders borrowed widely from the USA thus becoming more and more dependent on the USA. Britain became an automatic supporter of whatever the American government chose to do. In the UN organization, in the Central Control Commission in Germany, in West Berlin, on all issues Britain danced to the tune of the USA. The Potsdam agreement was ignored by the Western powers, the cold war against the Soviet Union and the countries of peoples' democracies was stepped up. The NATO bloc was formed in March 1949. Britain's military role as the junior partner of the United States was that of an 'unsinkable aircraft carrier'. The occupation of Britain by American bombers began in July 1948, American bases were extended all over the country. The British Labour government paying lip service to the principles of socialism carried out nationalization of derelict industries, such as mining, energy, the railways, means of communication. The Bank of England was nationalized too. However, this was typical capitalist nationalization. Lavish compensation was given to the ex-owners. The workers were completely deprived of any control of the nationalized sector. The Labour government claimed that it had made important social advances with security
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guaranteed to the workers in nationalized industries, and the introduction of a system of social security that was hailed to be the best in the world. But the hopes of the workers were soon disappointed. Social insurance, with the new free health service, was paid for by contribution from the worker (35 per cent), the employer (33 per cent), and the state (32 per cent). However, the share of the state was passed on to the public, that is mainly to the workers, in the form of increased indirect taxation. It is necessary to emphasize that the social benefits granted by Attlee's government were largely nullified by a steady increase in the burden of indirect taxation. The construction of state hospitals was carried out at a low pace, municipal housing was limited, the number of pensioners was restricted and the pensions were quite inadequate to make a living. Labour leaders had claimed that a social revolution had been carried through with their establish ment of a 'welfare state'. In fact this was a complete fraud. The improved social services had been paid for by the workers themselves through increased taxation. Moreover, when more money was needed for rearmament the government cut allocations for social needs. Social injustice continued to prevail in the country. The Oxford Institute of Statistics showed that in the 1950s 60 per cent of the adult population owned less than 100 pounds each, totalling only about 4 per cent of the nation's capital, but 63 per cent of the total capital was owned by a mere 3 per cent of the adult population. The Labour government having implemented a programme of limited reforms began to carry out a typical policy of wage-freeze, demanding from the workers an increase of production without any wage increase. Such a policy in the face of a constant growth of prices on food and consumer goods meant an actual deterioration of the living standards of the British people. This was coupled with tax increases and social security cuts. It was quite logical that discontent with the policies of the Labour government became widespread. The rift between the popular masses and the Labour government was quite vividly expressed in the results of the general election in 1950 when the Labour party won a marginal victory and remained in office till 1951. In foreign policy the Attlee government was especially unpopular. The Labour government did its utmost to delay independence to India. However, under the pressure of the national liberation movement it was forced to grant independence to India in 1947, then to Burma and Ceylon in 1948. Political independence was granted to India but the country was divided into two states, the Hindu state of India and the Moslem state of Pakistan, in
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accordance with the classical imperialist strategy of 'Divide and rule'. Other colonial peoples were held down by force as long as possible. In 1948 the Attlee government unleashed a typical colonial war against the people of Malaya. Neo-colonialism too was widely pursued by Britain in her policies against the newly-independent states. As a result of such unpopular policies the British working class turned away from the Labour government, and the Conservatives exploited the situation to their advantage and won the elections in 1951 on the wave of mass Labour discontent. The government of 'big business' held power till 1964. In this period the Communist Party of Great Britain played an important role in uniting the progressive forces in the country and stepping up the struggle of the working class for its rights. In this respect the new draft programme of the British Communist party 'Britain's Boad to Socialism' published in 1951 contributed to the whole labour movement. This programme reaffirmed that the only solution to the problems of the British people was socialism. The winning of this aim had to be considered in the light of the new world situation, with onethird of the world in the socialist camp, with the breakdown of the old imperialist system, and a new balance of forces. The new Conservative cabinet of Churchill Eden (19515) facing serious economic and financial problems caused by growing military expenditures tried to solve them at the expense of the British people by slashing social security programmes and curbing imports. Such a policy was a continuation of the policy of the rightwing Labour leaders. The British working class staunchly opposed such moves. The national strikes of the engineering workers and of the dockers in 19534 clearly expressed the resolution of the workers to defend their cause. Tension grew within the Conservative government and Churchill was forced to resign in 1955. He was succeeded by Eden, a 'progressive Conservative'. The temporary improvement of the economic situation coupled with a modest pay rise contributed to the victory of the Conservative party in the 1955 elections. However, soon the election promises were broken and forgotten. The growth of labour opposition expressed in the number of strikes forced the government to cancel its direct attempts to ban strikes. This was an important development in the conflict between labour and capital. The crisis of the colonial system hit Britain especially hard. Under the pressure of the national liberation movement British colonialism was forced to retreat. In 1954 British forces withdrew from the Suez Canal zone. However, when President Nasser of Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956 the combined
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Anglo-Franco-Israeli intervention of Egypt took place. British imperialism once again exposed its aggressive nature. There was world-wide condemnation of this act. Moreover, the Soviet Union issued a stern warning. Under such circumstances Eden resigned in January 1957 to be followed by Harold Macmillan. The unpopular actions of the Conservatives eventually brought them to defeat which occurred in October 1964 when the Labour party regained office and Harold Wilson became prime minister. The Suez disaster proved that the days of colonialism were over. Progress Test Questions and Assignments Analyse the initial stage of World War II observing the policy of the British government in 'the phoney war'. Narrate the main developments of the war against fascist Germany, paying special attention to the decisive role of the Soviet Union in defeating fascism. What caused the defeat of the Conservatives in 1945? Observe the main policies of the Labour government (194551). Give an argumentative criticism of the so-called 'welfare state' and of the reforms implemented by the Labour party leadership. CONTEMPORARY BRITAIN In 1950 the United Kingdom's gross national product (GNP) was the second largest in the capitalist world after the USA, and in terms of GNP per head it ranked fifth. In the 1980s Britain stands only fifth in terms of total GNP and twentieth in terms of GNP per head. Britain's share of visible world trade also declined in 1950 it accounted for 11 per cent of world trade, but by the 1980s it went down to 56 per cent. Especially acute was the fact that Britain continued to lag behind the other capitalist rivals both in the rate of economic development and modernization. The country experienced a chronic deficit in the balance of payments which meant that it could not compete efficiently on the world markets. After World War II there was an emergence of new industries and the renewal and improvement of the country's infrastructure. However, these developments were not of such a vast character as they occurred in other capitalist countries such as Japan, the USA, West Germany or France. At the same time in spite of short periods of growth the rate of economic growth was low in comparison with the rates in other industrialized capitalist
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countries, never exceeding 2-3 per cent annually up to the 1970s, but much lower in subsequent years. Moreover, there were years of minus growth. Stagflation was the term which could be applied when assessing the condition of the British economy, i. e. stagnation coupled with inflation. True, the latter was reduced in the 1980s, but this was carried out at the expense of the working class and mass unemployment became an immediate consequence. In short, Britain came to be known as 'the sick man of Europe'. The democratic elements in the trade union and labour movement were aware of the fact that the immediate problems of the state were caused by the imperialist ambitions of the British governments which led to costly military expenditures. Moreover, the continuing export of capital abroad by the monopolies in search of super-profits contributed to the deterioration of the economic position of the state, as well as the inconsistent policies of the British governments concerning nationalization. However, the politicians and ideologists of the British Establishment disregarding existing reality alleged that the problems of the country were caused by the high living standards of the British people and by the excessive demands of the working class. This claim was completely false. Hence, on such an assumption the monopoly class and the political elite advocated a policy of wage-freeze which on a background of soaring prices meant a steady deterioration of the living standards of the British people. This in its turn led to a growth of labour militancy associated with ensuing strikes. The effect of growing militancy within the trade unions was shown in actions like the national engineering strike of 1957 and the strike of London busmen in 1958. 1958 was a year which brought a record number of stoppages of work (2,859) due to industrial disputes, involving loss of 8,412,000 working days. Union leaders tried to stop workers from striking, but strikes went on. In these conditions when right-wing trade union leaders advocated a policy of class collaboration, the role of shop stewards became more important. The shift to the left was reflected also in the struggle within the Labour party. In the 1950s the right wing, headed by Hugh Gaitskell, the leader of the Labour party since the resignation of Attlee in 1955, launched an offensive to delete Clause 4 from the party constitution. This clause adopted in 1918 proclaimed the socialist aim of 'common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange'. True, the right wing never regarded this clause seriously. However, it still remained an obstacle on the path of open submission to the demands of the employers. The right-wing leaders alleged
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that the defeat of the Labour party in the elections of 1951 and 1955 was caused by the demands for further nationalization. However, in reality the electorate turned away from Labour due to its inconsistent policy concerning nationalization. Despite its frenzied efforts the right-wing leadership was defeated over this issue at the Labour party conference in 1960. Clause 4 remained in the party consitution. The delegates of the conference overwhelmingly supported Frank Cousins and his formula: 'You may have nationalization without socialism, but you cannot have socialism without nationalization'. Despite this severe setback for the right wing it continued to advocate and implement reactionary anti-socialist views within the Labour party. The Suez disaster of 1956 led to a wider interest taken by the people in problems of foreign policy. The British people rejected the policy of subservience to American imperialism, of making the country an 'unsinkable aircraft carrier'. In 1958 the Macmillan cabinet signed an agreement with the USA on the deployment of American missiles in Britain. It aroused a storm of protest all throughout the country. The Communist party was in the forefront of this campaign organizing mass rallies and demonstrations against nuclear weapons and bases. In this atmosphere of mass opposition the prominent scientist Bertrand Russell together with a group of progressives formed a new anti-war organization, 'Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament' (CND) which demanded unilateral nuclear disarmament. In April 1958 the first peace march was organized to Aldermaston the centre of British nuclear research. Since then the Aldermaston marches have become an important event in the peace campaign in the United Kingdom. Under the pressure of broad sections of the British public the Conservative government accepted the proposals of the USSR on banning nuclear tests in 1963. However, the Conservative government faithfully supported US policies and in particular it gave full backing to the formation of multilateral nuclear forces initiated by the US government which gave the West German militarists a finger on the nuclear trigger. Military expenditures were enhanced by the Nassau agreement (the Bahamas) signed between Britain and the USA. The programme of supplying Britain with American Polaris missiles meant an end to Britain's independent nuclear forces. Meanwhile, the British industrialists found it profitable to join the Common Market (the European Economic Community, EEC) hoping to gain access to the rich European market. Voicing these hopes
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the Conservative government started negotiations to join the EEC. Strong inside opposition was coupled with France's refusal to accept British terms. Macmillan was forced to interrupt the negotiations on entry. This was a personal setback for the prime minister who resigned in 1963. Macmillan was succeeded by Alec Douglas-Home, formerly foreign secretary, but better known as Neville Chamberlain's parliamentary private secretary and a leading supporter of his notorious Munich policy. The Conservative government had completely discredited itself by its home and foreign policy and the general election of 1964 ended thirteen years of Tory rule. Shortly before the elections there was a change of leadership in the Labour party: Gaitskell died suddenly in 1963 and a more popular-looking leader was found. He was Harold Wilson, a former professor of economics at Oxford. He criticized the incompetence of the Conservative party, excessive military expenditures, stagnation, etc. Though he was considered to be a representative of the centre of the party he soon showed that in twelve years he had fully absorbed the outlook of the right wing. In spite of Wilson's leadership the working class and other progressive people rallied round the Labour party in 1964, and even more so in 1966, giving it a comfortable majority in parliament. When the Labour party came to power in 1964 it faced a very serious situation: the majority in the House of Commons was marginal. Labour supporters were asked to give the government a chance, 'not to rock the boat', to maintain unity to keep the Tories out. These motives undoubtedly had an effect on left-wing criticism. Harold Wilson began carefully with reforms appealing to large numbers of voters: increases in old age pensions, increased government help for municipal housing, restoration of some measures of rent control, and cautious support for a more general advance towards a comprehensive secondary school system. He was forgiven a lot because of his tiny majority in parliament. On coming to power Wilson faced a balance of payments crisis (the deficit amounted to 800 million pounds). Urgent measures were to be taken. These steps were characteristic of orthodox Torystyle economy cuts and a wage-freeze policy. The government was bent on greater state involvement in the affairs of the economy to achieve greater nationalization, modernization of industry and redistribution of national resources. Wilson believed that close cooperation between the government, the monopolies and the trade union movement would contribute to the solution of the ills of British society. In 1965 parliament adopted the five-year
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national plan. There were some positive elements in the plan concerning economic recovery but in general the plan was a failure for it was bent not on continued nationalization but on encouraging monopoly development. Under the pressure of the labour movement Wilson's government contributed to raising the school-leaving age to 16, it extended comprehensive education, renationalized the steel industry and lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. In foreign policy Wilson maintained continuity of Tory principles. However, in the first years of Labour government there was a turn for the better in Anglo-Soviet relations, though in the late 1960s these relations deteriorated because of British involvement in an anti-Soviet campaign. The prestige of the Labour government was still further lowered by its unpopular policy in Northern Ireland where the Catholic minority started a peaceful campaign for equal economic, political and social rights. The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association formed in 1967 organized mass peaceful rallies and demonstrations demanding equal civil rights with the protestants. However, this peaceful movement was met by brutal force by the protestant extremists. The Labour government under the pretext of restoring law and order sent troops to Northern Ireland. In reality the British army carried out punitive operations against the victims of protestant outrages. The British government dealt severely with the participants of the civil rights movement because it was a challenge to the system which had long served the interests of British colonialism. Mass arrests took place, concentration camps were set up where the British authorities carried out interrogations using torture and other illegal methods of brutal force. The inability of the Labour government to solve the Ulster issue on democratic lines caused wide-scale discontent both in Northern Ireland and Britain itself. However, especially unpopular was Wilson's attempt to solve the economic and financial problems of the country at the expense of the British people. This was the gist of the 'prices and incomes policy'. The government stipulated that the annual growth of wages should not exceed 3.5 per cent which was much lower than the actual growth of prices. In other words it was a typical wage freeze policy which led to wide-scale industrial unrest. Frank Cousins resigned from the cabinet in protest against the Wilson line. Labour unrest grew: if in 1967 734 thousand workers went on strike, in 1968 the figure grew to 2,258 thousand. In 1968 the centenary congress of the trade unions movement passed a resolution overwhelmingly deploring government intervention in collective bargaining and demanded the repeal of the Prices
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and Incomes Act. Even more important, for the first time in a hundred years there appeared a significant left-wing group in the leadership of the TUG. In January 1969 the government produced a White Paper called In Place of Strife which proposed new legislation under which workers taking part in unauthorized strikes could be fined. It gave the government powers to enforce a 'cooling-off period, delaying strikes for 28 days. The latter proposal was based on similar laws in the USA. The plan to fine workers was regarded as a most hostile anti-trade union measure. The whole trade union movement united to oppose these proposals. The British communists again were in the front ranks of this struggle. Protest strikes in February and May 1969 involved hundreds of thousands of workers, particularly in London and Liverpool. In April a National Convention of the left was organized by the Communist party together with various left-wing Labour groups. An extraordinary conference of the TUG, the first called in over 40 years, was held in June. In face of determined opposition Wilson climbed down and withdrew his plans for a new law. The mass media spoke of his humiliation. The negative effects of Wilson's policies were clearly reflected in the general election of June 18,1970. Only 69 per cent of the electorate participated, the lowest percentage since World War II, and within this lower poll the percentage of Labour votes dropped to 43. This meant that over two million Labour voters had abstained in protest against right-wing policies. On this background the Conservatives won the election and Edward Heath formed the new Tory government. The 1970s saw a rapid deepening of the economic and political crisis of Britain. The lack of modernization in the period of scientific and technological progress due to the outflow of capital, huge military expenditures had a most negative effect on the performance of British industry. Being a trading nation it failed to compete successfully on the world markets because the economies of her main capitalist rivals had experienced wide-scale modernization, especially after World War II and their goods were comparatively cheaper. This had an adverse effect on the country's balance of payments which is a ratio between the earnings of a country through exports and the expenditures due to imports. With a deficit in the balance of payments a country is forced to make loans. Hence financial difficulties become imminent and the national currency is devalued. Such a situation occurred in Great Britain in the given period: the devaluation of the pound became a grim reality for British industry,
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finances and for the nation as a whole. Especially hard hit were the working people whose inadequate earnings did not keep pace with soaring prices. 1973 was an important landmark in British history for on January 1, 1973 Britain was admitted to the European Economic Community together with Ireland and Denmark. When it was formed in 1958 the United Kingdom remained outside, still giving prevalence to sustaining links with the Commonwealth. With the former colonies gaining greater independence economically the big monopolies decided to gain access to the rich European market. However, inter-imperialist rivalries and strong opposition at home held up these moves of the British governments. Britain's membership meant serious changes for the country and especially for the people. Prices on foodstuffs and consumer goods went up which meant new hardships for the working people. Trading patterns changed too: Western Europe became the dominant focus while Commonwealth links weakened. Northern Ireland remained a burning issue. Despite the presence of the British army which turned a blind eye to the violence and crimes of the protestant ultras the province was on the brink of an open civil war. On Sunday, January 30, 1972 British paratroopers fired on a peaceful civil rights demonstration of Irish catholics in Londonderry, killing sixteen people. This was bloody Sunday which will always be remebered as one of the tragic days in the history of the nation. The Tory government furthered its offensive against the civil rights movement by suspending the local parliament and imposing direct rule from London in 1973. However, there was no end to the crisis because official London refused to grant the democratic reforms which could solve the crisis. In foreign policy the Heath government supported the traditional Conservative line; full support of American imperialism, NATO and of other reactionary blocs such as CENTO (the Central Treaty Organization) and SEATO (the South-East Asia Treaty Organization), neo-colonialism in every possible way, hostility to the world socialist community headed by the Soviet Union, support of reactionary regimes such as the white minority regime of Ian Smith in Bhodesia and the southern bulwark of imperialism in Africa the racist regime in the South African Republic. Nevertheless, pressed by new realities Heath had to accept the new balance of forces and Britain signed the Four-Power treaty on Berlin in 1972 and finally recognized the GDR in 1973. Meanwhile the crisis sharpened still further in Britain itself with inflation rising from 10 per cent to about 20 per cent a year, the negative trade
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balance getting still worse, especially after entry into the Common Market, and unemployment rising to around a million. Heath decided to show his firm hand by a dramatic confrontation with the miners at the end of 1973, forcing them to strike for higher wages and then, as coal stocks began to run out, ordering all industries to limit work to three days a week. Heath called a general election for February 1974 and expected a great victory. In fact the working class totally rejected the Conservatives and brought them down to a humiliating defeat: the Tories lost over a million votes. The Labour party won. However, the Liberal party too made a startling success. The increase of votes for the Liberals as well as for the Scotch and Welsh National parties showed that the electorate was disappointed with the inconsistency of the right-wing Labour leadership. Heath's defeat led to his resignation as leader of the Conservative party in 1975. Margaret Thatcher, a representative of the right wing, became leader of the party of 'big business'. It was a break with established traditions when only men were considered to be suited for such activities. Having won a small majority the Labour government held another election in October 1974 winning a workable majority. The new Labour government of Wilson Callaghan (Wilson retired for personal reasons in 1976) learned the necessary lessons of its previous defeat. Therefore it was more cautious especially in regard of its policies toward the labour movement. Some positive measures were taken: the notorious Industrial Relations Act was repealed, the miners received a wage increase, the full working week was restored, municipal housing rents were frozen. In foreign policy a positive move was undertaken when Wilson paid a visit to Moscow in February 1975, which marked a new stage of improved Anglo-Soviet relations. However, the main problem of his government was still the economic and financial crisis and here Wilson faithful to his right-wing convictions had nothing new to offer. But he was able to disguise the old policies by proposing a 'voluntary' wage-freeze policy called the Social Contract. It was based on the bourgeois view that high wages were the main cause of inflation and financial troubles. The acceptance of this policy by the TUG and Labour party conferences in 1975 under the influence of right-wing ideas was a major setback for the working class. It showed the continuing strength of reformist illusions and the weakness in theory which has long been a feature of the British working-class movement. This was the background to the 34th Congress of the British Communist party held in November 1975. Gordon
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MacLen-nan was elected the new general secretary. The forum of British communists emphasized the necessity to win left unity, to force the Labour government to adopt left policies, to attack the power of the monopolies. Under this influence the working class stepped up its struggle against the social contract and opposed any intervention of the government in collective bargaining. In 1976 the TUG demanded an end to this anti-working-class practice. However, Callaghan, a typical right-winger, opposed these demands which led to a fall of Labour support. The by-elections in 1977 reduced Labour majority in parliament and it was forced to act in alliance with the Liberals, a party of the middle class. This led to new concessions made by the Labour government in favour of the monopoly class. Hence, the downfall of the Labour party was imminent. The May elections of 1979 brought the Conservatives to power and Margaret Thatcher became the first woman prime minister in the history of Great Britain. The 1980s were marked by a prolonged state of depression of the British economy. Only in the second half of 1983 were there some indications of industrial activity, when the gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2 per cent. However, industrial output even in 1986 remained lower than the precrisis level. This temporary recovery was primarily due to North sea oil and gas and the extension of services. The manufacturing industry the backbone of the British economy continued to be depressed. 25 per cent of the country's industrial capacity remained idle. Though there was an improvement in the balance of payments, the country's foreign debt remained high. The government's economic policy was bent on encouraging private enterprise and de-nationalization. The most profitable state owned enterprises were sold out to private capital. The home policy of the Thatcher cabinet was based on stringent principles of monetarism associated with limiting the circulation of money. In order to stimulate capital investment the government shifted emphasis from direct taxation to indirect, thus reducing direct taxes on the biggest monopolies by 3.5 billion pounds (simultaneously increasing indirect taxes twice). State expenditures were cut by 4 billion pounds which meant that social security funds, construction, science and culture would be the main losers. The Thatcher cabinet intensified the process of de-nationalization which hard hit the steel, oil, aerospace and other industries, as well as air transport. In October 1980 the government removed all restrictions on the export of capital which existed for more than 40 years. Overseas investment in 197984
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equalled 50 billion pounds. The bank rate was raised to 17 per cent. These measures explicitly expressed the interests of 'big business'. Moreover, the encouragement given to the development of high technology industries at the expense of the traditional industries of the country precipitated the problem of mass unemployment, which by far exceeded 3.3 million in 1986 according to official statistcs and by trade union estimates was more than 5 million. The military expenditures, over 18 billion pounds in the 19856 fiscal year, a 22 per cent increase as compared with 1979, meant a deterioration of the living standards of the British people. The Conservative government launched an ambitious programme of stepping up nuclear arms, rearmament of the British submarine fleet with Trident missiles. The Thatcher cabinet gave full approval of British participation in the notorious 'star wars' project. The foreign policy of the Conservative cabinet is motivated by the interests of the British ruling class and by its commitments to NATO of which Britain is an active participant. The war between Britain and Argentina in 1982 over the disputed Falkland Islands indicated that Britain was ready to use force to defend its territorial ambitions overseas. The Falkland Islands or the Malvinas as the Argentinians call them, situated in the South Atlantic at a distance of 400 miles from Argentine territory and more than 8,000 miles from Britain were seized by the British colonizers in the 1830s. Argentina never recognized British sovereignty over the islands. In 1982 war broke out between the two countries. Britain using her military might and with full American backing won the war, which cost the British people more than 2 billion pounds. Moreover, further military construction on the islands meant 4 billion pounds out of the budget. The British government attaches strategic importance to the islands. The United Nations overwhelmingly backed Argentina in her claims of sovereignty over the islands. The policy of Great Britain towards South Africa is motivated by the interests of 'big business', which is deeply involved in the economy of South Africa. The British monopolies derive great profits by exploiting the vast resources of the state. This explains why Margaret Thatcher stubbornly refused to impose sanctions against the apartheid regime defying the appeals of the African and Asian states to take joint action against a white minority regime based on terror and mass police reprisals against the African majority. As regards Anglo-Soviet relations one should note their changeable character with all their frosts and subsequent thaws. Recent years, especially after the
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official visit of the Soviet parliamentary delegation headed by M. Gorbachev to Britain in 1984 are marked by most positive developments. There has been an increase in the volume of bilateral trade which exceeds 2 billion roubles. The official visits of the British Prime Minister to the Soviet Union in 1987 and of Geoffrey Howe, the Foreign Secretary, in 1988 contributed notably toward the development of a dialogue between Britain and the Soviet Union in all fields of cooperation. However, the official state visit of M. Gorbachev to Britain in 1989 with all the ensuing results heralded a new most positive page in the history of Anglo-Soviet relations. The summit meeting between M. Gorbachev and M. Thatcher gave a powerfull fillip to a marked improvement of relations between the two states in all fields of cooperation in full keeping with the concept of a new mentality in international relations advocated by the Soviet government. The British government greeted the INF (Intermediate Nuclear Forces) treaty signed between the USSR and the USA in 1987. However, Margaret Thatcher refused to abandon her nuclear deterrent policy. The champions of peace demand that the British government should take practical steps to a non-nuclear world and to an end of the arms race. The home policy of the Thatcher Cabinet was characterized by new anti-trade union legislation: three acts were passed in 19804 aimed at curbing trade union activity and splitting the ranks of trade unionists. Moreover, moves were taken to pass a fourth act banning support given by one union to another in the event of a labour conflict. The actions taken by the Conservatives led to a future polarization of British society. Living standards in Britain in the 1980s were about 11 per cent lower than the West-European average. The number of poor people increased from 6.1 mln in 1979 to 11.9 mln in 1986. Statistics indicated that in 1987 every third adult in Britain was living on the verge or under the official poverty level. The gap between the rich and the poor widened greatly in the years of Tory government. Unemployment figures indicate that about 10 per cent of the economic active population remained jobless and a large percentage was unemployed for more than a year. Especially hard hit are the young people, women and the non-white population. The working class of Great Britain is conducting a resolute struggle against the onslaught of the Tory government under adverse conditions of mass unemployment and stringent anti-working class legislation. Labour militancy was reflected in the unique year long miners' strike of 19845 against the
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attempts of the Tory government to make thousands of workers jobless. There was mass solidarity with the miners both at home and abroad. Workers of more than 50 countries including the Soviet Union supported the British miners. Once again the Britith working class displayed its militancy and determination to resist the Tory onslaught. Working class unrest was vividly expressed in the printers' strike of 1986, the actions taken by nurses and other medical workers for the improvement of labour conditions within the national health service in 1987 and many other labour disputes in the country. The peace and anti-missile movement reached unheard-of heights, especially in 1982 3. Hundreds of thousands of people of all faiths and occupations protested against nuclear arms, deployment of American missiles in Britain. The mass protests at the Greenham Common base in which women of all ages actively participated caught the sympathy of the people in Britain and abroad. The shift to the left was reflected in the Labour party when a new leader, Neil Kinnock, was elected. It was also reflected in the change of rules in the Labour party in electing the leader and selecting MPs, in the positive Labour programme of unilateral nuclear disarmament and support of the latest peace proposals of the Soviet Union. Positive changes were adopted by the latest congresses of the trade unions. The Communists in Great Britain together with other progressives in the labour movement struggle to unite all the left forces in the country against the onslaught of the monopoly class. These aspirations were vividly expressed by the delegates of the 41st Congress of the British Communist party held in December 1989. In June 1987 the Conservatives won their third successive victory in the general elections (42.3 per cent of the votes cast) securing 375 seats in the House of Commons. However, in fact only a third of those who had electoral rights voted for the Conservative party. A mere 75 per cent of the electorate participated in the elections. The election results clearly manifested the undemocratic nature of the electoral system. Different factors contributed to the victory of the Conservative party. The capitalist mass media launched a mass campaign presenting the Tories and their leader as the most efficient managers of the British state. The elections were timed to coincide with a boom experienced by the economy which benefited mainly from North Sea oil. Margaret Thatcher won support among those sections of British society which benefited from her policy of privatization: 'big business', the well-paid highly skilled workers (the labour aristocracy), the new owners of houses. In the
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course of denationalization the Tory government sold out shares to individual holders: by 1986 there were 3 million share holders in the country. Cheap municipal housing was treated likewise: more than one million units of municipal housing were sold out on favourable terms. As a result the well-paid employees and workers became owners of individual housing. The reduction of the inflation rate was most benefited by the well-to-do too. All in all a combination of these factors widely propagated by the bourgeois mass media contributed to the Tory victory. However, many serious analysts in the country, including the Labour party maintain that the government's claims of success were inflated by distortion and that these gains would not hold. The introduction of the community charge or the poll tax met overwhelming opposition in the country. This led to a serious setback experienced by the Conservative party in the local election in May 1990 and to a fall of the popularity of the Prime minister. Under such conditions the only option for the working class and all the democratic forces in the country is to attain unity of action. The future development of the country depends in the long end on the classconsciousness of the working people, their unity and determination to promote peace, security and friendship among the nations of the world. Progress Test Questions and Assignments Assess the economic position of Great Britain in the 1960s and 1970s. Explain the reasons of the difficulties of the state. Analyse the working-class movement in these years, outline the role of the British Communist party. Observe the main foreign policy developments of the Conservative governments. Narrate the main aspects of the policies of the Wilson Cabinet (196470). Why was the prices and incomes policy unpopular with the working class? How did the working class respond? Give the gist of the Industrial Relations Act. What toppled the Heath government? How would you explain the unpopularity of the WilsonCallaghan policy line on labour relations? Examine the history of British attempts to join the Common Market. What were the consequences of Britain's entry in the EEC? Explain the present state of the crisis in Northern Ireland. Examine the roots of the crisis. Analyse the home and foreign policies of the Thatcher government.
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Identify: CND, UCS, EEC or Common Market, the Social Contract, monetarism, the Falkland Islands (the Malvinas), the INF treaty. In written form summarize your observations on the basis of current press reviews concerning Britain's policy towards the EEC. POPULATION Natural Population growth Migration Distribution Density Social structure Civil We in Britain must always remember that we are part of the Continent, but we must never forget that we are neighbours to it. Henry Bolingbroke Rich is rich and poor is poor And ne'er the twain shall meet. East is East and West is West And only one shall eat. The micro-chip has come of age And Man is obsolete. Popular song from U. B. 40 1 he people who now inhabit the British Isles are descended mainly from the people who inhabited them nearly 9 centuries ago. The English nation was formed as a result of the amalgamation of the native population of the British Isles the pre-Celts and the Celts with the invaders: the Germanic tribes of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, the Danes, the Normans. The last of a long succession of invaders from Scadinavia and the Continent of Europe were the Normans, a branch of the Scandinavian Vikings who, after settling in Northern France, intermarrying with the French, and assimilating their language and customs, conquered England in 1066. The language of this nation was formed only in .the 14th century. It is mainly a marriage of Anglo-Saxon and Norman-French, while the use of Celtic languages persisted in Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, the Highlands of Scotland and in Ireland. Today in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, English is the language predominantly spoken. In Wales, however, Welsh, a form of British Celtic, is spoken by some 20 per cent of the population (about half a million people). The Welsh Language Council, an official body, promotes the use of the language and there is a number of bilingual schools in Wales. In Scotland over 80,000 persons, mainly in the Highlands and western coastal regions, speak the Scottish form of Gaelic. A few families in Northern Ireland still speak the Irish form of Gaelic. But in general the number of people speaking the above-mentioned languages other than
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English is declining. The Cornish variety of Celtic is no longer effectively a living language, although there is a revival of cultural interest. For centuries the British governments promoted the spread of English at the expense of other languages. Moreover, at times it was strictly forbidden to study any of the languages of the minorities living on the British Isles. Today some of the country's ethnic minorities formed as a result of recent immigration have their own languages, normally as well as English. Among the Asian community, for example, the most usual languages are Punjabi, Gujerati, Bengali or Urdu, the languages of the Indian and Pakistani communities. The available records do not enable any precise estimates to be made of the size of the population until the beginning of the 19th century. Censuses of the people of Great Britain have been taken regularly every 10 years since 1801, except that there was no census in 1941 because of the Second World War. The latest census was taken in 1981. It is believed, however, that at the end of the llth century the population of Great Britain was about 2 million, while at the end of the 17th century the population was about 6.5 million. The main factor in this gradual growth of population was a slow natural increase, with high death rates and, in particular, very high infant and maternal mortality. Immigration began to play a more important role in population growth more recently, especially from Commonwealth countries. In number of population (57.1mln1990) Great Britain holds one of the first places among the European countries. Britain ranks fourteenth in the world in terms of population. The English make up over 4/5 of the total population of the country. They inhabit England proper and many of them live in industrial cities of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The proportion of the Scotsmen, Welshmen and Irishmen is about 15 per cent. This group includes foreigners too. The inhabitants of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have preserved their culture, originality and to a certain degree their languages (in Wales and Scotland), but practically all speak English. The most intensive growth of the population of Great Britain took place in the 19th century, when the number of the inhabitants increased from 9 million to 38 million, despite mass emigration (mainly of the ruined peasants and the unemployed of the towns). The recent tendency as regards population growth is that of extremely small growth. In fact in the period 19758 for the first years since records began (other than in war) the population fell slightly. This trend common to much of Western Europe, is mainly the result of a sharp fall in birth rates.
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Annual births have fallen by some 30 per cent since the mid-1960s. The upward trend was resumed in 1979. Projections for the future suggest that the traditional increase in population will be resumed, though growth will take place at a much slower rate than was expected a few years ago. Britain's total population is expected to be 58.4 mln in 2001 and 60 mln in 2020. The country as a whole has a population density of about 233 people to the square kilometre (1989), but in England proper 363 people to the square kilometre, in Wales 137, in Scotland 66, in Northern Ireland 112. The Highlands of Scotland, the northern Pennines and mountainous Wales are very sparsely populated. The most highly populated regions are the industrial ' districts: South East England with Greater London, the Midlands, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, South Wales, Clydeside in Scotland and North-East England. In some of these districts the density reaches 1,000 and even more people per one square kilometre. In Greater London, for example, it is 4,288 people per square kilometre.*" Annual birth rates have fallen since the mid-1960s. The birth rates declined from 18 live births per 1,000 population in 1966 to 13.6 in 1989. The main reason accounting for the sharp drop in the birth rate is associated with the social conditions in the country: the growth of unemployment, deterioration of the living standards of the British people, social tension, expensive housing, lack of pre-school institutions, etc. As a result of the drop of the birth rate there is a substantial fall in the natural increase of the population provided that the mortality rate remains more or less stable about 12 per 1,000 population. During the last 50 years the natural increase was very small 4-6 people per thousand and even lower. Thus the country has a considerable per cent of the ageing population. At birth the expectation of life for a man is just about 72 years and for a woman it is 78 years. K. Marx in his time pointed out the dependence of the death rate on the incomes of the population. In Britain today the average life expectancy among unskilled workers is 8 years shorter than among managers and highly qualified specialists. The estimated age distribution of the British population in mid-1989 is roughly as follows: under 16 years, about 20 per cent; 16-64, 64 per cent; and 65 and over, 16 per cent. Some 18 per cent of the population were over the normal retirement ages (65 for men and 60 for women), compared with 15 per cent in 1961. The main feature of the changing age structure is the increasing number of elderly people. The lot of the elderly people in Britain is a serious social
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problem. The majority of the aged depend vitally on their meagre pensions and in the face of inflation and cuts in social security they hardly make ends meet. Traditionally Britain has a net outflow of people to the rest of the world. During the 100 years, from 1836 till 1936 about 11 million people left the British Isles. This mass emigration especially in the 19th century was a movement of ruined peasants, the unemployed people who hoped to find new opportunities and happiness on new territories. The migrants went mainly to North America (the USA, Canada), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, to other lands in Asia and Africa, where they settled, spreading the economic, political and cultural influence of Great Britain, as well as the English language, which became the state language of many countries. Mass emigration from Great Britain stopped during and after World War I, when the traditional receiving countries, such as the USA, Canada and other countries imposed strict limitations on immigration. There were periods when on the contrary the country experienced a large influx of people. This was in the 1930s when there was a considerable flow of refugees from continental Europe as a result of fascist persecution, and in the late 1950s and early 1960s mainly the result of a large influx of people from the West Indies and the Indian sub-continent. After the 1950s and in the 1960s considerable numbers of people entered Britain from Commonwealth countries, especially from the West Indies, Asia and Africa and settled permanently in the country. They made an important contribution to the development of the economy and the public services. British monopolies derived great profits from the exploitation of cheap migrant labour. The population of New Commonwealth (all Commonwealth countries except Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and Pakistani ethnic origin is over 2 million (about 3.6 per cent of the total population) of whom 40 per cent were born in Britain. Nearly three quarters live in the south-east and in the west Midlands. Although formally according to the Race Relations Act 1976 the migrants should be treated as equals, they suffer from race discrimination. They occupy low-status and poorly paid jobs in poor environments of the older towns (the slums), unemployment is very high among these ethnic groups. The desperate conditions of these ethnic groups found expression in the violent riots which took place in Brixton (London), Manchester, Liverpool and other cities recently. The police brutally crushed the protest movement of the coloured people of Britain. Even an official enquiry was
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compelled to acknowledge the abnormal conditions under which the coloured minorities live and work in Britain. This report known as the Scarman Report was compelled to acknowledge the fact that the coloured people 'are born and raised in insecure social and economic conditions and in an impoverished physical environment', which have a negative effect on their future life. It is necessary to note that today in Britain there are also sizeable groups of Americans, Australians, Chinese and various European communities such as Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Italians and Spaniards living in Britain. In the last generation British society has therefore become more multi-racial as ethnic minority groups from almost all parts of the world have made a permanent home in the country. Although a small proportion of the total population, they represent a significant element in certain areas (in the urban centres, especially the largest towns, and in particular areas within these centres). Regarding migration one should note that the traditional pattern of migration in Britain has been maintained recently, with the exception in 1979 and 1986 when more came than left. There are about 6 per cent more male than female births every year. Because of the higher mortality of men at all ages, however, there is a turning point, at about 50 years of age, at which the number of women exceeds the number of men. This imbalance increases with age so that there is a preponderance of women among the elderly. In the population as a whole there are nearly 105 females to every 100 males. Marriage trends since the 1930s have been towards a higher proportion of people marrying and an earlier age pattern. The proportion of the population of Great Britain who were or had been married rose from about 50 per cent in 1939 to 60 per cent in the 1980s, while the proportion of single persons in the population aged 16 years or over fell from 33.3 per cent to 23.4 per cent. The average age for first marriages is just over 26 for men and 24 for women with a marked fall in the proportion of church marriages: today more than 50 per cent of marriages have been solemnized by a civil ceremony in a Register office. The proportions of people divorcing are growing: in 1989 about 13 decrees of divorce were made absolute for every 1,000 married couples in England and Wales, compared with 2 in 1961, though the rates are lower in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The population of England is and has been for centuries, greater than that of all other parts of Britain. The distribution of the British population by country is shown in the following table.
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Population 197 Distribution of the British Population by Country (1989) Englan Wales Scotlan Norther United d Population 47,407 2,836 d 5,112 n 1,575 Kingdo 56,930 Area ('ooo) (sq km) 130,43 20,768 78,772 14,121 244,100 Population 363 137 66 112 233 density (perAs regards the proportion of urban population Britain probably holds the first place in the world. Over 90 per cent of its population live in towns. In Britain there are 91 towns with the population of over 100 thousand people. About one third of the country's population is concentrated in the town districts, which comprise numerous merged towns and are called conurbations. The seven major metropolitan areas which have been denoted as 'conurbations' in successive population censuses accommodate a third of Great Britain's people while comprising less than three per cent of the total land area. They are: Greater London, Central Clydeside, Merseyside, SouthEast Lancashire, Tyneside, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire. These regions are famous for their poor and worn out residential districts and high population density and narrow streets of old towns and cities. They create very serious problems, including traffic congestion. The proportion of residents in Greater London and most of the metropolitan areas of England has recently been falling. People, particularly the well-to-do, have tended to leave city centres and conurbations because of their unhealthy environment, although such migration may not necessarily mean a change of job but rather an increase in the distance of travel to and from work. In other cases it has been a consequence of falling employment in city centres. More than 1.5 million people left major British cities during the 10 years between the censuses of 1971 and 1981. The figures of the 1981 census indicate that the larger the city, the larger the exodus. Greater London's population fell by 756,000 to under 7 million for the first time since 1901. In some districts of London, such as Kensington and Chelsea the population fell by almost 30 per cent. Among the many reasons which have contributed to this exodus (some were referred to above) one should also point out the unhealthy environment, transport congestion, noise pollution, poor municipal services, the growing crime rate. Soaring rents and high unemployment are also important factors which drive the people out of the big cities.
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In general about half the population lives in a belt across England with south Lancashire and west Yorkshire at one end, and the London area at the other, having the industrialized Midlands at its centre. Other areas with large populations are: the central lowlands of Scotland; north-east England from north of the river Tyne down to the river Tees; southwest Wales; the Bristol area; and the English Channel coast from Poole, in Dorset, eastwards. Less densely populated areas are the eastern fringes of England between the Wash and the Thames estuary, and the far south-west. Rural settlements of Great Britain differ from the traditional villages situated in other countries. They are located not far from towns and resemble their suburbs. They are inhabited by farm workers, clergymen, teachers, shop-keepers, old-age people. Lately there has been a strong influx of townsmen to villages, where houses are cheaper. Farmers do not live in such places. The farmers live in isolated farms scattered all over the farm land. The development of capitalism in Britain has led to a sharp class stratification of the population. This in its turn increased the antagonism between the two main classes of British society the working class and the bourgeoisie. In 1854 K. Marx noted that in Britain there was no extensive class of peasantry, or of artisans, typical of many continental European countries. In Britain there occurred a complete break between property and labour.* There is no capitalist country in the world which has such a great percentage of workers and employees as it is in Britain. They comprise 92 per cent of the gainfully occupied population. Despite the propaganda bluff of British ideologists that Britain is a welfare state, where there is equality and social justice this is far from true. According to the official report 'Inequality in Contemporary Britain' 1 per cent of the population of Great Britain owns 25 per cent of private property in the country and 5 per cent of the population owns 50 per cent of the property. At the same time 80 per cent of the population owns less of the national wealth than 1 per cent of the population. The bourgeois newspaper Daily Telegraph the mouthpiece of the Conservative party openly states, 'We are to rid ourselves of the illusion that postwar Britain is a country of social justice. In a free society social justice is unthinkable'. The 1980s witnessed a steady growth of mass unemployment and a deterioration of the living standards of the people. The number of officially unemployed increased from 1.3 mln in 1979 to 3.3 mln in the mid-1980s, though trade union estimates indicated a figure of 4 mln jobless. Moreover, the number of people
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unemployed for more than a year increased notably. Especially hard hit are the regions of the North, the North-West, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The number of poor people in the country reached about 12 mln. Statistics indicated that in 1987 every third adult in Britain was living on the verge or under the official poverty level. There are more than 200 thousand homeless in the country. Income tax eats away 30 per cent of the wages of the working people. At the same time as a result of the incentives created by the Conservative government, the profits and dividends of the large firms and corporations soared, and the rich became still richer while the poor poorer. The number of millionaires increased from 1982 to 1987 by 40 per cent reaching the figure of 7 thousand. Simultaneously, in the same period the number of homeless increased by 38 per cent. Today the total working population is over 26 mln of which workers and employees comprise about 22 mln, the self-employed (that is owners of big and small enterprises, farmers, etc.) exceed 1.5 mln. Civil employment is as follows (the proportion engaged in different industries and services, per cent): 1.6 1.4 24.3 5.2 1.4 5.9 13.3 32.6 6.7 7.6 Agriculture, forestry and fishing Mining and quarrying Manufacturing industries Construction Gas, electricity and water Transport and communications Distributive trades Professional, financial, scientific and other services National and local government services Employers and self-employed (all industries and services) 100.0 The most notable trend in the employment pattern during the last years has been the growth of people employed in services. This is a typical feature which is observed in all developed countries. Such developments reflect improved labour efficiency in industry, a change of employment patterns caused by growth of high technology industries and a comparative decline of the old traditional industries. Hence surplus labour is released and much of it can be directed to services. Another important factor is the growth of the role of science and technology in the life of the economy. International tourism also
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boosted the development of the service sector. The capitalists besides political parties have their own industrial organization which deals with the problems of management, industry, labour relations, employment, etc. This organization is known as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) with the central headquarters and local organizations all over the country. Progress Test Questions and Assignments What are the main languages spoken in Great Britain today? Speak of the numerical growth of the population of Britain in the past, present and future. How densely is the country populated? Narrate the main factors of the natural growth of the population. 1 200 Population 5 Describe the role of migration in the growth of the population and the consequences of immigration. Discuss the distribution of the population urban and rural, the tendencies of movement out of the cities. Name the main conurbations. Give a detailed account of the class and social structure of British society. Britain a country of two nations. Write a two-page essay about the position of the non-white population in contemporary Britain. E SYSTEMovernment Democracy must be democratic in substance, not only in form. This means that the process of choosing and changing holders of power shall be unaffected by privilege of established organization and wealth, that the holders of political power, when an election comes, shall compete with their opponents on equal terms. Lord Beveridge

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