Hello, thanks for joining me for another Oak Academy history lesson.

My name is Mrs. Knox, and today I'll be guiding you through the resources you need to be successful with this lesson.

So let's get started.

Today's lesson is part of a unit of work on post-war Britain.

We're asking the question for whom did the United Kingdom become a New Jerusalem? And by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to assess the extent to which the post-war period was a New Jerusalem for the British people.

Now our lesson will use some key vocabulary, so let's take a moment to look at that now.

One of the first words we'll use is nationalise, which is to transfer an industry or business from private to government ownership.

We'll also use the term New Jerusalem, which was the phrase used by Attlee to describe the equal and wealthy society that the post-war Labour government wish to create.

We'll also use the term welfare state, which is a system in which the government protects the health and the wellbeing of its citizens by providing grants, pensions, and other benefits.

And finally, we'll use the word racism, which is prejudice or discrimination against a person on the basis of their race and ethnicity.

Now our lesson today will be in three parts.

Let's get started on part one, which will focus on Attlee's New Jerusalem.

The 1945 general election resulted in a landslide victory for the Labour Party under the leadership of Clement Attlee.

Almost six years of fighting in Second World War had left Britain in a desperate state.

Labor's promises of social and economic change appealed to voters who saw them as more in touch with the national mood than the conservatives.

Now that the war was over, people could look to the future with optimism and hope for brighter days ahead.

Labor's plans to improve health and housing combined with their support for immediate steps to put William Beveridge's 1942 report recommendations into action showed an understanding of the needs of the British people post-war.

The Warriors had required the war coalition government to take greater control over the economy, and the public saw a need for continued state involvement in the reconstruction of Britain in the post-war years.

A New Jerusalem was the phrase used by Attlee to describe the more equal and prosperous society the Labour Party wished to create.

It's time to have a quick check of your understanding so far.

Which report did the Labour Party promise to put into immediate action if they were elected? Was it A, the Attlee Report, B, the Beveridge Report, or C, the Bevan Report? Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

You should have said the correct answer was B, the Beveridge Report.

The keystone in the building of this New Jerusalem was Attlee's vision to create Britain's welfare state.

The blueprint for this had been set out in Beveridge's report, which had examined the steps governments needed to take to build a better Britain after the war.

He had recommended that social policies needed to provide greater protection for people from the cradle to the grave.

The measures taken by the 1945 Labour government sought to achieve this ambition.

A system of national insurance was created, which everyone paid into and was covered by.

This provided support for the unemployed, sick, elderly, and those with families.

A further key change was the creation of the National Health Service, the NHS, which provided free healthcare at the point of need.

There were also efforts to improve the standard of state education in the country.

Here's another quick question now, what areas did the introduction of the welfare state tackle? Was it A, the economy, trade and infrastructure, B, education, healthcare and the benefits system, or C, defence, foreign aid and immigration? Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

You should have said The correct answer was B, the areas the welfare state tackled were education, healthcare and the benefits system.

In addition to these social policies, Labour attempted to improve the efficiency of industries and improve working conditions and services with their plan to nationalise key industries like coal, gas, electricity, steel, and the railways.

This created a mixed economy whereby some businesses remained privately owned and others were owned by the government.

Labour aimed to combine the benefits of the free market with government involvement in the economy to return prosperity to the UK.

Undoubtedly, Labor's plans for a New Jerusalem were ambitious and far reaching.

Here's another check of your understanding now.

True or false, a mixed economy was one where all industries were nationalised.

Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

You should have said the correct answer is false.

I'd like you to pause the video again and explain why the answer is false.

Welcome back.

Your answer could have said that some industries like coal were nationalised, but others remain privately owned.

Let's now put what you've learned in this section into practise by attempting this task.

I'd like you to describe two ways the Attlee government attempted to create a New Jerusalem after World War II.

On the screen, you'll find some sentence starters you can use to help you to structure your answer.

So press pause now to write your answer to the question and then press play to see what your answer could include.

Let's see how you got on.

You could have said that one way Attlee's government attempted to create a New Jerusalem at the end of the Second World War was through the introduction of the welfare state.

This aimed to tackle social problems such as poverty and ill health.

A second way was through the decision to nationalise key industries like coal and steel, which aimed to modernise British companies.

Nationalisation meant that the government would be able to control production as well as improved working conditions, ultimately improving the lives of many workers in Britain.

We're ready to move on now to the second section of the lesson today.

This section will look at differing experiences in post-war Britain.

Not everyone found that post-war Britain lived up to Labor's promises of a New Jerusalem.

Many women who had stepped up to working jobs vacated by men fighting in World War II were forced back into the home when the war ended.

Women faced sexism in the workplace, and also hostility from trade unions who sought to protect the skilled status and pay of their male union members.

Additionally, many jobs were unobtainable by married women as they were expected to give up work upon marriage.

Similarly, many women lacked the childcare support needed to allow them to enter the workforce.

And from the 1950s to the 1980s, women's earnings were on average 40% lower than men's.

Immigrants were another group who faced discrimination in post-war Britain.

In the aftermath of World War II, many people arrived in the country from places that had been part of the British empire, such as India, Pakistan, and the Caribbean.

They came as citizens to fill vacancies in Britain's NHS and to help with the post-war reconstruction.

However, once in Britain, they frequently faced racism, discrimination and sometimes even violence.

Many Caribbean migrants, often referred to as the Windrush generation were veterans of the British armed forces, but their sacrifices often went uncelebrated.

Due to racism, Caribbean migrants were forced into overcrowded and rundown accommodation and forced to work in the least skilled and lowest paid jobs.

Here's another check now of your understanding.

True or false, Labor's New Jerusalem created an equal society in Britain.

Press pause and when you're ready to hear the answer, press play.

You should have said the correct answer is false.

I'd like you to pause the video again and explain why the answer is false.

You could have written that some groups such as immigrants were treated as second class citizens and women experienced limited opportunities in the workplace and unequal pay.

Living standards in general did not improve when the war ended.

Britain had spent a quarter of its national wealth on winning the war and was now facing a national debt of 3,500 million pounds.

Food and raw material shortages meant that rationing had to be extended in 1946 to include bread and rationing itself continued until 1954.

In some ways, rationing was better for the poorest in Britain as they were able to get access to more nutritious food than before rationing was introduced.

For example, before 1939, working class families consumed much less calcium than was required for good health.

But the availability of milk as a result of rationing meant that their diets now contained the recommended daily allowance of calcium.

However, for the middle classes whose diets had not previously suffered the austerity of life in post-war Britain decreased their support for the Labour government.

Solving the problem of Britain's housing crisis also proved a huge challenge for the Labour government's vision for a New Jerusalem.

Although 1.

2 million new houses were built, including 1 million council houses, this failed to live up to Labor's pre-election promise of building 4 to 5 million new homes.

Labour simply could not keep up with the demand, and instead people were forced into temporary homes, which included prefabs, caravans, and even air raid shelters.

Unfortunately, the winter of 1946 to '47 was one of the coldest on record and it caused disruption of energy supplies.

This meant that some people were not even able to heat their substandard homes even when the temperatures were well below freezing.

Here's another check now of your understanding.

True or false, living conditions improved immediately in post-war Britain.

Press pause and then press play for the correct answer.

You should have said the correct answer is false.

Press pause again to explain why the answer is false.

You could have said that Britain's national debt combined with ongoing food shortages, the scale of the housing shortages and the terrible winter of 1947, all made it difficult for Labour to fulfil their promise of a New Jerusalem.

Finally, in this section, let's have a go at this task.

I'd like you to read Laura's opinion, then provide two reasons to agree and two reasons to disagree with her point of view.

Let's read Laura's opinion now.

She says, "For the poorest in British society, Labour delivered on its promise to create a New Jerusalem." Press pause and when you are ready to see what you could have written, press play.

Welcome back.

Some reasons that you could have given to agree with Laura is that rationing gave everyone an equal share of the resources, which helped to improve the nutrition of the poorest.

You could also have said that 1.

2 million council houses were built, which tackled poor housing and overcrowding.

To disagree with Laura, you could have said that some of the poorest in Britain were immigrants as a result of discrimination and racism in the workplace and society.

Also, Labour failed to close the gender pay gap with women earnings being on average 40% lower than men's from the 50s till the 80s.

We're ready to go on now to the final section of the lesson today.

In this section we'll ask for whom was post-war Britain a New Jerusalem? The Labour Party lost the 1951 general election, which could be said to suggest that their attempt to build a new Jerusalem had failed to meet the needs of the British people.

Undoubtedly, the economic challenge of trying to rebuild the country and balance the country's finances led to unpopular policies such as high taxation and rationing.

Arguably, their biggest achievement was the creation of the National Health Service, however, they even had to introduce charges for dentistry and optical care due to the unprecedented demand.

Time for a quick check of your understanding.

Which unpopular policies were Labour forced to adopt in order to try to create a more equal society? A, high taxes and rationing, B, benefit cuts and reductions in public services, or C, the ending of private ownership of companies.

Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

You should have said, the correct answer was A, Labour was forced to introduce high taxes and to continue with rationing.

On the other hand, it could be argued that by 1951, the Labour government had transformed British society and improved the lives of millions of people.

The National Health Service was providing free healthcare across the country, and national insurance had created a safety net for people in need.

The creation of the welfare state was tackling the social problems Beveridge had highlighted.

Although the scale of the challenge was such that it was impossible for the government to go far enough with their reforms in the space of one term in government.

Given the context of post-war Britain, much was achieved and a roadmap had been set for successive governments for the next 30 years.

The foundations of a New Jerusalem had been dug, but the building was only partially erected.

Here's another check of your understanding.

True or false, the Labour government achieved all it's set out to do in creating a New Jerusalem in 1945.

Press pause and then press play to hear the right answer.

You should have said that the correct answer is false.

Press pause again so you can explain why the answer is false.

Welcome back.

You could have said in your answer that the economic conditions of post-war Britain, the scale of the rebuilding and the extent of the social problems, made it impossible for Labour to achieve all it had hoped to.

Finally, in our lesson today, I would like you to apply the knowledge you've gained to this question.

How far do you agree that the post-war Labour government was successful in creating a New Jerusalem? You should try to write a balanced answer.

You might want to consider the following points in your answer, the creation of the welfare state and the decision to nationalise key industries, discrimination and racism and economic problems, and the scale of the challenges in post-war Britain.

Press pause now to complete your answer and then press play to see what you could have written.

Welcome back.

Let's see how you got on.

Your answer could have included some of the following.

To some extent, I agree that the reforms introduced by the Labour government in 1945 went some way to creating a New Jerusalem.

The lives of millions of people were improved by the creation of the welfare state, which offered protection to citizens from the cradle to the grave.

The NHS revolutionised healthcare in Britain and national insurance provided a safety net against sickness and unemployment.

Key industries such as coal were brought under state control, which allowed the government to improve working conditions and industrial efficiency.

The actions taken to support the post-war economy and to tackle poverty were vital in the aftermath of World War II.

Nevertheless, I disagree that everyone had the same positive experience of Labor's New Jerusalem.

Opportunities for women in the workplace were limited compared to men and married women found it difficult to have economic independence from their husbands.

Additionally, trade union opposition to men facing competition for jobs from women kept women in low skilled and low paid jobs.

Similarly, immigrants to Britain were forced to accept low paid positions and were frequently discriminated against.

They were forced to live in poor quality housing and had racism directed towards them.

Their experience of life in post-war Britain was nothing like they hoped it would be.

More widely, Labor's ambitions for a New Jerusalem were never fulfilled due to Britain's war debt, forcing the government to continue unpopular policies like rationing and high taxation.

This resulted in Labour losing the 1951 general election, which prevented them from building further on the start they had made to creating a more equal Britain.

Nevertheless, the commitment to a welfare state and state action was carried forward by future governments, which shows how influential the idea of a New Jerusalem was.

Therefore, whilst only partially successful Labour succeeded in laying the foundations of the modern Britain we know today.

We've now reached the end of our lesson today, so it is time for a summary of everything that you should have learned.

Labour leader Clement Attlee wanted to build a New Jerusalem after World War II.

A new welfare state was created to improve people's lives and key industries were nationalised to create a mixed economy.

However, groups such as women and immigrants still faced discrimination and racism.

Therefore, not everyone in Britain had the same experience of the New Jerusalem and much depended on your gender, race, and class.

Some aspects of Attlee's New Jerusalem were more successful than others, and so a balanced verdict on it is necessary.

Many thanks for all of your hard work in our lesson together today.

I hope that you feel confident that you've understood the material and met your learning objective.

I hope that you'll join me for a future Oak Academy history lesson.