The post-war welfare state and the Beveridge Report
Study note
After the hardships of the Second World War, the British people wanted real change at home. In the general election of 1945 they voted out Churchill and elected a Labour government led by Clement Attlee. So Attlee is the Prime Minister to remember for 1945.
Attlee's government promised to build a welfare state, a system in which the state helps to look after people in need. The plan for this had been set out in the Beveridge Report of 1942, written by William Beveridge, so 1942 and Beveridge are the date and name to know. A national system of benefits gave people social security, often described as protection from the cradle to the grave, meaning support throughout the whole of a person's life.
Memory tip: 1945 Attlee's Labour government builds the welfare state from the 1942 Beveridge Report.
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Question 1 of 3
Who became Prime Minister when Labour won the 1945 election?
Show all questions and answers for The post-war welfare state and the Beveridge Report(3 questions with explanations)
The post-war welfare state and the Beveridge Report: questions, answers and explanations
1. Who became Prime Minister when Labour won the 1945 election?
- Clement Attlee
- Winston Churchill
- Harold Macmillan
- Aneurin Bevan
Correct answer: Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee became Prime Minister after Labour won the 1945 election.
2. Which 1942 report set out the plan for the welfare state?
- The Beveridge Report
- The Bill of Rights
- The Reform Act
- The Butler Report
Correct answer: The Beveridge Report
The Beveridge Report of 1942 set out the plan for the welfare state.
3. Complete the phrase: the new system of social security aimed to protect people from the cradle to the ___.
- church
- school
- factory
- grave
Correct answer: grave
Social security aimed to protect people 'from the cradle to the grave'.
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