Political changes in the country
In January 1924, a new party, the Labour Party, came to power under James Ramsay MacDonald. The party represented socialist societies and workers’ groups. While the Labour Party grew stronger, the Liberal Party declined. Many voters could see little difference between Conservatives and Liberals. They saw the Labour Party, with its socialist aims, as an alternative to the Conservative Party. The Labour Party held office only until November. It lacked a majority in the House of Commons, and needed the Liberal Party's support. The Liberals soon withdrew their support.
In the 1929 elections, the Labour Party became the largest party for the first time. MacDonald returned as prime minister. A few months later, the worldwide Great Depression began. In 1931, MacDonald formed a government of Labour, Conservative, and Liberal leaders to deal with the emergency. The government increased taxes, abandoned free trade, and cut its own spending. But the United Kingdom could not escape the effects of the Great Depression.
In the depth of the depression, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party won control of Germany. Germany began to rearm, but few leaders in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere, saw the danger.
Meantime, the United Kingdom faced an unusual problem at home. King George V died in 1936, and his oldest son became King Edward VIII. Edward wanted to marry an American divorcee, Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson. The government, the Church of England, and many British people objected. Edward then gave up the throne to marry "the woman I love." His brother became king as George VI.
Neville Chamberlain, a Conservative, became prime minister in 1937. Chamberlain thought he could deal with Hitler. In 1938, Hitler seized Austria and then demanded part of Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain and Premier Edouard Daladier of France flew to Munich, Germany, to confer with Hitler. They gave in to Hitler's demands after the German dictator said he would seek no more territory. Chamberlain returned to Britain and said: "I believe it is peace in our time." The people sighed in relief. But Chamberlain met sharp attacks in the House of Commons. Winston Churchill, a Conservative, called the Munich Agreement "a disaster of the first magnitude."
World War II
In March 1939, Germany seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. On September 1, Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. Two days later, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany. In April 1940, German troops invaded Denmark and Norway. Chamberlain resigned on May 10, and Churchill became prime minister. On that same day, Germany attacked Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
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Churchill told the British people he had nothing to offer but "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" to win "victory at all costs." Germany conquered France in June, and the UK stood alone against the Nazi war machine.
The United Kingdom prepared for invasion, and Churchill urged his people to make this "their finest hour." He inspired them to heights of courage, unity, and sacrifice. Hundreds of German planes bombed the UK nightly. German submarines tried to cut the UK's lifeline by torpedoing ships bringing supplies to the island country. Severe rationing limited each person's share of food, clothing, coal, and oil. The British refused to be beaten, and Hitler gave up his invasion plans.
In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In December, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, and the United States entered the war. The UK, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the other Allies finally defeated Germany and Japan in 1945. Near the end of the war, the UK helped establish the United Nations.
About 360,000 British servicemen, servicewomen, and civilians died in the war. Great sections of London and other cities had been destroyed by German bombs. The war had shattered the UK economy, and the country had piled up huge debts. The United States and the Soviet Union came out of the war as the world's most powerful nations.
The postwar Britain
The Labour Party won a landslide victory in 1945. The party had campaigned on a socialist programme. Clement Attlee became prime minister, and the Labour Party stayed in power until 1951. During those six years, the UK became a welfare state. The nation's social security system was expanded to provide welfare for the people "from the cradle to the grave." The Labour government also began to nationalizeindustry by putting private businesses under public control. The nationalized industries included the Bank of England, the coal mines, the iron and steel industry, the railways, and the road haulage industry.
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Although the Labour government struggled to restore the economy, conditions improved little. Rationing and other wartime controls continued. The government borrowed heavily from the United States.
World War II sealed the fate of the British Empire, though the UK had begun loosening control over its empire earlier. In 1931, the UK granted independence within the empire to Australia, Canada, the Irish Free State, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and South Africa. They became the first members of the Commonwealth of Nations,an association of countries and dependencies that succeeded the empire.
After World War II, the peoples of Africa and Asia increased their demands for independence. The UK could no longer keep control of its colonies. Nevertheless Britain tried to keep international ties with its former colonies through a new organisation called the British Commonwealth of Nations. All the former colonies were invited to join it as free and equal members. Now there are 53 member states with the population of more than 1, 7 billiard people.
While the UK was breaking up its empire during the postwar years, other nations of Western Europe joined together in various organizations to unite economically and politically. The UK was reluctant to join them. Throughout history, the UK had preferred to stay out of European affairs - except to keep the balance of power in Europe. By joining the new organizations, the UK feared it might lose some of its independence, and would also be turning its back on the Commonwealth.
Most important, it did not join the European Economic Community (EEC). This association, also called the European Common Market, was set up by France and five other nations. After the EEC showed signs of succeeding, the UK set up the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) with six other nations. But it was only a mild success, and the UK later regretted its refusal to join the EEC.
George VI's health declined during 1951, and Princess Elizabeth was soon frequently standing in for him at public events. In October of that year, she toured Canada, and visited the President of the United States, Harry S. Truman, in Washington, D.C.; on the trip, the Princess carried with her a draft accession declaration for use if the King died while she was out of the United Kingdom. In early 1952, Elizabeth and Philip set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand via Kenya. At Sagana Lodge, about 100 miles north of Nairobi, word arrived of the death of Elizabeth's father on 6 February. Philip broke the news to the new queen. Martin Charteris, then her Assistant Private Secretary, asked her what she intended to be called as monarch, to which she replied: "Elizabeth, of course." Elizabeth was proclaimed queen throughout her realms, and the royal party hastily returned to the United Kingdom. She and the Duke of Edinburgh moved into Buckingham Palace.
In the years after World War II, British foreign policy was closely allied with that of the United States. The UK joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and fought in the Korean War (1950-1953).
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