Life in post-war Northern Ireland and Éire - CCEA

In May 1945, World War Two ended in Europe.

Two months later, the Labour Party won a landslide victory in the British general election.

Voters were attracted by Labour’s promises of jobs for all, government ownership of industry and the introduction of a Welfare State.

The new Prime Minister was Clement Attlee.

The new government faced a very difficult situation:

• The country was almost broke.
• Poverty was widespread.
• Most of the goods being made in Britain were being sold abroad so that food could be imported.
• Coal, bread and potato supplies had almost run out.
  • In 1946, bread rationing was introduced.
  • In 1947, potatoes were also rationed.

As a result, the immediate post-war period in Britain was known as the ‘age of austerity’.

Labour introduced a policy of nationalisation.

It was implemented as follows:

• 1947: coal mines and electricity.
• 1948: railways.
• 1949: iron and steel.

The government also began to build houses to eliminate slums and repair the damage caused by the Blitz.

680,000 houses were built between 1947 and 1950.

Unionists were worried by the Labour Party becoming the government in Britain because in the past, Labour had been strongly critical of Northern Ireland.

Unionists were also worried about some of Labour’s key policies:

• Nationalisation of industries.
• The Welfare State, which would be costly.
• Had previously questioned the ability and fairness of the Stormont government.
• Had been opposed to partition and unionists feared they might be forced into a united Ireland.

In the end, however, unionists felt that Northern Ireland’s best chance of staying economically stable was to maintain its close relationship with Great Britain.

In 1942, a government committee had been set up to investigate the extent of poverty in Britain.

Chaired by Sir William Beveridge, its job was to suggest ways of improving the lives of the British public.

The Beveridge Report 1942 recommended a government-run benefit system designed to support people from the 'cradle-to-grave'.

Benefits would be available to the unemployed, the sick, the retired and the widowed.

In addition to Beveridge's proposals, Westminster also planned to improve education, housing and working conditions and to create a national health service.

Workers would pay a compulsory weekly contribution to the state to finance the schemes.

It was against this background that Clement Attlee, and his Minister of Health, Aneurin Bevan, made significant changes to welfare in Britain and Northern Ireland between 1945 and 1951.

One of the key elements of their reforms was the introduction in July 1948 of the National Health Service (NHS).

Their reforms would create what became known as the Welfare State.

Most people welcomed the Welfare State, particularly the less well-off because it helped with many of their housing, education and health problems.

However, some people initially objected to it.

• The wealthy classes were displeased when the government nationalised coal mines, railways, industries, electricity provision and the Bank of England to help achieve its policies.
• Small business owners feared nationalisation would be extended to more areas and affect the ownership of their firms.
• Many doctors believed that their professional independence would be undermined and they would be turned into civil servants. (In the end, however, the NHS was joined by 90 per cent of doctors. It was hugely successful, even if it was massively expensive, and it greatly benefited public health in the UK.)
• The middle class was worried taxes would be increased to fund the reforms.
• Others thought the Welfare State would encourage people to live off the state rather than seek employment.

Despite the need for massive reforms in health care and housing, many in Northern Ireland’s middle classes and medical profession feared what Labour’s policies might mean for them.

• They were conservative and did not favour rapid change.
• They disliked Northern Ireland’s growing dependence on the British Treasury, and were concerned that Stormont would have to pay for the cost of welfare.
• Stormont feared the loss of power to a centralising socialist government and wondered how it was to finance such reforms.

The less well-off welcomed the Welfare State, whilst nationalists were happy as they stood to benefit more from government plans to improve housing and health.

They also saw a Labour government as potentially more sympathetic to their situation.

In the end, Labour showed its gratitude for Northern Ireland’s war effort by helping to cover the costs of the introduction of the Welfare State.

As a result, improvements were effected in a range of areas.

The Welfare State was very successful and brought massive benefits for the people of Northern Ireland.

Local welfare standards, which had been worse than those in Britain, were now the same, and Northern Ireland citizens were better off than their counterparts in Éire.

The Welfare State provided three major improvements: the NHS, benefits and housing.

When the NHS was rolled out in 1948, people in Northern Ireland benefitted from:

• Better organised hospitals.
• Free consultations with doctors.
• Free prescriptions.
• The introduction of free dental and eye treatments (although later some charges were introduced).
• A new Tuberculosis Authority.
• Health standards improved greatly and diseases, such as tuberculosis and polio, were almost totally eradicated.

By 1962, Northern Ireland had the lowest death rate in the UK, having had the highest in 1939.

The old Poor Law and Board of Guardians that had been responsible for the poor were abolished and a new set of benefits was paid out:

• Family Allowances (1945) for children.
• Unemployment Benefit (1946).
• National Assistance (1948) for the needy.
• Maternity benefits.
• Pensions.

These benefits improved the quality of life for the poorest groups.

Northern Ireland had spent little on building houses before 1939 and the housing shortage was made worse by the Blitz.

A 1944 report revealed that 43,000 houses were unfit to live in.

In 1945, the Housing Trust was set up to oversee the building of houses.

The methods and materials used were improved and over the next 20 years 100,000 homes were built.

However, local councils did not build enough houses for the number of people needing them and the method used to allocate houses to tenants meant that not all benefited equally.

The 1947 Education Act (Northern Ireland) introduced radical changes in education:

• All children over 11 received free secondary education.
• The eleven-plus (11+) examination was introduced.
• The school leaving age was raised to 15.
• Free medical treatment, transport, milk, meals, books and stationery were provided.
• Scholarships were introduced for university education.
• Teacher training was improved.
• Funding for Catholic Voluntary schools was increased from 50 to 65 per cent.

The Education Act had important educational and social consequences:

• The overall education level of the population increased.
• The total number of pupils in secondary education doubled between 1947 and 1955.
• New, modern schools were built.
• Primary school education benefitted from the process.
• More Catholics were able to receive higher education than in previous times and so could improve their employment opportunities.
• Free medical check-ups helped improve children’s health.
• However, the demands of Catholic and Protestant churches for separate schools reinforced religious segregation in Northern Ireland.

In addition, as the Catholic population became more educated, some of its members began to speak out against what they saw as the inequality and discrimination within Northern Ireland.

Stormont also tried to improve the economy, particularly given the long-term decline in some traditional industries such as linen and shipbuilding.

The 1945 Industrial Development Act provided incentives for building new factories.

By 1946, ten new factories had opened, creating approximately 5,000 jobs.

However, 75 per cent of the new factories opened were based around Belfast which other regions of Northern Ireland felt was unfair, and unemployment overall remained high compared to other parts of the United Kingdom.

The Agricultural Act gave government grants to farmers and guaranteed food prices which made farmers more prosperous.

Unfortunately, the introduction of modern farming methods led to increased unemployment in the sector.

While living standards improved, these reforms meant that Stormont came to rely on the British government for money.

This was resented by some unionist politicians.

Éire lagged behind Northern Ireland in welfare for a number of reasons.

Unlike the economies of Britain and Northern Ireland, which gradually recovered in the post-war years, Éire's economy went into severe depression.

The country did not experience a quick post-war recovery for a variety of reasons:

• Its agriculture and industry had shrunk dramatically during 'The Emergency'.
• Éire did not receive Marshall Aid, due to its neutrality during the war.
• Éire was isolated economically, particularly by Britain, which resented Éire's limited role in the war. For example, Britain withheld coal imports.
• A wet summer in 1946 followed by a severe winter in 1946-1947 caused a fall in crop production, a situation made worse by a lack of fertilisers.

As a result of the economic problems experienced by Éire:

• Inflation soared and the balance of payment deficit rose.
• Unemployment shot up.
• Emigration increased - with as many as 24,000 leaving each year.
• There were severe shortages of coal due to the bad weather.
• Very few new homes were built because of shortages of building materials.
• Wartime rationing not only continued but in 1947 was extended to include bread.
• Welfare benefits were virtually non-existent.
• The contrast between the economies in Éire and Northern Ireland also caused disillusionment.

Before the war, the standard of living in both parts of Ireland had been roughly equal, but huge differences emerged after 1945 because of the Welfare State.

The deteriorating situation in Éire resulted in increasing unpopularity for the Fianna Fáil government.

Therefore, it went on to lose the 1948 general election and a coalition government took power.

It was made up of:

• Fine Gael - led by General Richard Mulcahy.
• Two different Labour parties, each opposed to the other.
• Clann na Talmhan – representing farmers.
• Clann na Poblachta - a republican and socialist party led by Seán MacBride (Chief of Staff of the IRA 1936 to 1938).
• The new government also had the support of 12 independent TDs.

As leader of the largest party, Mulcahy should have become Taoiseach.

However, he was unacceptable to MacBride because of his role in the Irish Civil War.

Therefore Fine Gael’s John A. Costello became Taoiseach.

The new government introduced a range of policies to modernise the Irish economy, including:

• The establishment of the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) in 1949 to revitalise the economy.
• 50,000 new jobs were created, and industrial production increased by 60 per cent.
• The creation of Córas Tráchtála to increase trade with North America.
• A house-building programme which resulted in the building of close to 12,000 new houses annually by 1950.
• The start of huge land reclamation projects and the extension of electrification schemes.
• The signing of a trade agreement with Britain in 1948.
• This improved profit margins for Irish agricultural exports, helping farmers to a degree.
• As a result, the Irish economy entered into a slow if steady period of improvement.

However:

• The failure to start longer-term economic planning meant that the economy did not develop as quickly as it might.
• Emigration continued to bleed away the potential of the population.
• The devaluation of sterling in 1949 impacted negatively on the economy.
• Increased productivity by British farmers meant Éire's produce could not always compete in markets in Britain.

In addition, the welfare and the economy still lagged behind that of Britain and Northern Ireland.

• The standard of living in Éire was almost the same as it had been in the 1930s.
• Unemployment and emigration remained high.
• There was no Welfare State. People had to pay for their own medical treatment.
• Not enough new houses were built because of a shortage of building material.
• On the other hand, £30 million was spent on fighting tuberculosis.

Within a few years, it was almost eradicated.