Austerity in Britain Rationing, Controls, and Consumption, 1939-1955

by Zweiniger-Bargielowska, Ina

• ISBN13: 9780198204534
• ISBN10: 0198204531
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Austerity in Britain is the first book to explore the entire episode of rationing, austerity, and fair shares from 1939 until 1955. These policies were central to the British war effort and to post-war reconstruction. The book analyzes the connections between government policy, consumption, gender, and party politics during and after the Second World War. It qualifies the myth of common sacrifice on the home front and highlights the limitations of the fairshares policy which failed to achieve genuine equality between classes or between men and women. The continuation of rationing and austerity policies after 1945 was central to party politics. Disaffection, particularly among women, undermined Labour's popularity while the Conservatives' critique of austerity was instrumental to the party's victories at the general elections of 1951 and 1955.

Author Biography

Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska is Lecturer in Modern British Social and Economic History at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	xi
List of Tables	xii
Introduction	1	(8)
Administration	9	(51)
Food Rationing and Controls, 1939--1955: General Policy	12	(19)
Food Ration Levels and Dietary Trends, 1930s--1960s	31	(14)
Consumer Goods Rationing and Controls, 1939--1955	45	(15)
Popular Attitudes	60	(39)
Food	69	(18)
Clothing and Miscellaneous Consumer Goods	87	(12)
Women	99	(52)
Housewifery	102	(26)
Motherhood and Child Rearing	128	(23)
The Black Market	151	(52)
Food	160	(17)
Clothes and Clothing Coupons	177	(8)
Cosmetics	185	(7)
Petrol and Petrol Coupons	192	(11)
Party Politics	203	(53)
The 1945 General Election	209	(5)
The Austerity Debates, 1946--1947	214	(12)
The 1950 and 1951 General Elections	226	(8)
The End of Austerity and the 1955 General Election	234	(9)
Electoral Trends, 1945--1955	243	(13)
Conclusion	256	(9)
Bibliography	265	(14)
Index	279