PoliticallyPostwarEpisodes Episode guide

Back up to: Politically

1. 20. What if?

   20/20What would Britain have been like if Winston Churchill had won the 1945 general election?
2. 19. Post-postwar

   19/20When did the postwar period end?
3. 18. Churchill: Lion in Winter

   18/20What happened to Winston Churchill in the years after the 1945 general election?
4. 17. A New Jerusalem?

   17/20How much of Britain’s past were Labour willing to jettison in 1945?
5. 16. The Result

   16/20The immediate result of the general election in 1945 was silence: a three-week hiatus.
6. 15. Debt to America

   15/20In 1945, Britain was the most indebted country in the world.
7. 14. United Nations

   14/20Both main parties supported the United Nations, but they disagreed about what that meant.
8. 13. From Yalta to Potsdam

   13/20Between the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, everything changed.
9. 12. Art, War and Propaganda

   12/20With the creation of the Arts Council in 1945, on-going state patronage of the arts began.
10. 11. Homes for Heroes

    11/20The 1945 election was fought and decided over two main issues: demobilisation and housing.
11. 10. India and Empire

    10/20The question of self-government for India would have to be confronted when war was over.
12. 9. Churchill's 'Gestapo' Broadcast

    9/20Churchill's first election broadcast in 1945 might be remembered as his greatest gaffe.
13. 8. Healthcare for All

    8/20The war changed many things, and access to healthcare was one of them.
14. 7. The Labour Manifesto

    7/20Uniquely in modern British history, the 1945 Labour Manifesto was a genuine bestseller.
15. 6. Appealing to Women

    6/20How did the 1945 election reflect the dramatically changed working lives of women?
16. 5. The Soldiers' Election

    5/20During the 1945 election, there were still almost five million servicemen and women.
17. 4. Public Opinion

    4/20How could politicians know what voters were thinking in 1945?
18. 3. The Beveridge Report

    3/20William Beveridge's plan was an answer to the question of what we were fighting for.
19. 2. Mr Churchill and Mr Attlee

    2/20With the war in Europe at an end, Churchill and Attlee became fierce election rivals.
20. 1. The Rejection

    1/20Why did Winston Churchill find himself so decisively rejected by the electorate?
21. Trailer

    1/20David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.