Martin Pugh was Professor of Modern British History at Newcastle University, UK. He is the author of 15 books on 19th- and 20th-century history including women's suffrage, fascism and the Labour Party. His latest book is Britain and Islam: A History from 622 to the Present Day (2019). As a freelance historian for some years now he combines writing and reviewing with gardening, foreign holidays and volunteering at his local food bank.

List of Illustrations
List of Tables and Figures
Preface

Part I: The Loss of Confidence, 1870-1902
1. The Retreat of the Industrial Revolution
The beginnings of decline?
Britain and free trade
The banks and the question of investment
The problem of entrepreneurship
Industrialization in perspective

2. Not Quite a Democracy
The system of government
Gladstone and Victorian Liberalism
The impact of parliamentary reform
The Conservative revival under Disraeli and Salisbury
Socialism and the rise of the Labour Movement

3. The Victorian State and its People
The rising standard of living
The persistence of mass poverty
Popular attitudes towards the state and self-help
The growth of local government
Ideas and experiments in social welfare

4. Victorian Values: Myth and Reality
The expansion of the state
The angel in the house
Marriage and the family
Population and sex
First-wave feminism
Victorian indulgences
Work, leisure and improvement

5. British National Identity: Unity and Division
The Union with Scotland
The integration of Wales with Britain
Ireland: the threat to the Union
Religion and national identity
Migration and immigration
Monarchy and national identity
The Victorian class struggle

6. Isolation and Expansion
The defence of the realm
The new imperialism
Was the Empire popular?
British militarism

Part II: The Reorientation: The Emergence of the Interventionist State, 1902-18
7. The State, Social Welfare and the Economy
Liberal social reform
Popular attitudes to state welfare
The taxation revolution
The state and the economy

8. The Liberal-Labour Alliance
The politics of the People's Budget
The Conservative dilemma
Labour's turning-point

9. Crisis and Controversy in Edwardian Britain
Class struggle and class collaboration
The challenge of feminism
The Irish Question
Plans for war
An ungovernable society?

10. Politics and Society in the Great War
The Continental commitment
State intervention in the economy
Coalition politics
Social reconstruction
The Lost Generation
Mass war and popular participation

Part III: The Period of Confusion: Collectivism versus Capitalism, 1918-40
11. The Failure of Laissez-faire
The legacy of war
The return to gold
Unemployment
Capitalism, Socialism and Keynesianism
Economic recovery in the 1930s

12. Mass Democracy in an Age of Decline
National identity between the wars
Structural changes in politics
The first Labour government
The General Strike and the 1929 election
The National Governments
The Labour revival, 1935-9
Why was Britain so stable?
The challenge of British fascism

13. The Era of Domesticity
The rising standard of living
The housing revolution
Leisure and consumerism
Women, family and marriage
Social welfare and income distribution

14. Imperial Climax and Decline
Defence and disarmament
Popular opposition to war
The Empire and nationalism
Appeasement and rearmament

Part IV: Consensus: The Age of the Benign State, 1940-70
15. The People's War
Breaking the mould
Mass war and social change
The origins of the post-war consensus
The collapse of British power
1945: the Labour landslide

16. The Keynesian Era
Planning and the mixed economy
The welfare state
The politics of consensus
The affluent society
Adjusting to decline
Challenges to the political system

17. The Permissive Society
Liberal reform
The family and marriage
Limited emancipation for women
The rise of an educated society
The reaction
Race and immigration

18. The Loss of Great Power Status
Cold War defence
Decolonization
Reluctantly into Europe
Part V The Era of Reaction and Decline, 1970-2020

19. The Breakdown of the Post-war Consensus, 1970-9
Heath and the crisis of Conservatism
Multi-party politics
The decline of Labour
The origins of Thatcherism

20. The Era of Thatcherism
Monetarism and depression
Delusions of grandeur
Breaking the mould of politics
The growth of poverty and inequality
Rolling back the state
Presidential government and the limited revolution
The crisis over Europe

21. New Labour and the Blair Era
Continuity or change?
Social and political reform
The British presidency
Changes in the political system
The Iraq War and the attack on civil liberties
The crisis of national identity

22. Crisis and Coalition
The banking crisis and economic recession, 2007-15
The coalition era
The growth of poverty and inequality
National disunity

23 Brexit and the Pandemic
Theresa May's Government
Why Did the Public Change Its Mind about Brexit?
The Impact of Brexit
The Premiership of Boris Johnson
Why Did Britain Fail to Manage the Pandemic ?
What Was the Impact of the Pandemic ?
2021: The Dual Crisis

Index