ABSTRACT
Unt i l 1945 Labour had never been able to form a government w i th a majority over other parties in Parliament. There was corresponding jubi lat ion that at last it could pursue its o w n p rogramme to w o r k a revolution in society untrammelled by compromise w i t h the Liberals. Some felt like Hart ley Shawcross, ' W e are the masters n o w ' ; others were happy to find a broad consensus in all quarters in favour of ideas and measures that Labour claimed to have been preaching for a generation. ' H i g h and stable ' , if not ' ful l ' , employment , greater social equality, a more active role for the state were all c o m m o n ground .
