Reconsidering the Post-war Consensus Thesis

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The purpose of this research is to offer a new interpretation on postwar British politics. It is common to divide postwar British politics into two periods-one based on the postwar consensus and the other characterized by the neo-liberal consensus-with the Thatcher government regarded as a catalyst of the change from the former to the latter. Our research challenges this view by focusing on external economic policy pursued by the successive British governments. We find out that the Heath and Callaghan governments of the 1970s pursed a policy mix which is quite different from both the postwar and neo-liberal consensus. The Callaghan government in particular tried to reduce Britain's chronicle balance of payment deficit and achieve export-led economic growth. Participation in a newly proposed European monetary system was regarded as a desirable objective to complement this new economic strategy, though the government could not bring the pound into the new scheme due to domestic opposition. We will be able to understand the novelty of the Thatcher government only by comparing it with these two governments.