Attlee ministry
was invited by King George VI to form the Attlee ministry in the United Kingdom in July 1945, succeeding Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Labour Party had won a landslide victory at the 1945 general election, enacting much of the post-war consensus policies, especially the welfare state and nationalisation of some industries. The government was marked by post-war austerity measures, in giving independence to India, and engagement in the Cold War against Soviet Communism.
Attlee went on to win a narrow majority of five seats at the 1950 general election, forming the Second Attlee ministry. Just twenty months after that election, Attlee called a new election for 25 October 1951 in an attempt to gain a larger majority, but was narrowly defeated by the Conservatives.
Leaders
The Labour Party came to power in the United Kingdom after its unexpected victory in the July 1945 general election. Party leader Clement Attlee became Prime Minister replacing Winston Churchill in late July. Ernest Bevin was Foreign Secretary until shortly before his death in April 1951. Hugh Dalton became Chancellor of the Exchequer, but had to resign in 1947, while James Chuter Ede was Home Secretary for the whole duration of the Attlee ministries' stay in power.Other notable figures in the government included: Herbert Morrison, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons, who replaced Bevin as Foreign Secretary in March 1951; Sir Stafford Cripps was initially President of the Board of Trade but replaced Dalton as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1947; Hugh Gaitskell held several minor posts before replacing Cripps as Chancellor in 1950; Nye Bevan was Minister for Health; Arthur Greenwood was Lord Privy Seal and Paymaster General while future Prime Minister Harold Wilson became the youngest member of the cabinet in the 20th century when he was made President of the Board of Trade in 1947. The most notable of the few female members of the government was Ellen Wilkinson, who was Minister for Education until her early death in 1947.
Policies
It was an "age of austerity," as wartime rationing was continued despite the Allied Forces' victory, and was even expanded upon to include bread. Living conditions were poor, instead of expansion, it was a matter of replacing the national wealth destroyed or used up during the war. The Great Depression did not return, and full employment was created. Returning veterans were successfully reabsorbed into the postwar society.The Attlee government nationalised about 20% of the economy, including coal, railways, road transport, the Bank of England, civil aviation, electricity and gas, and steel. However, there was no money for investment to modernise these industries, and there was no effort made to turn control over to union members. The Attlee government greatly expanded the welfare state, with the National Health Service Act 1946, which nationalised the hospitals and provided for free universal healthcare. The National Insurance Act 1946 provided sickness and unemployment benefits for adults, plus retirement pensions. The National Assistance Act 1948 provided a safety net for anyone not otherwise covered. More council housing was built, and plans were made through the New Towns Act of 1946 for the growth of suburbs, and to reduce overcrowding in major cities such as London and Glasgow. Since there was little money for detailed planning, the government adopted Keynesianism, which allowed for planning in the sense of overall control of the national deficit and surplus. Two laws written by the Conservatives during the war were expanded, the Family Allowances Act 1945 and the Education Act 1944.
The Transport Act 1947 established the British Transport Commission, which took control over the railways from the Big Four — Great Western Railway, London, Midland and Scottish Railway, London and North Eastern Railway and the Southern Railway — to form British Railways.
In foreign affairs, the government was active in the United Nations and negotiated a $5,000,000,000 loan from the United States and Canada in 1946. It eagerly joined the Marshall Plan in 1948. It could no longer afford to support the Greek government and encouraged the U.S. to take its place through the Truman Doctrine in 1947. It took an active role in joining the United States in the Cold War and forming NATO. It gave independence to India, Pakistan, Ceylon and Burma and moved to strengthen the British Commonwealth.
Nationalisation projects
;1945–51:The Labour Party comes to power with a programme for nationalising the essential sectors of the economy, some of which had been weakened during wartime: finance, heavy industry and natural resources, along with communication and transportation infrastructure.Social policies
Health
Attlee's Health Minister, Aneurin Bevan, fought hard against the general disapproval of the medical establishment, including the British Medical Association, by creating the National Health Service in 1948. This was a publicly funded healthcare system, which offered treatment free of charge for all, regardless of income at the point-of-use. Reflecting pent-up demand that had long existed for medical services, the NHS treated some 8,500,000 dental patients and dispensed more than 5,000,000 pairs of spectacles during its first year of operation.Consultants benefited from the new system by being paid salaries that provided an acceptable standard of living without the need for them to resort to private practice. The NHS brought major improvements in the health of working-class people, with deaths from diphtheria, pneumonia, and tuberculosis significantly reduced. Although there were often disputes about its organisation and funding, British political parties continued to voice their general support for the NHS in order to remain electable.
In the field of health care, funds were allocated to modernisation and extension schemes aimed at improving administrative efficiency. Improvements were made in nursing accommodation in order to recruit more nurses and reduce labour shortages which were keeping 60,000 beds out of use, and efforts were made to reduce the imbalance "between an excess of fever and tuberculosis beds and a shortage of maternity beds."
BCG vaccinations were introduced for the protection of medical students, midwives, nurses, and contacts of patients with tuberculosis, a pension scheme was set up for employees of the newly established NHS, and the Radioactive Substances Act of 1948 set out general provisions to control radioactive substances. Numerous lesser reforms were also introduced, some of which were of great benefit to certain segments of British society, such as the mentally deficient and the blind. Between 1948–51, Attlee's government increased spending on health from £6,000,000,000 to £11,000,000,000: an increase of over 80%, and from 2.1% to 3.6% of GDP.
Welfare
The government set about implementing William Beveridge's plans for the creation of a 'cradle to grave' welfare state, and set in place an entirely new system of social security. Among the most important pieces of legislation was the National Insurance Act 1946, in which people in work paid a flat rate of national insurance. In return, they were eligible for flat-rate pensions, sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, and funeral benefit. Various other pieces of legislation provided for child benefit and support for people with no other source of income. In 1949, unemployment, sickness and maternity benefits were exempted from taxation.A block grant introduced in 1948 helped the social services provided by local authorities. Personal Social Services or welfare services were developed in 1948 for individual and families in general, particularly special groups such as the mentally disordered, deprived children, the elderly, and the handicapped.
The Attlee Government increased pensions and other benefits, with pensions raised to become more of a living income than they had ever been. War pensions and allowances were increased by an Act of 1946 which gave the wounded man with an allowance for his wife and children if he married after he had been wounded, thereby removing a grievance of more than twenty years standing. Other improvements were made in war pensions during Attlee's tenure as prime minister. A Constant Attendance Allowance was tripled, an Unemployability Allowance was tripled from 10s to 30s a week, and a special hardship allowance of up to £1 a week was introduced. In addition, the 1951 Budget made further improvements in the supplementary allowances for many war pensioners. From 1945 onwards, three out of every four pension claims had been successful, whilst after the First World War only one pension claim in three was allowed. Under the Superannuation Act of 1948, employees of a body representative of local authorities or of the officers of local authorities could be admitted "on suitable terms to the superannuation fund of a local authority." In 1951, a comforts allowance was introduced that was automatically paid to war pensioners "receiving unemployability supplement and constant attendance allowance."
A more extensive system of social welfare benefits was established by the Attlee Government, which did much to reduce acute social deprivation. The cumulative impact of the Attlee's Government's health and welfare policies was such that all the indices of health showed signs of improvement, with continual improvements in survival rates for infants and increased life expectancy for the elderly. The success of the Attlee Government's welfare legislation in reducing poverty was such that, in the general election of 1950, according to one study, "Labour propaganda could make much of the claim that social security had eradicated the most abject destitution of the 1930s".
Housing
The New Towns Act of 1946 set up development corporations to construct new towns, while the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947 instructed county councils to prepare development plans and also provided compulsory purchase powers. The Attlee Government also extended the powers of local authorities to requisition houses and parts of houses, and made the acquisition of land less difficult than before. The Housing Act of 1949 provided grants of 75% towards modernisation costs payable by the Treasury to local authorities.In 1949, local authorities were empowered to provide people suffering from poor health with public housing at subsidised rents.
To assist home ownership, the limit on the amount of money that people could borrow from their local authority in order to purchase or build a home was raised from £800 to £1,500 in 1945, and to £5,000 in 1949. Under the National Assistance Act of 1948, local authorities had a duty "to provide emergency temporary accommodation for families which become homeless through no fault of their own."
A large house-building programme was carried out with the intention of providing millions of people with high-quality homes. A housing bill passed in 1946 increased Treasury subsidies for the construction of local authority housing in England and Wales. Four out of five houses constructed under Labour were council properties built to more generous specifications than before the Second World War, and subsidies kept down council rents. Altogether, these policies provided public-sector housing with its biggest ever boost up until that point, while low-wage earners particularly benefited from these developments. Although the Attlee Government failed to meet its targets, primarily due to economic constraints, over 1,000,000 new homes were built between 1945-51 which ensured that decent, affordable housing was available to many low-income families for the first time ever.
Women and children
A number of reforms were embarked upon to improve conditions for women and children. In 1946, universal family allowances were introduced to provide financial support to households for raising children. These benefits had been legislated for the previous year by Churchill's Family Allowances Act 1945, and was the first measure pushed through parliament by Attlee's government. The Conservatives would later criticise Labour for having been "too hasty" in introducing family allowances.A Married Women Act was passed in 1949 "to equalise, to render inoperative any restrictions upon anticipation or alienation attached to the enjoyment of property by a woman," while the Married Women Act of 1949 was enacted with the intention of improving the adequacy and duration of financial benefits for married women.
The Criminal Law Act of 1950 amended an Act of 1885 to bring prostitutes within the law and safeguard them from abduction and abuse. The Criminal Justice Act of 1948 restricted imprisonment for juveniles and brought improvements to the probation and remand centre systems, while the passage of the Justices of the Peace Act of 1949 led to extensive reforms of magistrates courts. The Attlee Government also abolished the marriage bar in the Civil Service, thereby enabling married women to work in that institution.
In 1946, the government set up a National Institute of Houseworkers as a means of providing a socially democratic variety of domestic service.
By late 1946, agreed standards of training were established, which was followed by the opening of a training headquarters and the opening of an additional nine training centres in Wales, Scotland, and then nationwide throughout Great Britain. The National Health Service Act of 1946 indicated that domestic help should be provided for households where that help is required "owing to the presence of any person who is ill, lying-in, an expectant mother, mentally defective, aged or a child not over compulsory school age". 'Home help' therefore included the provision of home-helps for nursing and expectant mothers and for mothers with children under the age of five, and by 1952 some 20,000 women were engaged in this service.
Planning and development
Development rights were nationalised while the government attempted to take all development profits for the state. Strong planning authorities were set up to control land use, and issued manuals of guidance which stressed the importance of safeguarding agricultural land. A strong chain of regional offices was set up within its planning ministry to provide a strong lead in regional development policies.Comprehensive Development Areas, a designation under the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947, allowed local authorities to acquire property in the designated areas using powers of compulsory purchase in order to re-plan and develop urban areas suffering from urban blight or war damage.
Workers' rights
Various measures were carried out to improve conditions in the workplace. Entitlement to sick leave was greatly extended, and sick pay schemes were introduced for local authority administrative, professional and technical workers in 1946 and for various categories of manual workers in 1948. Worker's compensation was also significantly improved.The Fair Wages Resolution of 1946 required any contractor working on a public project to at least match the pay rates and other employment conditions set in the appropriate collective agreement. In 1946, purchase tax was removed completely from kitchen fittings and crockery, while the rate was reduced on various gardening items.
The Fire Services Act 1947 introduced a new pension scheme for firefighters, while the Electricity Act 1947 introduced better retirement benefits for workers in that industry. A Workers' Compensation Act was passed in 1948 that introduced benefits for workers with certain asbestos-related diseases which had occurred before 1948. The Merchant Shipping Act of 1948 and the Merchant Shipping Act of 1949 were passed to improve conditions for seamen. The Shops Act of 1950 consolidated previous legislation which provided that no one could be employed in a shop for more than six hours without having a break for at least 20 minutes. The legislation also required a lunch break of at least 45 minutes for anyone for worked between 11:30am and 2:30pm, and a half-hour tea break for anyone working between 4pm and 7pm. The government also strengthened a Fair Wages Resolution, with a clause that required all employers getting government contracts to recognise the rights of their workers to join trade unions.
The Trades Disputes Act 1927 was repealed, and a Dock Labour Scheme was introduced in 1947 to put an end to the casual system of hiring labour in the docks. This scheme gave registered dockers the legal right to minimum work and decent conditions. Through the National Dock Labour Board the unions acquired control over recruitment and dismissal. Registered dockers laid off by employers within the Scheme had the right either to be taken on by another, or to generous compensation. All dockers were registered under the Dock Labour Scheme, giving them a legal right to minimum work, holidays and sick pay.
Wages for members of the police force were significantly increased. The introduction of a Miner's Charter in 1946 instituted a five-day work week for miners and a standardised day wage structure, and in 1948 a Colliery Workers Supplementary Scheme was approved, providing supplementary allowances to disabled coal-workers and their dependants. In 1948, a pension scheme was set up to provide pension benefits for employees of the new NHS, as well as their dependents. Under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Regulations of 1950, a pension scheme for mineworkers was established. Improvements were also made in farmworkers' wages, and the Agricultural Wages Board in 1948 not only safeguarded wage levels, but also ensured that workers were provided with accommodation.
A number of regulations aimed at safeguarding the health and safety of people at work were also introduced during Attlee's time in office. Regulations were issued in February 1946 applying to factories involved with "manufacturing briquettes or blocks of fuel consisting of coal, coal dust, coke or slurry with pitch as a binding.substance," and which concerned "dust and ventilation, washing facilities and clothing accommodation, medical supervision and examination, skin and eye protection and messrooms."
The Magnesium Order of December 1946 contained special measures "respecting the maintenance of plant and apparatus; precautions against causing sparks; the interception and removal of dust; automatic operation of appliances; protective clothing; and prohibition of smoking, open lights and fires." For those workers engaged in luminising processes, the Factories Special Regulations prohibited the employment of those under the age of 18 and ordered "an initial medical examination to be carried out before the seventh day of employment; subsequent examinations are to be carried out once a month."Under the terms of the Blasting Special Regulations "no sand or other substance containing free silica is to be employed in any blasting process," while the Foundries Special Regulations prohibited the use of certain parting powders "which give rise to a substantial risk of silicosis."
The Building Regulations of 1948 required that measures should be taken to minimise exposure to potentially harmful dust or fumes, while the Pottery Special Regulations prohibited the use "except in the manufacture of glazed tiles" of all "but leadless or low solubility glazes and prescribe certain processes in which ground or powdered flint or quartz are not to be employed." while the Pottery Special Regulations of 1950 made provision for the health and safety of workers employed in factories "in which there is carried on the manufacture or decoration of pottery or certain allied manufactures or processes."
Law
Various law reforms were also carried out by Attlee's government. The Criminal Justice Act of 1948 provided for new methods to deal with offenders, and abolished hard labour, penal servitude, prison divisions and whipping. The Law Reform Act 1948 enabled employees to sue their employers in cases where they experienced injury due to the negligence of a fellow employee. The Legal Aid and Advice Act of 1949 introduced a state aided scheme to assist those who couldn't afford legal services.Post-war consensus
Most historians argue that the main domestic policies reflected a broad bipartisan consensus. The post-war consensus is a historians' model of political agreement from 1945 to the late-1970s. In 1979 newly elected Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher rejected and reversed it. The concept claims there was a widespread consensus that covered support for coherent package of policies that were developed in the 1930s, promised during the Second World War, and enacted under Attlee. The policies dealt with a mixed economy, Keynesianism, and a broad welfare state. In recent years the validity of the interpretation has been debated by historians.The historians' model of the post-war consensus was most fully developed by Paul Addison. The basic argument is that in the 1930s, Liberal Party intellectuals led by John Maynard Keynes and William Beveridge developed a series of plans that became especially attractive as the wartime government promised a much better post-war Britain and saw the need to engage every sector of society. The coalition government during the war, headed by Churchill and Attlee, signed off on a series of white papers that promised Britain a much improved welfare state. After the war, the promises included the National Health Service, and expansion of education, housing, and a number of welfare programmes. It did not include the nationalisation of iron and steel, which was approved only by the Labour Party.
The model states that from 1945 until the arrival of Thatcher in 1979, there was a broad multi-partisan national consensus on social and economic policy, especially regarding the welfare state, nationalised health services, educational reform, a mixed economy, government regulation, Keynesian macroeconomic policies, and full employment. Apart from the question of nationalisation of some industries, these policies were broadly accepted by the three major parties, as well as by industry, the financial community and the labour movement. Until the 1980s, historians generally agreed on the existence and importance of the consensus. Some historians such as Ralph Miliband expressed disappointment that the consensus was a modest or even conservative package that blocked a fully socialized society. Historian Angus Calder complained bitterly that the post-war reforms were an inadequate reward for the wartime sacrifices, and a cynical betrayal of the people's hope for a more just post-war society. In recent years, there has been a historiographical debate on whether such a consensus ever existed.
Fate
In the February 1950 general election the Labour Party narrowly maintained their majority by just 5 seats. This was insufficient to govern however, due to the Bevanite split causing tensions in the party. Another general election was called in 1951 to try and increase their majority. However, in the October 1951 general elections the Conservatives returned to power under Winston Churchill. Labour was to remain out of office for the next thirteen years, until 1964, when Harold Wilson became Prime Minister.Cabinets
First Attlee ministry
1945–1950
- Clement Attlee: Prime Minister and Minister of Defence
- Herbert Morrison: Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
- Lord Jowitt: Lord Chancellor
- Arthur Greenwood: Lord Privy Seal
- Hugh Dalton: Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Ernest Bevin: Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
- James Chuter Ede: Secretary of State for the Home Department
- George Hall: Secretary of State for the Colonies
- Lord Addison: Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs and Leader of the House of Lords
- Lord Pethick-Lawrence: Secretary of State for India and Burma
- A. V. Alexander: First Lord of the Admiralty
- Jack Lawson: Secretary of State for War
- Lord Stansgate: Secretary of State for Air
- Ellen Wilkinson: Minister of Education
- Joseph Westwood: Secretary of State for Scotland
- Tom Williams: Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
- George Isaacs: Minister of Labour and National Service
- Aneurin Bevan: Minister of Health
- Sir Stafford Cripps: President of the Board of Trade
- Emanuel Shinwell: Minister of Fuel and Power
Changes
- July 1946 – Arthur Greenwood becomes Paymaster General as well as Lord Privy Seal.
- October 1946 – The three service ministers cease to be cabinet positions. A. V. Alexander remains in the cabinet as Minister without Portfolio. George Hall replaces A. V. Alexander as First Lord of the Admiralty, outside the cabinet. Arthur Creech Jones succeeds Hall as Secretary of State for the Colonies.
- December 1946 – A. V. Alexander succeeds Attlee as Minister of Defence.
- February 1947 – George Tomlinson succeeds Ellen Wilkinson as Minister of Education upon her death.
- March 1947 – Arthur Greenwood ceases to be Paymaster General, remaining Lord Privy Seal. His successor as Paymaster General is not in the cabinet.
- April 1947 – Arthur Greenwood becomes Minister without Portfolio. Lord Inman succeeds Arthur Greenwood as Lord Privy Seal. William Francis Hare, Lord Listowel succeeds Lord Pethick-Lawrence as Secretary of State for India and Burma.
- July 1947 – The Dominion Affairs Office becomes the Office of Commonwealth Relations. Addison remains at the head.
- August 1947 – The India and Burma Office becomes the Burma Office with India's independence. Lord Listowel remains in office. Responsibility for relations with India and Pakistan themselves are transferred to Addison and the Commonwealth Relations Office.
- September 1947 – Sir Stafford Cripps becomes Minister of Economic Affairs. Harold Wilson succeeds Cripps as President of the Board of Trade. Arthur Greenwood retires from the Front Bench.
- October 1947 – Lord Addison succeeds Lord Inman as Lord Privy Seal, remaining also Leader of the House of Lords. Philip Noel-Baker succeeds Lord Addison as Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations. Arthur Woodburn succeeds Joseph Westwood as Secretary of State for Scotland. The Minister of Fuel and Power, Emanuel Shinwell, leaves the Cabinet.
- November 1947 – Sir Stafford Cripps succeeds Hugh Dalton as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
- January 1948 – The Burma Office is abolished with Burma's independence.
- May 1948: Hugh Dalton re-enters the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Lord Pakenham enters the Cabinet as Minister of Civil Aviation.
- July 1948: Lord Addison becomes Paymaster General.
- April 1949: Lord Addison ceases to be Paymaster General, remaining Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords. His successor as Paymaster General is not in the Cabinet.
Second Attlee ministry
1950–1951
- Clement Attlee: Prime Minister
- Herbert Morrison: Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
- Lord Jowitt: Lord Chancellor
- Lord Addison: Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
- Sir Stafford Cripps: Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Ernest Bevin: Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
- James Chuter Ede: Secretary of State for the Home Department
- Jim Griffiths: Secretary of State for the Colonies
- Patrick Gordon Walker: Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
- Harold Wilson: President of the Board of Trade
- Lord Alexander of Hillsborough: Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- George Tomlinson: Minister of Education
- Hector McNeil: Secretary of State for Scotland
- Tom Williams: Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
- George Isaacs: Minister of Labour and National Service
- Aneurin Bevan: Minister of Health
- Emanuel Shinwell: Minister of Defence
- Hugh Dalton: Minister of Town and Country Planning
Changes
- October 1950: Hugh Gaitskell succeeds Sir Stafford Cripps as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
- January 1951: Aneurin Bevan succeeds George Isaacs as Minister of Labour and National service. Bevan's successor as Minister of Health is not in the cabinet. Hugh Dalton's post is renamed Minister of Local Government and Planning.
- March 1951: Herbert Morrison succeeds Ernest Bevin as Foreign Secretary. Lord Addison succeeds Morrison as Lord President. Bevin succeeds Addison as Lord Privy Seal. James Chuter Ede succeeds Morrison as Leader of the House of Commons whilst remaining Home Secretary.
- April 1951: Richard Stokes succeeds Ernest Bevin as Lord Privy Seal. Alf Robens succeeds Aneurin Bevan as Minister of Labour and National Service. Sir Hartley Shawcross succeeds Harold Wilson as President of the Board of Trade.
List of Ministers
| Office | Name | Dates | Notes |
| Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury | Clement Attlee | 26 July 1945 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Lord Chancellor | The Lord Jowitt | 27 July 1945 | |
| Lord President of the Council | Herbert Morrison | 27 July 1945 | also Leader of the House of Commons |
| Lord President of the Council | The Viscount Addison | 9 March 1951 | also Leader of the House of Lords |
| Lord Privy Seal | Arthur Greenwood | 27 July 1945 | |
| Lord Privy Seal | The Lord Inman | 17 April 1947 | |
| Lord Privy Seal | The Viscount Addison | 7 October 1947 | also Leader of the House of Lords |
| Lord Privy Seal | Ernest Bevin | 9 March 1951 | |
| Lord Privy Seal | Richard Stokes | 26 April 1951 | Also Minister of Materials from 6 July 1951 |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Hugh Dalton | 27 July 1945 | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Sir Stafford Cripps | 13 November 1947 | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Hugh Gaitskell | 19 October 1950 | |
| Minister of Economic Affairs | Sir Stafford Cripps | 29 September 1947 | New office. Combined with Chancellor of the Exchequer November 1947 |
| Minister of Economic Affairs | Hugh Gaitskell | 28 February 1950 – 19 October 1950 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | William Whiteley | 3 August 1945 | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Glenvil Hall | 4 August 1945 | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Douglas Jay | 2 March 1950 | |
| Economic Secretary to the Treasury | Douglas Jay | 5 December 1947 | Office vacant 2 March 1950 |
| Economic Secretary to the Treasury | John Edwards | 19 October 1950 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Robert John Taylor | 4 August 1945 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Joseph Henderson | 4 August 1945 – 1 January 1950 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Michael Stewart | 10 August 1945 – 30 March 1946 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Arthur Blenkinsop | 10 August 1945 – 10 May 1946 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Frank Collindridge | 10 August 1945 – 9 December 1946 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Charles Simmons | 30 March 1946 – 1 February 1949 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | William Hannan | 10 May 1946 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Julian Snow | 9 December 1946 – 3 March 1950 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Richard Adams | 1 February 1949 – 23 April 1950 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | William Wilkins | 1 January 1950 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Herbert Bowden | 3 March 1950 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Charles Royle | 23 April 1950 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Ernest Bevin | 27 July 1945 | |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Herbert Morrison | 9 March 1951 | |
| Minister of State for Foreign Affairs | Philip Noel-Baker | 3 August 1945 | |
| Minister of State for Foreign Affairs | Hector McNeil | 4 October 1946 | |
| Minister of State for Foreign Affairs | Kenneth Younger | 28 February 1950 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Hector McNeil | 4 August 1945 – 4 October 1946 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Christopher Mayhew | 4 October 1946 – 2 March 1950 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | The Lord Henderson | 7 June 1948 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Ernest Davies | 2 March 1950 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | James Chuter Ede | 3 August 1945 | also Leader of the House of Commons 1951 |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | George Oliver | 4 August 1945 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Kenneth Younger | 7 October 1947 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Geoffrey de Freitas | 2 March 1950 | |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | A. V. Alexander | 3 August 1945 | |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | George Hall | 4 October 1946 | Not in cabinet |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | The Lord Pakenham | 24 May 1951 | |
| Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | John Dugdale | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | James Callaghan | 2 March 1950 | |
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | Walter James Edwards | 4 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Tom Williams | 3 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries | The Earl of Huntingdon | 4 August 1945 – 22 November 1950 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries | Percy Collick | 5 September 1945 – 7 October 1947 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries | George Brown | 7 October 1947 – 26 April 1951 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries | The Earl of Listowel | 22 November 1950 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries | Arthur Champion | 26 April 1951 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Secretary of State for Air | The Viscount Stansgate | 3 August 1945 | |
| Secretary of State for Air | Philip Noel-Baker | 4 October 1946 | Not in Cabinet |
| Secretary of State for Air | Arthur Henderson | 7 October 1947 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Air | John Strachey | 4 August 1945 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Air | Geoffrey de Freitas | 27 May 1946 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Air | Aidan Crawley | 2 March 1950 | |
| Minister of Aircraft Production | John Wilmot | 4 August 1945 | Office abolished 1 April 1946 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aircraft Production | Arthur Woodburn | 4 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Civil Aviation | The Lord Winster | 4 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Civil Aviation | The Lord Nathan | 4 October 1946 | |
| Minister of Civil Aviation | The Lord Pakenham | 31 May 1948 | Office in Cabinet until 28 February 1950 |
| Minister of Civil Aviation | The Lord Ogmore | 1 June 1951 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Civil Aviation | Ivor Thomas | 10 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Civil Aviation | George Lindgren | 4 October 1946 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Civil Aviation | Frank Beswick | 2 March 1950 | |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | George Hall | 3 August 1945 | |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | Arthur Creech Jones | 4 October 1946 | |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | James Griffiths | 28 February 1950 | |
| Minister of State for the Colonies | The Earl of Listowel | 4 January 1948 | |
| Minister of State for the Colonies | John Dugdale | 28 February 1950 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | Arthur Creech Jones | 4 August 1945 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | Ivor Thomas | 4 October 1946 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | David Rees-Williams | 7 October 1947 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | Thomas Fotheringham Cook | 2 March 1950 | |
| Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations | The Viscount Addison | 7 July 1947 | also Leader of the House of Lords |
| Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations | Philip Noel-Baker | 7 October 1947 | |
| Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations | Patrick Gordon Walker | 28 February 1950 | |
| Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations | Arthur Henderson | 14 August 1947 – 7 October 1947 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations | Arthur Bottomley | 7 July 1947 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations | Patrick Gordon Walker | 7 October 1947 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations | The Lord Holden | 2 March 1950 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations | David Rees-Williams | 4 July 1950 | Lord Ogmore from 5 July |
| Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations | The Earl of Lucan | 1 July 1951 | |
| Minister of Defence | Clement Attlee | 27 July 1945 | Also Prime Minister |
| Minister of Defence | A. V. Alexander | 20 December 1946 | |
| Minister of Defence | Emanuel Shinwell | 28 February 1950 | |
| Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | The Viscount Addison | 3 August 1945 | also Leader of the House of Lords; became Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations 7 July 1947 |
| Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | John Parker | 4 August 1945 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Arthur Bottomley | 10 May 1946 | |
| Minister of Education | Ellen Wilkinson | 3 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Education | George Tomlinson | 10 February 1947 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education | Arthur Jenkins | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education | David Hardman | 30 October 1945 | |
| Minister of Food | Sir Ben Smith | 3 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Food | John Strachey | 27 May 1946 | |
| Minister of Food | Maurice Webb | 28 February 1950 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Food | Edith Summerskill | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Food | Stanley Evans | 2 March 1950 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Food | Fred Willey | 18 April 1950 | |
| Minister of Fuel and Power | Emanuel Shinwell | 3 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Fuel and Power | Hugh Gaitskell | 7 October 1947 | Office no longer in Cabinet |
| Minister of Fuel and Power | Philip Noel-Baker | 28 February 1950 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fuel and Power | William Foster | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fuel and Power | Hugh Gaitskell | 10 May 1946 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fuel and Power | Alfred Robens | 7 October 1947 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fuel and Power | Harold Neal | 26 April 1951 | |
| Minister of Health | Aneurin Bevan | 3 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Health | Hilary Marquand | 17 January 1951 | Office not in Cabinet |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | Charles Key | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | John Edwards | 12 February 1947 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | Arthur Blenkinsop | 1 February 1949 | |
| Secretary of State for India and Burma | The Lord Pethick-Lawrence | 3 August 1945 | |
| Secretary of State for India and Burma | The Earl of Listowel | 17 April 1947 | Offices abolished 14 August 1947 and 4 January 1948 |
| Under-Secretary of State for India and Burma | Arthur Henderson | 4 August 1945 – 14 August 1947 | |
| Minister of Information | Edward Williams | 4 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Information | The Earl of Listowel | 26 February 1946 | Office abolished 31 March 1946 |
| Minister of Labour and National Service | George Isaacs | 3 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Labour and National Service | Aneurin Bevan | 18 January 1951 | |
| Minister of Labour and National Service | Alfred Robens | 24 April 1951 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour | Ness Edwards | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour | Fred Lee | 2 March 1950 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | John Hynd | 4 August 1945 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | The Lord Pakenham | 17 April 1947 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Hugh Dalton | 31 May 1948 | Office in Cabinet |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | The Viscount Alexander of Hillsborough | 28 February 1950 | |
| Minister of National Insurance | James Griffiths | 4 August 1945 | |
| Minister of National Insurance | Edith Summerskill | 28 February 1950 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Insurance | George Lindgren | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Insurance | Tom Steele | 4 October 1946 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Insurance | Bernard Taylor | 2 March 1950 | |
| Paymaster General | office vacant | ||
| Paymaster General | Arthur Greenwood | 9 July 1946 | |
| Paymaster General | Hilary Marquand | 5 March 1947 | |
| Paymaster General | The Viscount Addison | 2 July 1948 | also Leader of the House of Lords |
| Paymaster General | The Lord Macdonald of Gwaenysgor | 1 April 1949 | |
| Minister without Portfolio | A. V. Alexander | 4 October 1946 – 20 December 1946 | |
| Minister without Portfolio | Arthur Greenwood | 17 April 1947 – 29 September 1947 | |
| Minister for Pensions | Wilfred Paling | 3 August 1945 | |
| Minister for Pensions | John Hynd | 17 April 1947 | |
| Minister for Pensions | George Buchanan | 7 October 1947 | |
| Minister for Pensions | Hilary Marquand | 2 July 1948 | |
| Minister for Pensions | George Isaacs | 17 January 1951 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions | Jennie Adamson | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions | Arthur Blenkinsop | 10 May 1946 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions | Charles Simmons | 1 February 1949 | |
| Postmaster General | The Earl of Listowel | 4 August 1945 | |
| Postmaster General | Wilfred Paling | 17 April 1947 | |
| Postmaster General | Ness Edwards | 28 February 1950 | |
| Assistant Postmaster General | Wilfrid Burke | 10 August 1945 | |
| Assistant Postmaster General | Charles Rider Hobson | 7 October 1947 | |
| Secretary of State for Scotland | Joseph Westwood | 3 August 1945 | |
| Secretary of State for Scotland | Arthur Woodburn | 7 October 1947 | |
| Secretary of State for Scotland | Hector McNeil | 28 February 1950 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | George Buchanan | 4 August 1945 – 7 October 1947 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | Tom Fraser | 4 August 1945 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | John James Robertson | 7 October 1947 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | Margaret Herbison | 2 March 1950 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Minister of Supply | John Wilmot | 3 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Supply | George Strauss | 7 October 1947 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Supply | William Leonard | 4 August 1945 – 7 October 1947 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Supply | Arthur Woodburn | 1 April 1946 – 7 October 1947 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Supply | John Freeman | 7 October 1947 – 23 April 1951 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Supply | John Henry Jones | 7 October 1947 – 2 March 1950 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Supply | Michael Stewart | 2 May 1951 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Minister of Town and Country Planning | Lewis Silkin | 4 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Town and Country Planning | Hugh Dalton | 28 February 1950 | Became Minister of Local Government and Planning 31 January 1951 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Town and Country Planning | Fred Marshall | 10 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Town and Country Planning | Evelyn King | 7 October 1947 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Town and Country Planning | George Lindgren | 2 March 1950 | |
| President of the Board of Trade | Sir Stafford Cripps | 27 July 1945 | |
| President of the Board of Trade | Harold Wilson | 29 September 1947 | |
| President of the Board of Trade | Sir Hartley Shawcross | 24 April 1951 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Ellis Smith | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | John Belcher | 12 January 1946 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | John Edwards | 1 February 1949 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Hervey Rhodes | 2 March 1950 | |
| Secretary for Overseas Trade | Hilary Marquand | 4 August 1945 | |
| Secretary for Overseas Trade | Harold Wilson | 5 March 1947 | |
| Secretary for Overseas Trade | Arthur Bottomley | 7 October 1947 | |
| Minister of Transport | Alfred Barnes | 3 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport | George Strauss | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport | James Callaghan | 7 October 1947 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport | The Lord Lucas of Chilworth | 2 March 1950 | |
| Secretary of State for War | Jack Lawson | 3 August 1945 | |
| Secretary of State for War | Frederick Bellenger | 4 October 1946 | |
| Secretary of State for War | Emanuel Shinwell | 7 October 1947 | |
| Secretary of State for War | John Strachey | 28 February 1950 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for War | The Lord Nathan | 4 August 1945 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for War | The Lord Pakenham | 4 October 1946 – 17 April 1947 | Office combined with Financial Secretary |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Frederick Bellenger | 4 August 1945 | |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | John Freeman | 4 October 1946 | Under-Secretary role incorporated 17 April 1947 |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Michael Stewart | 7 October 1947 | |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Woodrow Wyatt | 2 May 1951 | |
| Minister of Works | George Tomlinson | 4 August 1945 | |
| Minister of Works | Charles Key | 10 February 1947 | |
| Minister of Works | Richard Stokes | 28 February 1950 | |
| Minister of Works | George Brown | 26 April 1951 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Works | Harold Wilson | 4 August 1945 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Works | Evan Durbin | 5 March 1947 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Works | The Lord Morrison | 26 September 1948 | |
| Attorney General | Sir Hartley Shawcross | 4 August 1945 | |
| Attorney General | Sir Frank Soskice | 24 April 1951 | |
| Solicitor General | Sir Frank Soskice | 4 August 1945 | |
| Solicitor General | Sir Lynn Ungoed-Thomas | 24 April 1951 | |
| Lord Advocate | George Reid Thomson | 10 August 1945 | |
| Lord Advocate | John Wheatley | 7 October 1947 | |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | Daniel Patterson Blades | 10 September 1945 | |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | John Wheatley | 19 March 1947 | |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | Douglas Johnston | 24 October 1947 | |
| Treasurer of the Household | George Mathers | 4 August 1945 | |
| Treasurer of the Household | Arthur Pearson | 30 March 1946 | |
| Comptroller of the Household | Arthur Pearson | 4 August 1945 | |
| Comptroller of the Household | Michael Stewart | 30 March 1946 | |
| Comptroller of the Household | Frank Collindridge | 9 December 1946 | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Julian Snow | 10 August 1945 | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Michael Stewart | 9 December 1946 | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Ernest Popplewell | 16 October 1947 | |
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Lord Ammon | 4 August 1945 | |
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Lord Shepherd | 18 October 1949 | |
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Lord Walkden | 4 August 1945 | |
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Lord Shepherd | 6 July 1949 | |
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Lord Lucas of Chilworth | 18 October 1949 | |
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Earl of Lucan | 5 March 1950 | |
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Lord Archibald | 8 June 1951 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Westwood | 10 September 1945 – 17 January 1947 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Pakenham | 14 October 1945 – 4 October 1946 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Henderson | 21 October 1945 – 7 June 1948 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Chorley | 11 October 1946 – 31 March 1950 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Morrison | 17 January 1947 – 26 September 1948 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Lucas of Chilworth | 9 July 1948 – 18 October 1949 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Shepherd | 14 October 1948 – 6 July 1949 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Kershaw | 6 July 1949 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Darwen | 18 October 1949 – 26 December 1950 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Burden | 31 March 1950 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Haden-Guest | 13 February 1951 – 26 October 1951 |
Major legislation enacted during the Attlee governments
- Law Reform Act 1945
- Housing Act 1946
- Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946
- Furnished Houses Act 1946
- National Health Service Act 1946
- National Insurance Act 1946
- National Insurance Act 1946
- New Towns Act 1946
- Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1946
- Hill Farming Act 1946
- Agriculture Act 1947
- Pensions Act 1947
- Electricity Act 1947
- Town and Country Planning Act 1947
- Transport Act 1947
- National Assistance Act 1948
- Children Act 1948
- Factories Act 1948
- Education Act 1948
- Agricultural Holdings Act 1948
- Employment and Training Act 1948
- Nurseries and Child-Minders Regulation Act 1948
- Law Reform Act 1948
- Local Government Act 1948
- Representation of the People Act 1948
- Housing Act 1949
- Superannuation Act 1949
- House of Commons Act 1949
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1949
- Lands Tribunal Act 1949
- Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949
- Adoption of Children Act 1949
- Marriage Act 1949
- National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949
- Parliament Act 1949
- Representation of the People Act 1949
- Distribution of Industry Act 1950
- Coal-Mining Act 1950
- Allotments Act 1950
- Workmen's Compensation Act 1951