Austerity in the years after the war was, to the best of my knowledge, intended to be applied across society, and very much preferentially against the rich. We really were in hard times following the war. Keeping on with rationing wasn't an arbitrary matter of stopping people enjoying themselves, it was a desperte and largely effective way of ensuring that we were in real terms "all in it together".

In spite of all that the government managed to introduce major improvements to the way society operated. And in the election which brought the end of the Lanour Government, Labour actually had more votes han the victors.

It was the best government we've had in my lifetime.