HR257-5-AU-CO:
From Welfare State to Brexit: Politics, Democracy, and the People in Britain, 1945-2020

The details
2026/27
Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Thursday 08 October 2026
Friday 18 December 2026
15
05 June 2026

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

(none)

Key module for

(none)

Module description

This module examines the political history of Britain from 1945 until the present day. In particular, it looks at political changes over the past 75 years by focusing on the key idea of democracy and the and the relationship of the people to the state.


Taking the period chronologically, we governments such as the radical Labour administration of 1945, the Thatcher Government of the 1980s, the Blair Years, and finally the governments formed in the 'Brexit years' of 2015-2020.


In each week, students will focus on how governments understood 'democracy' and the role of the state in people's lives, from the statist politics of the 1940s to the neo-liberal free market approach of Thatcher. We explore the raced, gendered, and classed nature of these ideas of the state, and examine attempts by the different communities and people to reframe, protest, and reject the state's understanding of politics, democracy, and the people.

Module aims

The aims of this module are to:



  1. Develop a broad-based understanding of political change in Britain from 1945 to now.

  2. Ensure that the key of issues of democracy and the relationship between the state and the people are understood as vital to British political history.

  3. Allow students will no prior experience of this topic to gain new and deep knowledge.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to: 



  1. Understand historical arguments about the political history of Britain.

  2. Analyse the key themes of the module across the chronological period.

  3. Develop an understanding of how to communicate complex historical argument in a public-facing form.

Module information

Indicative Syllabus



  1. Introduction: The Legacies of War and the Idea of Consensus

  2. Transforming the Nation: The Attlee Government and the Welfare State

  3. Critiques of Democracy: Protest and Liberation movements and the state in the 60s and 70s

  4. Crisis of the State? Reassessing the Decade of Discontent and the Rise of Thatcher

  5. Rolling Back the State: The Thatcher Revolution and its Legacies

  6. No Such Thing as Society? Race, Protest, and the Nature of State Power in the 1980s

  7. Britain and its borders: Managing democracy, party politics and Britain’s role in the wider world for the Major and Blair governments

  8. Essay workshop

  9. The politics of state intervention from the Crash to COVID

  10. An Age of Populism? The rhetorics and realities of citizenship and belonging in 21st century Britain

Learning and teaching methods

Seminar and Lecture format.

Bibliography*

This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Matthew Grant, email: m.grant@essex.ac.uk.

 

Availability
Yes
Yes
No

External examiner

No external examiner information available for this module.
Resources
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.

 

Further information
Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)

* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.

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