Socio-Economic and Political Changes in the Post-World War England - Research Paper Example

The Great War and Its Consequences (1901-1945) The Post-World War England underwent considerable changes in its socio-economic and political arenas. Until the end of the World War I England had been the heart of the great British Empire. The war brought about a new political equation from around the non-European world to liberate from the administrative clutches of the British power. The Great War was the crucial point of the decline of the greatest empire of all times. The countries so far administered by the imperial system started raising uproars of nationalist demand for independence.

Major significant political change in England after the Great War was that the women of the country acquired the right to vote which they had been demanding for a long time before the war. They beheld this power and spread the spirit among all European countries following the war. England had employed a large number of women in the war fare. The war was an arena for women to enhance their ability to fight for equality as well as social status from which they had been barred as subordinate and inferior to aristocrats.

This move resulted in the depletion of social dominance of the upper class and men. This change brought in the emergence of a new Labour party which is one of the two major parties in England now. Economic effect of the war was very much theatrical in England and other prominent countries that resulted in the expansion of governmental powers and responsibilities. Until then England was the greatest creditor nation in the world with the widest fleet of commercial vessels.

They were the monopoly for shipping and other numerous financial services to the rest of the world. England’s strive for domination of the world ended up in paying a huge price in the war. As an inevitable result, England had to leave itself heavily indebting to America. Subsequently, America emerged to be the new financial hub and political power of the world. In order to regulate the economic power of the society, they created government ministries and portfolios. With a motto to suddenly recover from economic crises it had to force taxes and enactment of new laws.

The war also weakened the financial status of provincial rulers and bureaucratized governments in England. With the collapse of British economy, all European nations increased their share of GDP. Britain had to surrender its extensive investment in rail road to America for payment of purchases. In late 1916, America stopped loans to England and even asked them to repay the debt. England finally had to take the help of Germany in meeting the funds required for repayment of debts. The war developed macro-and micro- economic consequences in England.

During the war most families had lost their wage earner as a result women entered the job market with a stubborn sense of voting rights. The Royal British government had to force rationing system for sugar, meat and fat. The rationing system was accepted by people with an amusingly increased number of people joining trade unions. With the rise in work force, strikes and lockouts became frequent in England during 1916 – 1918.