The Labour Government and the End of Empire, 1945-51

First of a four-section volume, "The Labour Government 1945-1951", the 444 documents in the volume provide a guide to imperial policy-making in all aspects during the early stages of the "end of Empire" between 1945 and 1951. Labour government ministers and their civil servants had to deal with a wide range of post-war problems, including those posed by Britain's own economic weakness, the development of international criticism articulated at the United Nations, the growth of an international threat in the shape of communist expansion and, in some areas, the emergence of colonial nationalism. The volume transforms scholarly understanding of the work of the Labour government in imperial and colonial policy. It provides an insight into British government policy formation across an extended field of action. This section looks at the government's high policy studies, surveys and administrative plans, as well as identifying the principal holders of office in the period, 1945-51.