Domestic policies

In contrast to the situation in Northern Ireland, Welsh and Scottish nationalism remained essentially non-violent, and in 1997 each gained a devolved assembly exercising a considerable amount of local control.

At times, Britain itself appeared to be going the same way, as entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) - later European Union (EU) - in 1973 led to a marked erosion of national sovereignty and to a transfer of powers to Europe.

At the national level, government was controlled by the Labour Party (1945 - 1951, 1964 - 1970, 1974 - 1979 and 1997 onwards) and its Conservative rival (1951 - 1964, 1970 - 1974, 1979 - 1997), with no coalition ministries.

The Labour and Conservative parties shared major overlaps in policy.

These two parties shared major overlaps in policy throughout the post-war period, for example in maintaining free health care at the point of delivery - the basis of the National Health Service.

But there were also major contrasts, particularly between 1979 and 1990 when Margaret Thatcher held power as the country's first female prime minister.

The Conservatives tended to favour individual liberties and low taxation, while Labour preferred collectivist solutions and were therefore happier to advocate a major role for the state.

This was particularly evident in Labour 's support for the nationalisation of major parts of the economy during their pre-1979 governments. Most, in turn, were denationalised again under the Conservatives between 1979 and 1997.