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The Labour government set out its plans to rebuild Britain. Many homes in the big cities had been destroyed and in 1946 the government passed an Act of Parliament, called the New Towns Act, which allowed it to select areas in the country where new towns could be developed. The following is a list of the towns that were created. Is your town there?
Basildon, Essex
Bracknell, Berkshire
Central Lancashire (Preston and Leyland), Lancashire
Corby, Northamptonshire
Harlow, Essex
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Newton Aycliffe, County Durham
Peterlee, County Durham
Redditch, Worcestershire
Runcorn, Cheshire
Skelmersdale, Lancashire
Stevenage, Hertfordshire
Telford, Shropshire
Washington, County Durham
They also began to take government control of certain industries. This is called nationalisation and effectively means the companies don't need to be profit-run and, should they fail, the government will cover the loss. They are owned by the public. This should mean lower prices.
The Bank of of England and civil aviation were nationalised in 1946, coal mining, the railways, road haulage and canals in 1947, electricity and gas in 1948 and the steel industry in 1951, by which time about 20% of the British economy was publicly owned.
Forward to 1947AD
