To people over a certain age, the politics of the 1940s are still a burning issue. Talk to them of Attlee, and the sparks of old controversies fly up as though Neil Kinnock were still in his celebrated pram. But to the present generation of students, Attlee might as well be Campbell-Bannerman, or Dr Mussadiq the Akond of Swat. To them, such matters are all a part of grandad's world, a mysterious place where there was bread rationing, and patriotism was mixed up with pride in the welfare state.

LRB 5 April 1984 | PDF Download