Social history of the United Kingdom (1945–present)

This article gives a societal outline of the history of the United Kingdom from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the present. For a political outline, see Political history of the United Kingdom (1945–present).

The United Kingdom was one of the victors of the Second World War, but the cost of the war was massive, and the nation's realisable assets were exhausted. Thus, the late 1940s was a time of austerity and economic restraint, which gave way to prosperity in the 1950s. The Labour Party held control from 1945–51, and granted independence to India in 1947. Most of the other major colonies became independent in the late 1950s and early 1960s under the Conservative prime minister, Harold Macmillan. The handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked the virtual end of the British Empire. The British Commonwealth of Nations, established in 1931, was its successor; it included Britain and most of its former colonies. Britain was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945, and had the power of veto in the Security Council. Britain collaborated closely with the United States during the Cold War after 1947, and in 1949 helped form NATO as a military alliance against Soviet Communism. After a long debate and initial skepticism, the UK joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, but voted to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016. Immigration, especially from South Asia and the West Indies, has produced a multicultural society, while traditional Anglican and other denominations of Christianity have declined sharply.

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