Post-War Societies: Great Britain and Ireland

The post-war years in Great Britain and Ireland witnessed a period of transformative change, along with the persistence of social and economic inequalities. This essay discusses the period 1918-1929 and considers adjustment, the expansion of social welfare provision, Irish independence, universal suffrage and new opportunities for leisure in post-war society. At the same time racism, gender discrimination and poverty continued to blight the lives of many. Over the course of the decade, the inability and/or unwillingness of the state to tackle these social injustices undermined the sense of optimism evident at the end of the First World War.