This text provides original documents which are designed to help the reader evaluate claims that World War II introduced a new sense of social solidarity and social idealism which led to a consensus on welfare state reform. The book offers important evidence on crime, race relations and anti-semitism, women, health and the family, in addition to examining the Blitz, evacuation and the making of social policy. Special attention is paid to the debate within the Conservative party on the Beveridge Report and the proposed national health service. Many of the documents included here have been drawn from the Public Record Office, and have not been published previously.