This concise, readable volume provides original documents from the war years which help the reader evaluate claims that the war introduced a new sense of social solidarity and social idealism which led to a consensus on welfare state reform. It provides 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 internal debate within the Conservative party on the Beveridge Report and the proposed national health service. Many of the documents are drawn from the Public Record Office and have not been published previously.