Based on a wide range of primary and secondary sources - parliamentary debates, public speeches, official papers, press reports, journal and magazine articles, memoirs, and works on history and politics - this reader addresses the momentous changes which the 20th century has brought to British life. The introductions provide historiography, and serve as a students' guide for reading, use of sources, and summary of the major themes of the period. The major themes cover political, social, cultural and economic history, and include political realignment - the rise of Labour, the decline of the Liberals, Conservative dominance, and the failure of minority parties - the expansion of the Welfare State and its problems, British industrial and economic decline, and sea-change in British culture, including the problems of racial conflict.