In short
Part 2 of a Finn vs. History series on Clement Attlee’s postwar Britain, arguing that Britain’s decline and major foreign-policy crises were driven by a “special needs” US relationship, with Britain forced to spend on nuclear rearmament and troop deployments. It also covers the 1947-48 partition of India and the parallel 1947-48 Palestine/Israel crisis, then moves to the 1949 pound devaluation crisis and the start of the Korean War.
Guests
No named guests appear in the transcript; it’s a two-host discussion (Finn vs. History hosts) with no external interview guests.
Key claims
Attlee supports Britain’s atomic bomb despite domestic left-wing reforms; Britain secretly approves nuclear capability after US cuts off postwar cooperation. Partition and Palestine are framed as outcomes of British “people-pleasing” and abdication, with the UN and US recognition of Israel worsening matters. Devaluation and Korea deepen economic strain, leading to later austerity.
Notable examples
NHS/atomic bomb tradeoff; Mountbatten and partition’s “line” causing mass displacement and 1–2 million deaths; Balfour Declaration and 1947 UN partition; Truman recognizing Israel 11 minutes after the mandate ends; 30.5% pound devaluation; Korean War troop deployment and US refusal to use atomic weapons.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOIntroduction to Episode 2
0:32 to 0:59
The hosts introduce the second episode discussing post-war British prime ministers.
“Plus, it can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted.”
Introduction to Episode 2
1:31 to 2:50
The hosts introduce the second episode discussing post-war British prime ministers.
“Yeah, that's what I'm struggling against.”
The Ugly Reality of Post-War Britain
2:50 to 6:10
Discussion on the grim state of Britain in the 1940s and American influence.
“Of our epic romp through the meadow of post-war British prime ministers.”
Atomic Bomb and British Politics
6:10 to 8:08
Examination of Britain's decision to pursue nuclear armament in the Cold War.
“If anything, it'd be great to have some proper British sex shops back.”
Gandhi and Indian Independence
8:08 to 10:00
Exploration of Gandhi's impact and the circumstances forcing British withdrawal from India.
“Whereas the Stoke Newton's a lot are like, oh, I go to the independent butchers.”
Critical Perspectives on British History
10:00 to 14:00
Discussion on the complexities of British historical narratives post-war.
“It's all based around the Night Night Bomb.”
Discussing Gandhi's Role in British India
14:00 to 15:01
Explore the complex role of Gandhi in India's independence from British rule.
“I mean, what was the thing where he used to sleep?”
Gandhi's Chastity and Controversies
15:01 to 16:46
Delve into the controversial aspects of Gandhi's life and beliefs.
“But there's a million hilarious things about Gandhi.”
The Partition of India Simplified
16:46 to 18:30
A humorous breakdown of the partition of India and its implications.
“Okay, there's a lot of killing going on.”
Consequences of the Partition
18:30 to 19:53
Examine the consequences of the 1947 partition, including displacement and violence.
“So people were like, I don't fucking care.”
Show all 24 chapters
Britain's Perspective on the Partition
19:53 to 20:12
Understand the British government's perspective and actions during the partition.
Britain's Perspective on the Partition
20:16 to 21:41
Understand the British government's perspective and actions during the partition.
“issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch.”
The British Mandate and Its Aftermath
22:48 to 28:00
Discuss the British mandate in Palestine and the resulting conflicts.
“So now what the Brits do is we're just trying to please everyone.”
A Controversial Proposal
28:00 to 36:21
The hosts engage in a darkly humorous discussion about ethical dilemmas involving paedophilia and conflict resolution.
“Well, no, I took the burden of people thinking I'm a paedophile to solve Israel.”
A Controversial Proposal
36:54 to 37:18
The hosts engage in a darkly humorous discussion about ethical dilemmas involving paedophilia and conflict resolution.
“like groceries, merch, or tickets to the game.”
Atlee's Economic Challenges
37:41 to 42:00
The hosts discuss the economic challenges faced by Clement Attlee's government, including currency devaluation and the Korean War.
“In 1949, facing a US recession that cuts the demands of British exports, Attlee and his advisors conclude the pound must be devalued to address trade deficits.”
Troop Deployments and U.S. Relations
42:00 to 43:11
Discusses Attlee's government decisions regarding troop deployments and relations with the U.S.
“I thought we already told you to go to bed.”
The 1950 General Election
43:11 to 44:59
Analyzes the context and outcomes of the 1950 general election in Britain.
“Well, you can't really go back on it because that's universally popular.”
Economic Struggles and NHS Charges
44:59 to 46:33
Explores the economic challenges faced by the Labour government and the introduction of NHS charges.
“And now this new world where oil is so important and now the kind of European colonialism doesn't run the Middle East.”
British Innovation and Global Competition
46:33 to 47:43
Discusses British innovation post-war and the rise of competition from countries like Japan.
“As my theory, if you invent something, you eventually become bad at making it.”
Iran and Oil Crises
47:43 to 49:25
Delves into Britain's geopolitical maneuvers regarding oil and the implications of Iranian nationalization.
“And then Japan got sent to bed, slept on it, woke up, and meant, what if they played music?”
The Crisis in Palestine and Political Fallout
49:25 to 51:03
Examines the political crisis in Palestine during Attlee's premiership and its consequences.
“So let's just sum up where we think Attlee stands.”
Attlee's Legacy and Historical Ranking
51:03 to 53:08
Evaluates Attlee's legacy and his place among British prime ministers.
“He's the greatest peace time Prime Minister Britain's ever had is the general thing because even like some of the Victorian ones...”
Promotional Snippets for FX's The Bear
57:09 to 57:36
A brief promotional segment for FX's The Bear highlighting its final season.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This episode is brought to you by PayPal. You know how a mom's bag has everything? Sunscreen? Snacks? A stapler? The new PayPal app is like that, but for your money. Shop, pay, manage your account, and earn rewards all in one place. And with purchase protection on eligible items, biometric security, and pass keys, you're protected at every step. Download the new PayPal app to get started. See paypal.com slash protection terms. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. With AppleCard, you earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases, like groceries, merch, or tickets to the game. Plus, it can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted.
0:43No matter your team, no matter where you shop, AppleCard is here to help you tackle game day. Apply in the Wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval, AppleCard is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at AppleCard.com. push your limits train with precision see the results at equinox that's high performance loving everything you need to lock in and unlock your potential at equinox start today at equinox.com
1:30excuse me bloody heck do apologize that's a dad burp that you can only have that burp if you have kids yeah that powerful none of your single nonsense burps how do you burp i bet it's faint i started burping like my dad do you do you burp like your dad like this yeah but then it's like you grow up with it so much then you start to become your dad and all of the health things that he does you start doing you realize you kind of got the same sort of body as you slowly turn into it do you have you noticed that yeah yeah like all the stuff that was on my dad's medicine cabinet it's like what the fuck's that and then suddenly i'm like having to build it one by one myself myself wow we got the same shit we're doing hair pills viagra yeah viagra so it's like
2:14what the fuck's this and they're like oh i know i understand uh yeah my dad's got those sort of got the the bird-like wrists and neck that i have yeah but the beer belly yeah so i have a real I've got a real struggle on my hand to avoid the comic relief bod. Fat and weak is a brutal combination. Yeah, that's what I'm struggling against. That's my natural type. Fat and weak. Weak-willed as well, in all senses. Because if you're massive, if you're like a fucking unit, you can kind of pull it off as a bloke. Yes. Because it's like you're a big boy. You're a fucking... If you can't even open the door, or fit through that door.
2:46To the fridge. It's devastating. Anyway, welcome back. You're listening to Finn vs. History. This is episode two. Yes. Of our epic romp through the meadow of post-war British prime ministers. We're frolicking. We're frolicking through a field of pale, stale males. Yes. I'm having a lot of time. It's rationing still. It's rational. It's been a brutal winter. It's been a cold winter. This is part two of Clement Attlee. This is as ugly as Britain has gone for a while. Yeah, this is pretty ugly. This is one of the least horny ages. The 40s is not turning me on. 40s in britain is probably one of the least horny ages has ever been anywhere prefab houses it's fucking there's nothing to get a rock on at this they're getting they're building tower blocks yeah uh they're ugly yeah everything's ugly now we ended last episode talking about the sort of end of of american money yeah um and we were just saying i mean america really fucks us that's what going back over this stuff it almost not talked about enough that kind of the people who really fucked us in this period were america and i'd like to start a sort of historiographical movement which is that stop blaming britain for india and palestine and start blaming america yeah the special needs relationship this is the special needs relationship they are our carer and whatever they make us do they are culpable of well they're our carer and they're more stupid than us i feel they're our carer and they're taking our money yeah and you're right No, actually, we're just their grandparents.
4:16Right. Well, they're embezzling us. Yeah. Yeah. Well, so we're in a chair like this. And they're making us pull out of Palisade. You know in Breaking Bad, the one with the bell? Yeah, that's us. Yeah, that's us. There's nothing we can do. We're Uncle Hector, whatever it's called. Yeah. So when's our big moment where we blow up the hair home? It hasn't come yet. Oh, what? We're still waiting for it. We're still waiting for it. Really? Yeah. No, I'll tell you what that is. that's Hugh Grant in love actually. That's Hugh Grant standing up to Billy Bob Thorntons when we go... Which by itself is pretty humiliating as well.
4:53We've got Richard Curtis to play out a fantasy of us standing up to America. You're going to do that in real life? No. Oh God no, can't afford to. No, we'll get Hugh Grant to be sort of like Tony Blair standing up to America. Yeah, Richard Curtis wrote a fantasy of like an alternative history of Tony Blair and that's the best moment we've had since 1945. The high point of British democracy is Richard Curtis's film. But they did it on purpose. They wanted the British Empire to completely collapse so they could take over. And we are the 52nd state. Or was it 51st state? Isn't that Hawaii? 52nd state.
5:26I've got no idea. At the time, there was a lot of anti-American sentiment within the government. Yeah, also, not just about the policy, but the lifestyle. This was the last time, in many ways, the early 50s, they thought it was the last time that Britain was recognisably British. Because after that, it's all consumerism it's McDonald's it's the supermarket it's rock and roll it's miniskirts it's filth miniskirts are British invention but I know what you mean they wouldn't have come without no exactly they wouldn't have come without the godless godless American as Andrew Marr says it's the victory of this of shopping over politics yes that's what he we've become shoppers that's what he phrases this whole he frames this whole period that we're discussing now as the victory of shopping and it feels like right now a lot of the pushback against globalization is like now everyone's trying to refragment off because everything's got so samey right that's what a lot of the movements are trying to do yeah but we all we know what what shopping is like so it's hard to go back that's the tough thing is we've already seen what's out there so it's hard to go back to a more traditional british sense of things when he's like i could have a massive telly yeah no i mean but you can have big tellies but now but now shopping's dead thank you now shopping's dead because it's all amazon yeah i think what people want is they want a high street that's not just Argos, Spoons.
6:42William Hill, SEX. Yeah. CEX, not SEX. No one that CEX is having any SEX. It's quite ironic. If anything, it'd be great to have some proper British sex shops back. Like, have you ever driven down the A1M? Charlie, you must have done that. I don't drive. You don't drive. Has anyone ever driven you down the A1M? Probably. Yeah? But I've been asleep in the back. All sex shops up that road. Peterborough, Grimsby, Hull, that road is just all British sex shops. And you want to go back to... I think that should be the high street. Right. Like that bit of Soho. Yeah. The really naughty bit that's still there.
7:14And that should just be every village is local. No, I just think, I just think rather than having an Argos and a William Hill and a KFC and a Starbucks, and it's like every high street is a model village for consumerism. Why not have some independently run businesses that are mucky sex shops? Yes. With also like a butcher. And yeah, because interestingly, I've always had a theory that like, you know, those really bougie areas of London, like Stoke Newington and whatever that voted Remain their communities are essentially the 50s but it's just the gentrification 100 % gentrification is now a luxury now if you're going to a butcher's and a fishmonger's you are a pretentious middle class person you're wearing a beret yeah and it's more dress up and let's pretend we're in the 50s because it's sort of a vibe exactly it's butchers as a vibe yeah and the people who actually would you know benefit from a community have to go to Asda they have to drive out of town to the big Asda yeah can I have a steak from Asda I live in Peterborough.
8:09That's most of the country. That's most of the country. Right. Whereas the Stoke Newton's a lot are like, oh, I go to the independent butchers. Yeah. And then I go home and I suck off my neighbor or whatever, because it's a real sense of community or whatever. I don't know. I'm paraphrasing. Anyway, in the last episode, we dealt with Attlee's domestic reforms, which, as we've said, is an extremist, overwhelmingly extremist. The NHS has founded. You could argue he's sort of like, he's a kind father at home, but he outside of the home he's fucking going going he's chimping out yeah he is yeah it's very different sort of vibes because it's very left wing at home but he's he's fucking building atomic bomb he's fucking well this is all but this is all america this is our carer telling a very very sad old disabled man to build an atomic bomb it's not right but basically uh because quite quickly the cold war starts to happen and britain essentially realizes that if it's going to still be a big power which it thinks it is yeah even though it's in a chair with oxygen tube it thinks it's it's the virile man it once was and so it goes well we need to keep up with armaments and in this post eroshima what post night night bomb world yeah you don't have a night night bomb you can't send anyone to bed yes he's had the authority to send people to bed yeah exactly yeah it's like if i if i as a parent can't reach the light switch to turn the light off because Because you're so fat?
9:31No, because I'm so small. Okay. Or the lights were just too high. Okay. Then I can't send my kids to bed. Right. Because I can't turn the light off. Yeah, you don't have any authority if you have to get a stepladder to turn the lights off. Exactly. If I said, get into bed right now, I'm turning the lights off, wait, and I had to go and get a stepladder and go and turn the light off, then they'd be like, this guy doesn't fucking know what he's doing. I'm going to stay up and run around. But even though a lot of British scientists were part of the Manhattan Project, they helped build a lot of atomic bomb.
9:59we shared so much information during the war America as soon as the war ends cuts it off you're on your own and we had to work it out again worked out quite quickly but put a lot of money into the atomic bomb but it's also the America has given us so much money and we've spent that all on the NHS and on shit houses and shit tower blocks and railways and we didn't pay back that loan till Blair yeah exactly that's how long it took to pay it off so Britain essentially secretly approves building a British atomic bomb in 1947 because it's like we're getting excluded from the New World Order. It's all based around the Night Night Bomb.
10:34At the moment, we've got a stepladder to turn the light off. The kids aren't listening. So Attlee backs this, but then it later kind of splits the party because then you obviously get... Who's against it? So Anurin, Nye Bevan. Anurin, pissy Ann. He hates the atomic bomb. He hates the atomic bomb, yeah. But this is actually tested under Churchill. But Churchill was very against the bomb. He called it the hell bomb. He doesn't think we should have made a atomic bomb. He just thinks that well, Churchill, we'll get to it, but he was operating in a reality where Eisenhower was just wanting to use tactical nuclear strikes in Korea and China.
11:05I mean, that was a lot of American foreign policy. Any of these like little kind of CIA covert operations, there was always one guy saying, we could just fucking nuke the cunts. Should we just wipe them off the map? There's always one guy in a room like, why don't we just fucking... Yeah, it's the board guy going, why don't we just fucking nuke them and go and have dinner? Yeah. Yeah, I'm with them to be honest. Because there's a small period where only the US have nuclear bombs. Yeah. So they literally could just fucking trolley dash everyone. That would have... Supermarket sweep the world. Fucking everything.
11:34Right, done, done. Done. Everything's done. In many ways, that would be... That's how we'd make our map that we made in the Dunkirk series. Yeah. Sleeper Stan. Yeah. We just nuked all the bits and so they just had to form. What, you mean it changes the... It becomes like Pangaea? Basically, yeah. We'll do a Patreon on Pangaea. Definitely. This is a post-Pangaea pod. Atlee backs the bomb and this basically means that Britain have to spend a lot of the money America's giving them on keeping up with them. Yes. It's this real bullying sub-dom relationship. A lot of big armaments on the West German.
12:07We're putting a lot of money to keep troops in West Germany. Yeah. Because you cannot trust these fuckers. Yeah. They'll be at it again. What it is, do that picture of the guy in the suit with the lingerie in the back. You know that meme? Yeah. Yeah. This is sort of like we're trying to get this front that we've got clothes on. Yes. But actually... Until Suez. It's that. That is literally... That's Britain. Yeah. We've been on the bomb. We've got troops. We're spending so much money there that they don't realise at home we've got nothing. We've got basically nothing on. Yeah. And the US is only paying for us to have half a tuxedo.
12:42So Attlee backs the bomb. This proves quite controversial. And again, it basically banks up the country at every point in this period that we're doing, 79. You know, when Trident comes in, because all these systems get, they're out of date pretty quickly. So we're just constantly pumping money. half of the lend-lease that Britain had negotiated goes on the atomic bomb. Was it the right move then? Have we ever used our nuclear weapons? Yeah, but is it just people just take you more seriously? You do have to have them. Yeah, I guess so. Everyone says you've got to have them. It's like when you're at school and it's like, someone's got a Pokemon Shiny.
13:13Well, I got one. You've got to get it. Otherwise, I'm literally nothing. I've only got four pounds and I'm going to spend all of it on a Pokemon. I'm a Shiny, yeah. I can't afford to eat. Well, fuck it. You've got a Shiny. Yeah. At least start this, the real story of this era, which is packing up, leaving. See you later. Sorry about all that. It's the end of Glastonbury. Should we leave the tent? Fuck it. Fuck it. Burn it. So there'd been moves to, for India to be independent for years. Allegedly. Allegedly. We'll do a whole series on it, on India and the Raj. Don't you think it's interesting?
13:47It's also because we couldn't have held on to India, right? We had to give it back. India can barely hold on to India. Crazy. but then gandy gets a lot of credit yeah but it was like it was when you when you look at it through at least perspective and the british government gandy doesn't even play a part in it because it's like we've got no money we have to not david gandy um mahatma mahatma yeah uh his yeah his uh his granddad yeah david gandy's granddad do you know what i mean when you learn about gandhi yeah gandy jeans when you learn about uh gandhi at school and stuff it's that he like caused this whole the the british to get out of india yeah but when you look at it just from the government's perspective away from india we have to leave we had no money we couldn't afford to do it so the fact that gandhi was doing that is kind of by the by right but gandhi just whips it up whips up the indians but we're gonna go anyway yeah of course we were we couldn't so there's nothing whether he was non-violence doing it wasn't like right you're back to the corner we gotta leave now it's not like oh that a paedophile in his pajamas and told us to get out.
14:48Now, Gandhi did have some pretty... I mean, what was the thing where he used to sleep? We have to do a big episode on Gandhi. It's so fucking funny. Gandhi stuff... He used to sleep next to... I always want to save it. It's so good. We'll give you one little snippet about Gandhi. Give it a snippet. But there's a million hilarious things about Gandhi. Gandhi, to prove his chasteness, he got obsessed with chastity. He's also a big proponent of the NoFap. He's one of the, like... Original NoFap. He's a real... He does believe that the only way to resist the British Empire, one of the main ways was to not masturbate.
15:17They're trying to take our semen and we've got to help. Semen retention is where the power of India comes from. Yeah. We all get into it. There's so much there. But to prove that he was so chaste, he got a 14-year-old girl to sleep in bed with him. And he would be like, every morning, he'd be like, didn't even fuck her. Yeah. And it's like, you shouldn't want to. Gandhi, you know that means you're a pedophile. And also didn't choose his wife. Yeah, it's a good point, actually. It's so funny. Imagine being his wife. It's like, why aren't you using me? hated his wife yeah I wouldn't want to there's so much of Gandhi how would you know I'm Chase if I'm sleeping with my wife no 14 year old girl yeah and he's like you're a paedophile but I didn't have sex with her you shouldn't want to have sex with her Gandhi that's not impressive no it's amazing to say that I'm no but I'm the opposite of a paedophile I didn't have sex with her yeah but you're using it as yeah now why is she in your bed now we call Gandhi a non-offending paedophile that's what we'd call him yeah but just so funny to be so smug not paedophile didn't had her in bed all night not paedophile this morning I went to bed a paedophile work up no sorry went to bed non-offending paedophile went to bed a paedophile went to bed a paedophile anyway Attlee announces at 47 that the parliament would transfer power to an Indian leadership by 48 to the latest Lord Mountbatten is the new viceroy Mountbatte Mountbatte Mountbatte Crease so the Mountbatte Crease so that's like the Mount Rushmore of British Prime Minister who gets fucking detonated by the IRA Mountbatte is this guy Mountbatte Mountbatte gets his Batty blown up by the IRA yeah obviously these are really complicated things that are still flaring up I don't think they're that complicated right I mean that's the problem is a man with your accent and your suit said I don't think it's that complicated guys because the definition of it was just like no no no no it's really simple right there's a line so this is the two British guys discussing the partition of India right there's a line yeah Muslims go on that side yeah everyone else on that side I don't really understand how are you choosing the line huh how are you choosing the line that's not your concern right Well, someone's got to choose the line.
17:14So should we just... Yeah, there you go. There we go. Done. And then there's also Bangladesh. I don't know. No, it's easy. Fine. Fine. Done. Everyone stay in your lane. Right. Amnesty to get to behind the line. Yeah. Off you go. It's like a public school game. Three, two, one. Start the clock. And you're off. Why are you killing each other? Okay, there's a lot of killing going on. Stop killing yourselves. Stop killing everyone. Just stay behind the line. Yeah. So 15 million people are displaced, which they shouldn't be displaced because they know where they should be going. Yeah, there's the line.
17:43Go to the right side of the line. Admittedly, the line goes through some people's houses. Move house. Move your house to the right side of the line. Or just move to the other side of your house. Or if you've got Muslim family members, they can go in the kitchen and whatever, you know, divvy up the house as we develop. Sectarian riots erupted, leading to the deaths of between one to two million people. I don't think the Brits can be blamed for this. Yeah. The Brits were trying to organise people into the relevant areas. Yeah. Partition disrupts trade, agriculture, industry. But the Labour government...
18:12Well, the government at the time view it as a success because it's no longer their problem, which is what all foreign policy successes in this era is because, well, it's not our problem anymore. It really isn't our problem. No, it's not our problem. I mean, we must remember that 1947 - But it's a lot of people's problem. You must remember. Yeah, but you can't blame the Brits on that because you must remember 1947, it was very, very cold. Yeah, it was very chilly. It was very chilly. We had an hour's fire for a day. So people were like, I don't fucking care. I've never been to India. Sort it out.
18:42stay in your lane whatever go India Pakistan doing the dance off thing you know that thing they do yeah yeah yeah I love it the peacocking this is the ramifications of the Brit everyone is we're a small poor country at this period we're in a wheelchair but the ramifications of what's going on is so global that's what I find so funny about this period we're shivering in fucking woking and then some guys in a meeting have caused like the biggest countries in the world to do this every year just because of a line that was drawn by a fucking drunk lord Wait, are they competing or are they celebrating together?
19:14It's sort of. It's like step up, but both sides have nuclear weapons. It's sort of like, yeah, the one time that someone accidentally falls over and goes onto the other side, the other one will nuke the other one. Yeah. Almost. It's probably the highest stakes dance off there is. And this is every day, is it? The closing of the border or the opening of the border? Is it every day? Is it every border? Oh, no, it's Independence Day. Independence Day, yeah. But there is something like this every day, but they're just facing each other the whole time with guns. Yeah. so I mean it feels like just maybe just don't do that but also it feels weirdly like you guys seem quite like you guys could get along from a distance it's like yeah I think you guys could form the same dance trick the dancers look quite similar yeah I mean you know from where I'm sitting people on either side of the gate look quite similar look at this fucking go for it it's diversity breathe it's Indian stomp
20:10whoa that's pretty sick that's nice this episode is brought to you by PayPal you know how a mom's bag has everything sunscreen snacks a stapler the new PayPal app is like that but for your money shop, pay, manage your account and earn rewards all in one place and with purchase protection on eligible items biometric security and pass keys you're protected at every step Download the new PayPal app to get started. See paypal.com slash protection terms.
21:06issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at applecard.com. Push your limits, train with precision, see the results. At Equinox, that's high performance loving. Iconic spaces that inspire. Personal training backed by real data. Unlimited group fitness classes from yoga and Pilates to strength and conditioning. Elevate your post-performance ritual with saunas, steam rooms, cold plunges, and more. Everything you need to lock in and unlock your potential at equinox start today at equinox.com
21:42so i guess the reason that it that maybe it ends up quite badly is that it's sort of like a fire sail the empire is that it's so cold and we're so skinned yeah and we're on oxygen and we're ringing the bell that we just go fuck it we're getting out yeah we're getting out and this is probably best seen in palestine which we'll obviously deal with we'll do a history of israel at some point well we might need to deal with it because it's still i think we need to go in there and sort it out what now well we need to deal with it they are it has yet to be dealt with and i thought that they could sort out between them no but i think we i think the brits need to go back i think it's the opposite of kneecap it's brits in one state solution britain takes britain britain is the solution britain is the final not the final solution britain's the next solution britain's next solution yeah it'd be great to do an israel-palestine like powerpoint and go the final solution yeah probably right right sorry the last solution the last solution is that britain comes in and just cleans up um you have made a mess of it i will say to anyone listening in israel palestine this is this was the plan yeah a bit of context so again i would like to propose a new historiographical argument where we don't blame the british we blame the fucking turks okay the turks are running it the ottomans yeah uh the body men sorry the body men the body men the boss men yeah the boss men are running palestine the boss men collapse their shop closes and then they give it to the british boss man empire sorry no i'm just trying to watch out still on the boss man the boss man empire it does kind of work yeah boss man boss man boss man boss man empire ends and they go please my friend please very good palestine very good very good uh many alabs many jews very good price free price um and britain uh gets mandated it which means that we are looking after it for a bit yeah for a bit it's you're in a library can you watch my laptop while i go to the toilet in a cafe yeah it's exactly that in a cafe i'm writing but i need a poo which i might look at of course of course yeah and then it's you come back and the laptop is being tugged by two different races and you've shacked yourself.
23:54That's what's happened. So now what the Brits do is we're just trying to please everyone. We're people pleasers. Yes. Famously. Famously. I think that's how we're described by the subject of the British Empire. The problem with the British Empire, they were people pleasers. Probably people pleasers. So in Switzerland, at some point in the late 19th century, the Zionist movement begins where it says that after the Russian pogroms of Jews, there should be a Jewish homeland. You're a fucking Zionist. Sorry? You're a fucking Zionist. Fucking Zionist. Balfour is a foreign secretary at some point in 19, I want to say 12, 13.
24:29Is he a Labour man or a Tory man? I don't know. He says, he writes a letter saying that he thinks, he agrees that there should be a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Yeah. But they also promised the Palestinians that it would be an Arab land. People-pleasers. People-pleasers. People-pleasers. Yeah. we've got a girlfriend, we've got a wife. It's tough to juggle both. So, I mean, there's a lot of Jewish immigration after that declaration, and there's a lot of kicking off. The Brits actually go quite hard in the 30s in Palestine. They go hard? They shoot a lot of people in British-controlled Palestine in the 30s.
25:07There's a lot of militia armies on both sides. And they have this plan to say that there'll be a trickle of, maybe it's 75 ,000 Jewish immigrants over 10 years to try and manage the two populations, but it'll be one government. In the 30s, they say it'll be one government power sharing, like power sharing Northern Ireland. World War II basically changes this, you know, the scale of the Holocaust allegedly means that, you know, the politics changes and lots of Jewish immigrants just flood into the area and then they start, you know, Britain has promised both sides it'll be their homeland. Yeah, one man, two governors.
25:51Basically. Attlee has actually campaigned in 1945 by saying he's going to revoke the restrictive Jewish immigration policy and he's going to unoppose the construction. Labour are quite pro-Arab. They're kind of bedfellows with the Arabs. Yeah, but at this point, obviously in 1945, the party backs the level of Jewish immigration that would then make the Jews the majority in Palestine. So because of the Holocaust. Yeah. Because it's like it completely changes the real politic of the area. Anyway, essentially what happens is that it gets to 47 and the Brits have tried a couple of solutions. And whenever they try and say anything.
26:32What solution? Not the final one. That's been tried. This is the post-final solution. So it's the final, final solution. Final, final, final solution. Last one. Final, final, final. And it gets capitalised. You'll save your document. final final last one edit draft yeah and then essentially it's quite a similar similar to it is now when anyone ever says anything about either side it all kicks off so much you go fuck it right i'm going i'm leaving yeah and they fuck off in 47 or 8 and they give it to the un so basically the same time as the india stuff's going on it's all the same time because it's very very cold in britain yeah it's so cold it's the coldest winter ever whatever just get out get out pack your fags let's go so february 47 bevan refers the issue to the un so then essentially the un supports partition britain goes i don't care what you do we're off anglo-american relations suffer truman recognizes israel 11 minutes after the british mandate ends uh atley and bevan are furious yeah but again they've fucked us they've completely fucked us yeah um and essentially the british go right well we're off now so you deal with it and um as horatio said it's not been dealt with no and and and the solution is the brits go back in yeah i think so it's the only solution um but atlee i mean atlee's role in that i guess is i guess he's just being buffeted by the different wins and they're proposing things all the time but his apparently bevin's role uh his bluntness and humor fed accusations of anti-semitism humor his most yeah i mean it's a very funny topic yeah um his most infamous comment is he making jewish jokes and stuff i guess so yeah like old school jewish jokes i'm a schmuck anyway it all kicks off but as i would like to propose this is mainly the turks fault yeah because it was actually fine when the turks looking after it yeah the bossy men boss men everyone loves a boss man yeah they gave us a fuck situation yeah yeah we were played a bad hand by the boss man i mean we'll take care of that oh for fuck's sake oh for fuck's sake i mean like there's never there's never a fight can you look after my laptop the laptop's got child porn the police are coming yeah it was it was it where is that's exactly what happened look after my laptop I need a shit you come back why the police got my laptop because there's child porn on it you gave me a laptop with child porn on it
28:45that's exactly what happened what is it Charlie? in exchange for everything being sorted over there yeah would you take everyone thinks that you're a paedophile an active paedophile everyone thinks I'm a paedophile I'd do it but if posthumously they find out that you know I'm the most heroic paedophile of all time. So you are a paedophile? Well, no, I took the burden of people thinking I'm a paedophile to solve Israel. The white man's burden. Being a paedophile. If that happens, I'd do it. Okay. I mean, what's your answer? My answer is, I'm thinking practically, I'm thinking, is this working because everyone in the Israeli military hears about a paedophile so big that they think we can't...
29:27The scale of it is so daunting. They think, do you know what? Six million kids. Six million kids. can't be that many that's such a big number that they then turn their attention to hunting horatio no what it would be is israel and palestine unite in the fight against my pedophilia right yeah because they realize there's a common enemy and it's your nonsense so so so you would do it on the on the condition that afterwards everyone finds out you're not a pedophile they make those really moving oscar-winning film about my life yeah the most heroic i don't know what it would be called but it'd be like you know super nonce no i don't know there's actually this moving portrait of a man who's super nonce the israel palestine story are you in favor of one state two-state solution no i'm in favor of super nonce let me amend it slightly you actually have to do pedo stuff but you do you do sort it you are super nonce now i probably wouldn't do it but that's very selfish of me because to be honest the the ethical thing to do i mean i'd say that's win win or be a trolley dash pedophile I get to be a pedo and I solve the Gaza issue well fucking two birds one stone yeah ethical pedophilia yes I suppose there is yeah you're one of the most heroic men who's ever lived and you're a mass pedophile I guess that is the is that the only way to be an ethical pedophile is if you solve the Israel Gaza crisis I think so because you are you'll just sacrifice your life and some other kids futures but so the amount of kids futures that you save by sorting out is the ratio ethically non monogamous no he's an ethical pedophile he's an ethical non-consent I wouldn't do it but a more ethical man would it's because of my selfishness that I wouldn't be a mass pedo okay would I be a pedophile to stop Israel yeah I'd also be a pedophile I'm a pedophile now and to be honest it hasn't helped one bit yeah I've been following this logic for ages and to be honest if anything it's getting worse the problem I have with your questions is not realistic because I've been a pedo for years and it's still kicking off over there guys don't you know i'm a pedophile they're like yeah stop fighting guys guys i'm a pedophile i'm super nonce stop fighting what what what do you what do you mean you don't care what do you mean this issue's not about that yeah no i um i guess you're right atlee did have other options didn't he he did have other options sending the super nonce send in super nonce why doesn't he press the red button he should have spammed the super nonce button but the problem is they've developing an atomic bomb not a nonce bomb right if he drops a nonce bomb on Israel N-bomb the N-bomb well to be honest I don't think dropping the N-bomb on the Israel Guard situation is going to make things any better I don't care I think you're all N-bombs is that what Anthony says fucking hell that's probably what Churchill would have done it's getting pretty hairy out here isn't it fucking hell fucking hell there's a lot of problematic stuff going on in this region
32:18we all like edgy humour but this is a bit rich for my blood. It's crazy. This is crazy. Clement, what are you? A guy called Clement dropping the N-bomb. I don't think anyone called Clement's ever dropped the N-bomb. No. Well, I do think they've dropped the N-bomb. I do think they have it 5 % privately. They've done it in a non-problematic manner. I do think they dropped the N-bomb though. I think there's a lot of Cle... Yeah, Clement's a N-bomb. I think how you found out that 98.9 % of Clements are men, I think about 98 % are pedos. Clements. Like, you know, there's more billionaires called fucking Will than there are female billionaires.
32:51Or like, you know, that stat. Oh, there's more CEOs called John. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Female CEOs. Yeah, there's more pedos called Clement than there are female pedos. I'll tell you how you solve that is start naming your women John. Yeah, it's nominal determinism. It is, yeah. More likely to be caught to get a CEO. Pull yourself up by your name straps. By your name badges. Your egg boots. Anyway. Anyway. That's Israel-Palestine solved. Atlee does not press the A1 button. Sorry, have you seen Netanyahu on the Nelk Boys? You showed me a few clips of it, but I haven't seen all of it. But does he go on and talk about Burger King?
33:25Yeah, yeah. He makes a very convincing argument for Burger King and the Nelt boys do say in response to him bringing up Burger King, they go, that's your worst take so far, dude. It's one of the most kind of dystopian things I've ever seen in my life. Because they have no idea what's going on at all and he just uses it as a massive platform to justify all his things. But then he does, on the Burger King front, I was listening to it in horror. And then the Burger King thing, I was like, okay, I mean, you do seem quite passionate about fast food. Well, I've always said that I am, you know, if you could make a fast food restaurant that was McDonald's burgers with Burger King chips.
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33:58No, other way around, Burger King burgers with McDonald's chips. Well, you're a Netanyahu-ist when it comes to... In that respect, when it comes to fast food, I'm pro-BB. Yeah. I'm BB King. Isn't it funny that my girlfriend's name is BB's pet name? BB Netanyahu. Yeah. Well, Bibi Netanyahu, that's just when he's not at work. Well, we've had Bibi on the podcast. And she's arguably more genocidal. We've had the wrong Bibi. Yeah, we actually were booking Bibi Netanyahu. We got Bibi Cave on. Yeah, your girlfriend Bibi turned up rather than Bibi Netanyahu. It is a fascinating interview. Because we didn't realise he's doing podcasts now.
34:29But it's like, they say Burger King sucks. And he goes, you're wrong. You're wrong. And he really passionately defends Burger King in quite a moving way. It is. I think it might be the final time that the internet culture has ruptured mainstream reality. Yeah, like Adam Curtis is going, well, what's the point? Adam Curtis is like, I don't fucking know anymore. What's the point? What do I say about this? Yeah. What does any of this mean anymore? Yeah. I mean, it's like getting Hitler on to fucking rate schnitzel during Nuremberg rallies. We're doing a podcast where Hitler's rating schnitzel. It's fucking crazy.
35:04It's absolutely crazy. The Nelk Boys are fucking idiots, but they've got a huge following. Who the fuck is listening to the Nelk Boys? But they're morons and they had Trump on. it's the most softball questions. They don't know what's going on at all. And because they had Trump on and it did well for him, Bibi's best mate for Trump and that's how they're... Her girlfriend's best mate for Trump? Yeah. Wow. And also she's behind what's going on in... In the Middle East? Yeah. Which is why... She's at the UN right now pitching a ground invasion of Gaza. Which is why if you were a super nonce, it would solve everything.
35:34Because you're going out with Bibi Netanyahu. Right. So if Bibi Netanyahu's boyfriend was a super nonce, maybe he'd lose confidence. In himself. In himself. and the ground inversion. Anyway. Anyway, we got mired in Israel-Palestine, as many people have. As many people have, because they're not willing to call them all M-bombs. Which I think would... Because the Jews and the Arabs would be like, what? Now, it wouldn't solve it, but it would stop it for maybe half a second when they went, huh? And then they went back to it. Yeah, yeah. Anyway, let's get to the 1949 69 devaluation crisis. And if that's just whetted your appetite for our eventual History of Israel series, I'll tell you now, that'll be the final series we do before the podcast ends.
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37:04No matter your team, no matter where you shop, Apple Card is here to help you tackle game day. Apply In The Wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at AppleCard.com. Brussels clean up nicely at Sweetgreen. Maple glazed, roasted, and edges perfectly caramelized. Sweetgreen's fall harvest is back on the menu. And the season's most overlooked little green vegetable is dressed to be devoured. You know what to do. Order on the Sweetgreen app. In 1949, facing a US recession that cuts the demands of British exports, Attlee and his advisors conclude the pound must be devalued to address trade deficits.
37:52Now, this is all quite crunchy, dry stuff. Obviously, from Chancellor Stafford Cripps, it does read as Stafford crisps. Crisps. Yeah. But I don't think the British love affair with crisps hasn't started now. No, that comes in with the meal deal revolution. Which is what? Is that Thatcher's revolution? No, that's Marks and Spencer's. I believe it's in the 70s. Meal deals in the 70s. We should place this. Just as a British invention to be proud of, the refrigerated sandwich in a box is a British invention. Well, thank God for that. I think Marks and Spencer came up with it. When did Marks and Spencer come up with the refrigerated sandwich?
38:23If you told me that was Italian, I would have jumped out of this window. 1980. So it's 1980. It's Thatcher. Yeah. Thatcher takes the handbrake off and some wild cunt thinks, you know what, I'm going to put a sandwich in a fridge. Well, it's the birth of you don't have time to have lunch. You need to be on the move making money. Yeah, exactly. Because that's when we actually work. Yeah. Now, devaluing the pound, as you said, I don't really know what that means, but what they hope to do, because this is a recurrent crisis during the term we're speaking about. What they're hoping to happen with the devaluing the pound is that it will mean that British exports are cheaper for other countries to buy, which means business will go up.
38:59Right, it's more attractive. Business will go up because more people will buy exports. Did it? Probably not. Yeah. The pound was devalued by 30.5%. But that means that everyone who has savings, you just have that slap. It fucks you if you're middle class. The middle class gets completely cunted. So emergency secret meeting of ministers is arranged by Attlee to try and stop any leaks about the devaluation. So Wilson describes how some ministers wore fake moustaches, while the Minister for Agriculture, James Scott, wears his farmer's jacket and trousers and a somewhat garish sports shirt. So are they walking into...
39:32Why are you just as a Rastafarian? But they're always walking the same way. There's no Jermaine's in London at this point. why are you at least like here bred a we know clement but they all walked into number 10 don't they so you know when you have now you have those photos of like news cameras like the ymca when they're walking it's the village people people up cowboy this is this is the this is at least cabinet talking about devaluing the pound and the new the news cameras are like why the fucking why is there a red indian walking into number 10 this is them discussing are they having a building work building work down downing street what's going on i mean that's crazy so in 1949 uh nine the pound is worth four dollars and three pence and then overnight it goes to two dollars and 80 that's crazy how much is a dollar worth now it's one pound one dollar thirty i reckon no oh fuck me one dollar thirty four we're in the toilet aren't we yeah we're finding out how this is just getting deeper and deeper into the toilet this is the story of britain's descent into the toilet um so again this is a kind of if you're looking for symbols of our decline a lot of them start in atlee so on the 25th of june 1950 the korean war kicks off now again this is a huge thing that we will do a series on and part of the reason we're giving atlee two episodes is because pretty much everything happens in the first six six years north korea invade south korea beginning a three-year war yeah the british send troops to this this is where the famous about it we're not happy about it but we there's nothing we can do because we're america is pushing us in the carer is saying if you want us to keep feeding you through the tube you're going to have to go send all your sons to war yeah so uh this is where the famous thing happens where there's that mix-up where the the brits are being absolutely mowed down well this is the difference between american and british culture yeah laid bare even though we speak the same language there's there's a different culture so the brits are being moaned down by the chinese or the north koreans and they're asking for american backup and they do this by saying well we're in a bit of a sticky situation we're having a bit of a pickle british understatement yeah and the americans go oh everyone likes pickles are you having a burger yeah and they just they just don't come and then the brits just get an eye later it would be rude to ask again wouldn't it yeah i've already said i can't ask twice they definitely won't come if i ask again I don't want to seem needy as men are bleeding out to death so you know, potted history of the Korean War Korea had been divided along the 38th parallel after 45, communist China and the USSR controls the north, the US sort of back to the south, again Britain disagree with this policy of going into the far east, but it has to back America because that is one of the conditions of all the money that America has given them, so the Attlee government approves troop deployment uh defense spending rises again uh and and you're in bevan pissy and voices concern yeah um let's just call him that can we call him an piss just for the ease of it in december attley meets with president truman again hoping to like influence and moderate u.s policy but uh and truman ruled they rule out using the atomic bomb in korea yeah which is crazy that that was even an option just fucking but i guess if you're america and you've night night japan you go just like switch the Strip the lights off.
42:45Strip the lights off. Is that the Japanese again? No, it's Koreans. Oh, right. Sorry. Okay. I thought we were trying to go to bed. I thought we already told you to go to bed. No. Stay in there. Oh, it's a new kid. All right, fine. So we get to the 1950 general election. And Atlee's first government had, of course, had a lot of success. Rations are still going on. The economy's still in the toilet. Life's still pretty bad. So I think people still want a change. And Churchill, in opposition, will deal with that next episode. But he's obviously mouthing off. But interestingly, the Conservatives are supporting the welfare state.
43:14Well, you can't really go back on it because that's universally popular. And it feels like the 50s, 60s, the support that Labour and Conservative have for each other is a lot better. Well, it's the post-war consensus period, isn't it? There's a consensus, yeah, where it's a lot more polite. Oh, you chose, it's your turn. Well, it's my turn now. It's your turn. So the election results in 1950. Labour wins a narrow majority of five seats. Society is divided, but not, you know, not hostile. Support for Labour falls in the middle class is because life's been pretty bad. All their savings have been devalued as well.
43:43Yeah, savings are gone. I don't know who has savings really after the war. So Labour's second term is increasing now. It's very short, obviously. But they're increasingly defined by managing the decline rather than advancing reform. This is the problem. This is why Labour doesn't really get back in until Wilson is in every other election. They don't have anything new to say. Because they've done everything. They've done everything. And they didn't even just do it in the first term. They did it the first two years of the first term. Yeah. It was so short when they did everything. and now that you if you're having like a radical progressive government if they do all this stuff there's not much in your stand on rearmament basically is straining the country and the economy yeah and so for example one of the things that brings down the government yeah is on NHS prescription charges and for dentistry yeah which is crazy imagine a government being brought down by just the dentists but it's like do you want to pay for the dentist or do you want an atomic bomb yeah that's the decision the British people have really and that's why we have such bad teeth but we have nuclear submarines yeah literally that that's the fork in the road yeah we could have we could look like we're in la yeah but we'd have no yeah nuclear deterrent yeah we'd have no teeth on the international stage if you will yeah we're giving america a gummy a gummy blowjob yeah in exchange for nuclear some new teeth so but again the reason they have to introduce prescription charges is because Korea and the bomb bankrupts us even further we blow up the economy with our bomb yeah again the entire bomb is what we do to our economy yeah and now we go we turn to Iran again as we've done many times in the podcast if you're interested in Iran we did a three part series on the revolution we dealt with it slightly in the CIA series Mohammed Mossadegh an extremist democratically elected he nationalizes the Anglo-Rain law company BP blah blah blah again this triggers another massive oil crisis and then in a defensive move the defensive move we uh and the rest is it all goes fine after that um but britain has cut off uh oil exports from iran and and again like the anglia rain oil company is like all all of our oil yeah that's bp by the way suez canal is so important yeah because that's how britain gets all of its oil to britain yeah just to flag that for now.
46:00And now this new world where oil is so important and now the kind of European colonialism doesn't run the Middle East. Suddenly these countries with their nationalist rebellions, they now have a tap where they can turn the West on and off. Genuinely. They, somehow, the kids, have got control of the light switch because it's too low down. Yeah. And now they're turning the lights on and off. They're just turning it off. They're turning the power on. They're turning our lights. They're going to do our room. And in the 70s, they just fucking, they turn our lights off. oh they yeah no they unplugged the house in the 70s they unplugged the house but what i think strange about this period is what how does germany japan france they all have a boom before britain does even though we were won the war germany wins the peace yeah i know so it doesn't quite make sense i mean is it because america feel that they can build them up more because they're less concerned about them having a global empire well yeah because also britain britain they get a fairer deal from america than we do well it's also they they're starting from absolute zero whereas britain surely is worse no but you you it means you you get modernity britain is still an old sclerotic country not all of it's been bombed we've got the oldest housing stock in the world yeah we're bankrupt and yet we control the entire world and so we're in this weird position of having no money yeah and yet like you know we're the first to industrialize so that's what i mean is If you're the first through the gate, you're the first out.
47:25As my theory, if you invent something, you eventually become bad at making it. And we basically invented everything. And so we become bad at making everything. Yeah, because as you said, the Scottish invented the toilet. Yeah, and it's terrible toilets up there. They're awful. It's like the opposite of Japan. Yeah, because they're like toilets from the 1800s. They're still the first toilets. Because it's like, we don't need to prove that. There's a hole in the ground. We invented trains. And then Japan got sent to bed, slept on it, woke up, and meant, what if they played music? And washed your willy.
47:51Yeah. what if a giant octopus was in there and just stopped fucking you in the ass and we went I think you need to go to bed again Japan when are we going to send Japan to sleep again because they're making some crazy things they got cocky with the toilet but the post-war British story is also it comes up with us we come up with a lot of ideas that we never perfect someone else does the fucking I don't know right I don't know like what like what are we coming up with uh well we came up with the i think we invented the radio that's not post-war though what was it there was oh i know what you mean it's motorbikes motorbikes so british motorbikes in the 40s and 50s yes like uh the triumph yeah uh maybe the austin yeah like that's what we get a head start on a lot of stuff that's what hell's angels are riding in america is british bikes yeah and then in yeah pretty quickly by the end of the 50s japan has a shout out honda kawasaki you you whatever Yamaha all those pianos bikes TVs we invented TVs well Scottish did yeah all that sort of stuff Scottish television is fucking rubbish rubbish but it feels like the story of you have certainly how Andrew Marr pitches it is it's kind of like the eccentric lone British inventor is like a thing a guy in his shed comes up with something genius and we go oh we don't need to change that yeah and then Japan and Germany they develop it they finesse it yeah and then make money out of it same with all of our sporting stories yeah we came up with it just don't finesse it and so at least government refuses to accept the iranian nationalization plans they debate military intervention including seizing the avidon refinery as much as this is bad from us obviously looking back on it especially if you're lefty look back and say this is a sign of we we just want to stop people being able to turn our lights off and eventually they do it's what happens you can see why they do it it's not pure it's not just pure evil it's like we had an opportunity here to get the light switch yeah away from the iranians and from the saudis and whoever else the thing is when we packed out and left Palestine we left the light switch there yeah and it does come they do come back to bite us because we left in a hurry we left the lights there yeah wallet keys, phone fuck fuck just get out get out get out the crisis remains unsolved during Attlee's premiership and so Churchill comes in and hardens it but in 1951 another election is called because was it five they had a majority of so it's got a tiny majority so it did like a Theresa May style snap election to increase the majority and it backfires And it backfires.
50:15Yeah. So we are reaching the end of Attlee. So let's just sum up where we think Attlee stands. That's what we'll be doing with this whole series is ultimately trying to rank the post-war British Prime Ministers. Well, I think in the popular imagination, he's probably viewed as Britain's greatest and maybe even least controversial pick for Prime Minister because the problem is picking anyone on the greatness is a controversial... What did you type in? Does Attlee have a fat knob? No, he's not Clement Fapley. Clement Fatknob. no I don't think he did yeah I don't think he did he had the confidence of a man who had a just slightly above average penis yeah well the opposite of you no it's not the opposite of me it's exactly who I am no you're slightly below average I'm slightly below average yeah for my height how tall is Clement Attlee it's not we're not gonna go back to here I'm just gonna find out how tall is Clement Attlee this is this podcast Palestine is you talking about you're the small small dick just drop an m-bomb and I'll stop while you're on his Wikipedia page just scrolling down he's 5 foot 11 he's 5 foot 11 we probably got quite similar sized knobs if you were 5 '11 you'd have an absolutely throbbing hog we're really throbbing and we're slightly above average right yeah like Clement Attlee yeah exactly so Clement Attlee is yeah but viewed within the context of my 6 '2 frame just get out forget the crystals get out let's leave Palestine to sort it out so I can't be arsed so and as you say in the popular imagination it's basically Churchill's first term and Attlee are like the top two British Prime Ministers ever basically.
51:45That's what they say. They're the two sides of it, yeah. And I suppose for the pros... He's the greatest peace time Prime Minister Britain's ever had is the general thing because even like some of the Victorian ones... He's also definitely the most boring. 100 % the most boring. As an actual person. Yeah, I mean we haven't even talked about how he was so anti-PR and spin that during the election campaign someone stops in the street and goes did you have any comments to make on this election race? And he goes, no. Just fucked off. He installed a ticker tape in Downing Street for the county cricket results and then got annoyed when people started putting actual news through there.
52:17He was like, no, I want to hear how Somerset got on. Type in Attlee's poem about himself. Oh, yeah. This kind of sums up his own view of himself. So he, you know, in the pro... He writes a little ditty about himself. Yeah, I mean, he's such a boring man. But in some ways, you know, when you've lived through Truss and Johnson and Blair, that's how you get stuff done, in a way. It's just by being completely, like, personality-less. Yeah. I think just this type of leadership is, it's so, it's so far from what we imagine now because they got so much done. Yeah. Nothing gets done. No changes seem to happen.
52:50No, I mean, and having it done in two years just seems kind of crazy. There were few who thought. Yeah, here we go. We got it here. This is it. So this is Clement Attlee wrote this about himself, which is quite funny. Yeah. Few thought he was even a starter. There were many who thought themselves smarter, but he ended PM, CH and OM, and Earl and Knight of the Garter. yeah i mean if you're a prime minister and you're writing self-deprecating limericks but that's his like that's his kind of that's his rap no that's a mic drop yeah that's his mic drop knight and a garter so that's atlee who's a strong contender for number one post-war british prime minister but we will be getting through it we'll be doing all of them yeah up to 1979 i mean the cons i mean what yes the cons to be honest so even he had amazing domestic policy uh economically was not as strong so it wasn't even that interested in the economy so we were quite uncompetitive economically and undynamic and that's why the french even the fucking italians had economic economic economic miracles before us yeah and and he made us undynamic but he also does set the stage for 30 years of compromises with unions and nationalized companies and like he starts the consensus because you live in at least britain till thatcher but that's only how long is that 30 years yeah we're still in thatcher's britain yeah and that's like 45 years 50 years pretty much so it's like it does eventually grind to a halt yeah which is what this this what this series is about you look at what survives the nhs which is obviously kind of the like british religion yeah the welfare state national insurance education yeah but this is all stuff that they national parks oh yeah the national trust and all that the national trust start in that at a time yeah they do because they seize manor houses and they seize all these old country homes well the aristocracy can't afford to keep them up so they have to but so they get seized and gets put into this national trust yeah that all starts under atleast which again it's like the idea of a great country that's now almost been gentrified into a tourist attraction for itself yeah which is what i think happens with bond yeah and with the national trust it's like we can't afford to actually be this country.
55:02So let's like make it a museum that we live in. That's kind of what's happening with Attlee. That's what Europe is now, to be honest. Europe's a museum for itself. Anyway, next episode, it's Churchill's second bite of the cherry. It's the Mau Mau Rebellion. It's peacetime Churchill. It's headhunting scandal and it's a gay spy ring. Oh yeah. This is a gay spy ring. This is a gay spy ring. Anyway, if you'd like access to that episode now, it's already on our patron along with uh the first half of this entire series ad free ad free you get a bonus episode every week uh and you can uh chat and commune with other similarly uh downtrodden down syndromed people like you uh we will uh have incomprehensibly solved the israel gaza issue we will see you next time for peacetime churchill uh as this series this effortless romp through the meadows of prime ministers continues apace see you next time
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From the publisher
Clement Attlee’s Britain left India like a man with IBS who’d just seen the restaurant’s hygiene rating. Could Clement have done anything differently with Palestine?
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00:00 The Special Needs Relationship
07:09 British Night Night Bomb
12:09 David Ghandi
18:59 Blame the Bossmen
25:25 Attlee’s SuperNonce
33:23 1949 Devaluation Crisis
38:53 Kids Take The Lightswitch
46:14 Knight of the Garter
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