About the book
1970s
The 1970s tested Britain through inflation, industrial conflict, political uncertainty and pressure on public services. Yet the decade also produced bold music, influential television, changing fashions and memorable sporting moments, creating a cultural energy that contrasted with repeated reports of national decline.
1970s brings these competing stories together. It follows governments, royalty, work, protest, entertainment, technology and everyday life while explaining how strikes, shortages and economic change affected households and communities. Social attitudes continued to shift, and arguments about Europe, devolution, race, gender and the power of trade unions moved closer to the centre of politics. Accessible and wide-ranging, this volume looks beyond caricatures of crisis to reveal a complicated decade of creativity and adaptation. Many of the choices and divisions that defined later Britain can be seen taking shape in these turbulent years.