GPs are an essential part of the social fabric of modern Britain but as a group have always felt undervalued, clashing with successive governments over the terms on which they offered their services to the public. Explaining the background to these disputes and the motives of GPs from a sociological perspective, this research casts new light on some defining moments in the creation of the modern British state, from National Health Insurance to the National Health Service, and the history of the British medical profession. It examines these events from the point of view of the professionals intimately involved in and affected by them, using both established sources, like Ministry of Health records, an in-depth analysis of rarely studied records of professional bodies, and previously unresearched archive material. The result is a fascinating account of conflict and cooperation, and of heroic, and less-than-heroic, defiance of political authority, involving interactions between complex personalities and competing ideologies.
Scholarly yet readable, this book will be of interest to the general reader as much as to medical practitioners and historians.
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Chris Derrett, BSHM February 2025
"As Chris Locke demonstrates in his detailed, insightful, and timely analysis in GPs, Politics and the Medical Professional Protest in Britain, 1880-1948, the concerns about insufficient pay, workload, not being valued, and fears that their independence will be taken from them have characterised GPs and their relationship with government since the term 'general practice' was first used in 1818... This book provides a fascinating account of the trials and tribulations of GPs as they emerged as a professional group, developed representative bodies, had repeated periods of conflicts with government, and throughout it all felt underpaid, overworked, and undervalued. Locke has done us a great service in highlighting the role of LMCs, stressing the importance of independent contractor arrangements and clearly explaining the concerns GPs have repeatedly tried to resolve. It's a book that should be essential reading for all those attending LMC conferences today."
Richard Vautrey, BJGP Life (15 March 2025)