The historic Health Act 2006 was judged by many to be the most significant piece of public health legislation since the Clean Air Act of 1956, fulfilling more than two decades of lobbying and campaigning from the environmental health profession. The act prohibited smoking in all enclosed UK workplaces, including pubs, bars and restaurants. Wales…
An infamous cold snap in London in December 1952 produced a toxic ‘peasouper’ fog that lingered for days and caused a huge number of premature deaths. At first, there was little response. Prime Minister Harold MacMillan fobbed off the House of Commons with talk of the complexity and expense of cleaning up air quality. But…
Extensive slum clearance in the UK was ushered in by the Conservatives’ 1954 Housing, Repairs and Rents Act. It was much-need. The urban landscape of the early 1950s would appear alien to a person magically transported from the present. Much by-law housing from the 19th century survived, particularly in the north, in rows of monotonous…