Google News Archive Search is a truly wonderful thing. I can't quite believe that so much archive newpaper material is available, free of charge, delivered magically to a computer near you.
I did a few searches and came across this article about the origins of Stevenage New Town. I knew that the local lord of the manor, Lord Lytton, was adamantly opposed to the development, because he had a large area of his estate forcibly taken from him by the process euphemistically known as a "compulsory purchase", and more accurately known as theft. It seems that he was not alone.
What I found slightly surprising was that it was necessary to come in a fleet of twenty four official cars. It was even more surprising that Lewis Silkin's car had had the air let out of its tyres to let him know what the ungrateful locals thought of his plans.
I always slightly struggled to understand why the 1945 government was not re-elected. It obviously had a huge support initially, supposedly stood up for the common man against the forces of reaction and was free of corruption and run by one of the outstanding prime ministers of the 20th Century - Clem Attlee. However, its collectivist mania caused at least one industry - sugar - to fight back hard against nationalization (e.g. here) which may have persuaded voters that with another five years of Labour, Britain would end up abolishing private property entirely.
