1 Changing political landscape 1951-1979 Flashcards
Conservative dominance 1951-1964
Which years did Conservative party win general elections? the main thrust of their policies? what was the joint name as a result?
- 1955 and 1959
- main policies weren’t too different from Labour, in 1954 The Economist coined the term ‘Butskellism’ to describe the post war consensus and welfare/economic policies.
Conservative dominance 1951-1964
When did Churchill return to Downing Street? what was he like?
- 1951
- CHurchill was 76 years old
- the dybamism and drive he exhibited during the war had gone
- Churchill acted as a ‘caretaker’ prime minister, while the ministers within his government gradually came to prominence
Eden’s government 1955-1957
July 1955 Britains unemployment
- lowest unemployment figures in its recent history
- with only 215,000 people out of work accounting for just over 1% of the workforce
Eden’s government 1955-1957
1955 General ELection results
- 49% cons
- 46% lab
suez crisis
background context?
- Britain maintained a presence in Egypt to protect the Suez canal (Britain/France owned)
- this was its route to India
- After Indian Independence in 1947 the canal was used to ship oil to Britain, Europe, and America
suez crisis
what did Gamal Abdul Nasser say about suez? what did he then do? what did Eden do as a result? what was the British thinking?
- president of Egypt
- he said the canal should be in Egyptian hands and he would pay British shareholders a fair price
- Eden reacted with hostility
- Nasser occupied the Canal Zone on 26 July 1956
- his close relationship with the USSR convinced Britain that the canal would fall into Soviet hands
suez crisis
what did Eden do about Suez? How did Eisenhower react?
- france and Israel invited Britain to take part in an invasion of the Suez canal zone
- Eden agreed in secret to participate
- He did not want to humiiliated by Nasser and knew he had to be presented as strong in the cons party
- Eisenhower had not been consulted, and was angry.
suez crisis
when did the invasion begin?
- 5 November 1956
suez crisis
what did EIsenhower threaten?
- threatened to sell America’s reserves of British currency and collapse the value of the pound
suez crisis
what was the result of suez?
- Britain was forced to withdraw
- Eden resigned in January 1957
- Britain was significantly reducted as a world power
- and it was established that Britain would no longer act independently without seeking US approval
Macmillan’s Britain, 1957-1963
What made the Macmillan government so popular?
- low unemployment
- mixed economy
- rising livign standards
- declining social inequalitiy (1957 British wages and living standards were at their most equal between rich/poor)
Macmillan’s Britain, 1957-1963
1959 General Election
=
- conservatives increased their majority
- +21 seats
dissent on the right
who resigned in 1959? why?
- Peter Thorneycroft (chancellor)
- Nigel Birch (treasury minister)
- Enoch Powell (financial secretary to the treasury)
they believed Macmillan was spending too much and storing up economic problems for the future.
they were convinced inflation (not unemployment) posed the greatest threat
dissent on the right
what did the 3 propose instead?
- spending cuts
- tax rises
- taking excess money out of the economy
dissent on the right
what was the effect of their resignation?
- embarassing
- but during a good economic period their exit made little impression on the public
‘night of the long knives’
conservative party in 1962? why?
- declining popularity
- Macmillan’s privileged background + large number of upper class cabinet members (35 etonians) meant they seemed out of touch
- their increase in consumer spending also meant economic problems
‘night of the long knives’
What did Macmillan do? why? what was the reaction?
- sackd 7 ministers from his cabinet and replacd them with younger men
- in an effort to seem young and meritocratic
- JFK was popular during this time, youth was felt to be popular in the electorate
- the public liked this sudden move
scandal
profumo affair
- June 1963 Government’s secretary for War john profumo admitted to haveing an affair with Christine keeler
- Macmillan had defended this allegation, so it was embarassing
- it transpired he also had a relationship with a russian attache Yevgeny Ivanov, the press focused on the spy angle
scandal
John Vassall
- 1952-1962 John Vassall a naval attache at the British embassy in Moscow was blackmailed by the soviet union
- he passed on lots of top secret information on the royal navy
- caught when soviet spies defected and gave MI6 Vassall’s name
sir alec douglas home
what were the opinions on this PM?
- macmillan resigned in 1963
- Home was regarded to be a skilled administrator and an astute politican
- he was a member of the House of Lords and had the title of Earl (which he renounced to become PM)
- he was ridiculed for his aristocratic manners
wilson’s govenrment, 1964-1970
how did he present the labour party? how did wilson present himself?
- meritocratic and classless
- compared it to the public perceptions of hte conservatives
- Wilson presented himself as the face of modern britain
- labour only won by 4 seats
wilson’s govenrment, 1964-1970
1964 General Election results
- Labour won by 4 seats
- so he would have to call another election to bring about major policy changes
wilson’s plans, wilson’s problems
wilson’s problems: what was the economic situation that he inherited? what was the budget deficit? what had he promised?
- previous chancellor Reginald Maulding delivered generous tax cuts
budget deficit was £800m - he had promised to improve pensions and build half a million homes a year
- he also wanted to maintain Britain’s military presence
wilson’s plans, wilson’s problems
what did he initially plan to do? why couldnt he? what did he do in the end
- devalue the pound
- british gov could then pay off debts more easily
- but wilson didn’t want labour to be seen as the party of devaluation
- but in 1967 he was forced to devalue anyway
wilson’s achievements
1966General election resultrs
- wilson had a higher majority (110)
wilson’s achievements
what did he achieve? 3 main significant social/educational reforms
- series of new universiteis and polytechnics
- open university established
- laws on abortion, homosexuality and the death penalty liberalised
wilson’s achievements
however, what was the general feeling of negativity by 1970?
- sense of optimisim in 1964 had faded
- widespread feeling that Wilsons promises had gone unfulfilled
- economic problems
Wilson and his cabinet
Who was wilson suspicious of? what was the result of this?
- Barbara Castle, Roy Jenkins and James Callaghan (popular with party/trade unions) all seen as potential replacements
- mistrust resulted in 1969 legislation proposed by Barbara Castle to curb the numbers of unofficial strikes was never enacted because Wilson feared Callaghan, a union loyalist might use the confrontation to replaceh im
Wilson and his cabinet
What was the result of the 1969 legislation never being enacted/
- britain endured a decade of rising strikes and union unrest.
Wilson and his cabinet
1970 General Election results
- conservative (Heath) majority of 43
Heath’s government, 1970-1974
where did Heath and his shadow cabinet plan their manifesto? what did they introduce? how was it branded?
- Selsdon park Hotel
- Heath’s govenrment then began to introduce policies from this meeting
- he referred to this change as a ‘quiet revolution’
- first budget from chancellor Anthony Barber featured tax cuts and gov spending cuts
- Heath ended Wilson’s incomes policy
Heath’s government, 1970-1974
the barber budget - how did it fail? what did Heath have to do?
- failed to cure Britain’s economic problems
- fuelled inflation
- Heath was forced into a U-turn in policy to increase intervention in the economy
Heath’s government, 1970-1974
What was Heath’s biggest problem? what did WIlson accuse Heath of? how was heath preceieved by the right?
- relationship with unions
- 1974 Heath’s government had endured 2 miners strikes and he faced criticism from both the opposition and his own party
- wilson accused Heath of attempting to strip away union rights
- critics on the right saw him as a ‘traitor’ betraying promises made in 1970 at the Selsdon Park meeting
Heath’s government, 1970-1974
the ‘selsdon group’
- keith joseph
- ncholas ridley
- (+ others)
- dedicated to introduving free market policies and reducing state intervention
Heath’s government, 1970-1974
second miners strike and the following events 1973-1974
- Heath declared a state of emergency and a 3 day week
- called a G.E. in Feb 1974
Heath’s government, 1970-1974
What did Heath centre his campaign around?
- a question of union power and asked the question ‘Who Run’s Britain?’
Heath’s government, 1970-1974
defeat of Heath: reflection on himself and Labour
- reflected a lack of confidence in his ability to manage the unions, and the economy
- However, the defeat of Heath didn’t result in widespread success for Labour: wilson was elected with a minority governemnt who was forced to rely on the liberals
Heath’s government, 1970-1974
1974 Election results
conservatives, labour, liberal seats
- conservatives: 297 seats
- Labour: 301 seats
- Liberal: 14 seats
Labour government, 1974-1979
what did the Labour party feel like in 1974?
- widespread sense of optimism and energy among the public that had existed in 1964 was no longer present
- Wilson was older, with poorer health
Labour government, 1974-1979
what did hung parliament mean?
- Hung parliament meant he needed to call a second election in 1974
- he managed a majority of 3 seats
Third Wilson Government, 1974-1976
Wilsons first priority and the ‘social contract’
- ending union unrest by repealing the Industrial Relations Act
- new ‘social contract’ which meant in return for unions not to pursue excessive wages, the governemnt would offer subsidies to the cost of living
Third Wilson Government, 1974-1976
reaction to the social contract policy
-short term wilsons government ended the miners strike
- long term new policy did nothing to deal with the underlying cause of strikes (infaltion)
Third Wilson Government, 1974-1976
wilsons division
3 divisions
- centre right
- ‘soft’ left
- ‘hard’ left
Third Wilson Government, 1974-1976
centre right
- wilson, callaghan, denis healey
- policies which mirrored the moderate left of the conservatives
- chancellor Healey went further in 1975 and embraced monetarism and abandoned the commitment to full employment
Third Wilson Government, 1974-1976
soft left
-
- michael foot
- pro-union
- did not back Tony Benns radical economic ideas
Third Wilson Government, 1974-1976
hard left
-
- Tony Benn
- extreme-left thinking through the 1970s
- Britain should become a ‘siege economy’ (no import controls)
Third Wilson Government, 1974-1976
when did wilson resign
1976
callaghan’s government, 1976-1979
callaghan and chancellor healey’s ideas
- began to abandon key aspects of the post war economic consensus
- Healey was a pragmatist who didn’t follow policies out of ideological reasons
- clashed with Tony Benn
callaghan’s government, 1976-1979
what did Callaghan think about the state of Britain’s economy?
- Britain could not continue to spend its way out of difficulties
- he believed Britain must ‘pay its way’ in the world
- Britain had used borrowing beyond its means
- loss of confidence in the pound
callaghan’s government, 1976-1979
Benn economic beleifs and outcomes
- leaving the EEC and cutting Britain off from the global economy
- proposed ‘siege economy’ to protect state spending on welfare
- Benn became a marginal figure in the cabinet, his eonomic arguments were seen as extreme
callaghan’s government, 1976-1979
Initial opinion on Thatcher vs by 1979
- 1978: thatcher had very low poll ratings, Callaghan would be victorious in the next General Election
- March 1979: 69% were dissatisfied with the government’s performance, but still only 45% of those polled throughout Mrs Thatcher was performing well as leader of the oppoistion
callaghan’s government, 1976-1979
1979 General Election results
- conservatives: 339 seats
- labour: 268 seats
- liberal: 11 seats
