1.3 Social Developments

Question 1

Rising Living Standards

Answer 1

. Pre-war slums cleared, new towns built e.g. Harlow
. New towns planned by Labour in 40s grew rapidly
. e.g. Stevenage and Crawley in South Wales
. From 1952 men’s weekly wages went up
. Massive increases in private savings, farmers did well
. People living in council housing outnumbered private homeowners in 1950s

Question 2

Impact of Affluence and Consumerism

Answer 2

. Surge in ownership of TVs, washing machines, fridge
. ITV launched in ‘55, lots of glossy ads during shows
. 1957-1959, no. of houses owning a TV rose 32%
. By 1960: 10mil TVs in use, 50% of people watched
. DIY and gardening more popular in the 50s
. Car ownership rose by 25% between ‘57-‘59
. 60,000 holidayed each week with Butlins in the 50s

Question 3

Class and the ‘Establishment’

Answer 3

. 1951: class loyalty, 65% working class voted Labour
. Shift in late ’50s: scandals exposed lying govn
. Rise of CND from ‘58 challenged authority
. Profumo affair showed decline in deference to govn
. 1960: ‘satire boom’: Beyond the Fringe
. 61: The Private Eye 62: That Was The Week That Was
. ‘angry young men’: critiqued the Establishment

Question 4

Women

Answer 4

. Housewives in the 1950s
. Average marriage age: 21, 75% women married
. 1 in 5 women worked in 1951
. Bank accounts in men’s names
. Trade unions didn’t support women, they tended to ask for higher wages

Question 5

Improvements for Women

Answer 5

. Equal pay for teachers (1952), civil servants (1954)
. Women’s lives at home improved by new machines
. 1957-1959, 54% increase in washing machine owning
. One called ‘The Liberator’
. Without a machine, women would be washing clothes all day

Question 6

Commonwealth

Answer 6

. Enthusiasm for it evident at Queen’s coronation, ‘53
. 1948: Empire Windrush carried 492 migrants to Britain
. By 1958, 210,000 Commonwealth immigrants had settled in Britain
. 75% were male, working to support family at home
. Largest no. came from West Indies, India, Pakistan

Question 7

Attitudes to Immigration

Answer 7

. Some had general feeling of tolerance
. Many examples of outright racism
. Friction and resentment against immigrants
. August 1958, Nottingham: gangs of white youths hunted black people after pub brawls
. Riots broke out in Nottingham in same year
. Oswald Mosley, leader of British fascism, v popular

Question 8

British Migration

Answer 8

. 1950s: Australia was keen to attract new citizens
. Many British emigrated to North America
. 1950s: 1.32mil Britons emigrated
. 1960s: outward migration 1.92mil

Question 9

Authorities Regarding Immigration

Answer 9

. Economically desirable (immigrants filled many important low wage jobs)
. Hoped social tensions would ease over time

Question 10

The Commonwealth Immigrants Act

Answer 10

. 1962
. Prohibited new immigrants from settling in Britain unless they had fam connections already established
. Labour opposed it but didn’t repeal it after 64

Question 11

The Abortion Act

Answer 11

. 1967
. Allowed legal termination of pregnancy where 2 docs certified that there was a risk to physical/mental health of mother or a possibility that the child would be born with deformities

Question 12

The Theatres Act

Answer 12

. 1968
. Ended theatre censorship
. Plays no longer needed approval from the Lord Chamberlain

Question 13

The Sexual Offences Act

Answer 13

. 1967

. Legalised male homosexual acts in private between ‘consenting adults’

Question 14

Ombudsman

Answer 14

. 1967
. A special parliamentary officer was appointed to whom citizens could appeal if they felt they suffered abuse from authority

Question 15

Abolition of Death Penalty

Answer 15

. 1969

. Removed the 5 remaining categories of offence for which the death sentence had been imposed

Question 16

Divorce Reform Act

Answer 16

. 1969

. Allowed couples to divorce on grounds of ‘irretrievable breakdown of relationship’

Question 17

The Open University

Answer 17

. 1969
. Enabled previously unqualified students to read for degrees by studying courses
. Wilson said it was his greatest achievement as PM

Question 18

Race Relations Act

Answer 18

. 1965 and 1968
. Prohibition of racial discrimination in public + home
. Made incitement to racial hatred an offence
. Set up the Race Relations board
. Set up Community Relations: a commission to promote inter-racial understanding

Question 19

Teenagers

Answer 19

. Post war baby boom meant 5 mil teens in Britain by 1959 - 10% of population
. More visible and economically important
. More money to create their own culture
. Late 1950s: magazines and TV shows aimed at them
. Changes in tech, e.g. transistor radio

Question 20

Teddy Boys

Answer 20

. Early 1950s: most obvious youth subculture
. Linked with juvenile delinquency and rising crime
. Replaced by Mods and Rockers

Question 21

Mods and Rockers

Answer 21

. Early 60s
. Rockers: Rode heavy motorcycles, wore leather,
listened to rock and roll
. Mods: rode scooters, wore smart suits, listened to new pop music and African music
. Groups met up to fight, often on beaches

Question 22

. Clacton, Margate and Brighton

Answer 22

. May 1964: largest organised fights between M+R
. Brighton: fighting went on for 2 days
. Public reactions were hysterical and frightened
. Described them as knife-wielding hooligans undermining foundations of society
. Public exaggerated levels of violence

Question 23

Examples of Media

Answer 23

. Sapphire, 1959 crime thriller: dealt with racial tension
. Z Cars: TV show, gritty realism + violence
. Taste of Honey, 1958 play: by Shelagh Delaney. An unmarried woman falls pregnant with a black sailor’s child