1951-1964 Flashcards
Who became the leader of the TGWU (transport and general workers union) in 1956?
Frank cousins.
Went on to be fierce union opposition to Gaitskell over Nuclear weapons.
Who was Bevan and what did he do?
Under Atlee Bevan was the minister of health and maker of NHS. Bevan resigned in 1951 to protest against prescription charges. In doing so go the support of other Labour MPs and trade unions.
Who was Gaitskell and what did he do?
Gaitskell was chancellor of the exchequer from 1950-1951 and introduced prescription charges causing Bevan to resign. Was on the right of the Labour part in 1955 defeating Bevan in election. However he was unsuccessful in attempt to reform Labour.
What was the Labour lefts view on CND?
They agreed with it. May have turned voters away.
What did Bevan think of CND?
Was initially for disarmament however announced he was opposition to it in 1957, he claimed it would ‘send a British foreign secretory naked into the conference chamber’.
What was Clause IV in the Labour party?
Committed the party to nationalisation.
In the 1959 election, who put forward the idea to abolish Clause IV?
Gaitskell. However he was opposed by the Labour left and the Trade unions so backed down.
What was the Scarborough conference and when did it happen?
At the 1960 Scarborough conference Gaitskell makes and emotional speech trying to persuade the party to reject nuclear disarmament. He lost the vote that year however succeeded in overturning it the next year.
True or false - Gaitskell was an effective campaigner and defeat in the 1959 general election was a surprise.
True.
In what year did Gaitskell die and for who did it open the door for leadership of the party?
Gaitskell died in 1963 and it opened the door for Harold Wilson.
True or false - the political position of the Labour party worsened in 1960.
False - the political position of the Labour party improved with cultural shifts making the public more critical of the conservative government.
In what year did rationing end?
1954.
In what year was there full employment with 200,000 unemployed (less than 1% of the work force)?
1955.
what industry was there a decrease of employment?
Traditional occupations such as fishing, coal mining and ship building.
Was there an increase or decrease in overseas trade?
Increase.
In the later 1950s what percentage more were imports than 1951?
29%.
What work was there an increase in?
Electrical, engineer and more jobs in work related to cars such as steel and other materials.
There was an increase of employment in the service industry. How many were employed in the industry in 1960?
5 million.
Britain had a higher income per head than any country other than who?
USA.
How much in tax cuts was Rab Butler’s give away budget in 1955?
£134 million.
True or false - There was a decrease in consumerism.
False there was an increase due to more free time and money.
True or false - Growth rates were slow.
True.
What was the generation of children born after the war called and what percentage of the population were they between 1951-1961?
‘Baby boomers’ and 5% which was 2 million more people than 2 years prior.
What were the 3 main scandals that happened under the conservative government from 1951-1964?
Examples of Sleaze
- George Blake convicted of being a soviet double agent 1961.
- John Vassel, a civil servant, discovered to be giving information to the soviet union as he was blackmailed over his homosexuality.
- Profumo affair involving sex, spying and high politics - John Profumo, Macmillan’s secretory of state for war lied about his actions to the PM and parliament. A public enquiry in court was headlines in the papers for weeks. The political impact was short lived but did tarnish the government.
What weaknesses did Harold Macmillan have contributing to the conservative fall from government in 1964?
Macmillan’s explanation of politics was ‘events dear boy, events’ this proved ironic as a series of events 1961-1963 led to his resignation 1963. This showed Macmillan’s touch on politics began to slip in 1962.
Macmillan’s night of the long knifes 1962 where he radically reshuffled his government. Intended to rejuvenate government but came across clumsy and actually weakened the government.
In hospital for weeks with no names successor.
1961 EEC application declined 1963.
Edwardian image making him look further out of touch.
What was stop go economics?
A situation where an economy regularly has periods of fast growth, followed by periods of slow or no growth: stop-go cycle/economy/policies Inflationary pay claims had been a key characteristic of Britain’s stop-go economy over many years.
This was as a result of Macmillan wanting to maintain growth and unemployment whilst keeping prices steady.
What was Macmillan’s appeal to the public in relation to stop-go?
‘What we need is restraint and common sense. Restraint in the demands we make and common sense in how we spend out income.’
Was difficult to persuade trade unions as coal workers felt they weren’t gaining as much as other workers.
What economic policy did Thorneycroft believe in and in what year did he resign?
Monetarism which limited wage increase and cut money supply.
Thorneycroft resigned in 1958 with Enoch Powell over Macmillan’s continuation of stop-go.
Who strongly opposed Monetarism as a policy and why?
Cabinet minister Iain McLeod and one nation Tories as it would lead to unemployment and cutbacks on housing.
What effect did the Suez crisis have on Britain economically?
The pressure from the US exposed Britain’s financial weaknesses and started a run on the pound.
True or false - Stop-go economics had no lasting impact on the conservatives as they gained popularity in the 1959 election.
True.
How did Macmillan react to the resignations from Thorneycroft and Powell?
Shrugged them off as ‘a little local difficulty.
The pound had regained its value by 1959, this allowed the conservatives to make tax cuts of how much prior to the election?
£370 million.
True or false - The conservatives were still trapped in stop-go economics from 1960-1964.
True.
True or false - People in council houses and rented accommodation still outnumbered private house ownership substantially in the 1950s.
True.
Did home ownership increase or decrease in the period?
Increase.
Why did home ownership increase in the period?
Cheap mortgages.
True or false - There was a decrease in private savings in the period.
False. There was an increase.
Why were farmers doing well in the period?
Generous state subsidies.
Men’s average weakly wages was £8.30 in 1951 what were they in 1961?
£15.35.
Was there an increase or decrease of car ownership in the period?
Increase.
What was created as a result of the 1962 Robbins report?
New universities in Lancaster, Warwick, York and elsewhere.
Expansion of higher education.
Slums were cleared and new towns were built, give an example of a new town?
Harlow in Essex.
True or false - Houses were run down with a need for replacement after war damage. Furthermore, the housing stock had been neglected for the last decade.
True.
There were new towns built under Labour in the 1940s, give an example.
Stevenage, Crawley, Corby and Cwmbran.
There was a boom in the advertising industry through TV, in what year was ITV founded?
1955.
How many TV sets were in use in 1960?
10 million.
What percentage did TV ownership increase by from 1957 to 1959?
32% increase.
It was estimated what percentage of people enjoyed TV in the evening?
50%.
What other electronic device was TV becoming more important than?
The radio.
Programmes reflected peoples new hobbies as they had more time and money. What were the most popular past times?
Gardening and DIY.
What percentage of people watched the Queen’s coronation in 1953 on TV?
56%.
Car ownership increased by what percentage from 1957 to 1959?
25%.
New roads were needed leading to the creation of motorways. Give an example of this.
1958 Preston Bypass.
M1 - London to Birmingham started soon after.
Between 1957 and 1963 how many miles of new or upgraded road were completed?
1200 miles.
What did increased car ownership lead to?
Increased housing developments outside cities as people were able to commute.
Changed ideas of holidays and leisure.
True or false - The popularity of of holiday camps decreased in the 1950s?
False - they increased in popularity.
In the 1950s how many holidayed with Butlins each week?
60,000.
What percentage of the population enjoyed foreign holidays.
2%.
What did an increase of holiday camp popularity show?
People had more paid time off work and disposable income to be able to go on holiday.
How did hire purchase work?
You made a deposit, then would pay monthly instalments including interest and at the end of the contract you could either pay the rest of the balance or return the item.
There was an increase in consumer goods in the period. Name 3.
Washing machines.
New furniture.
Televisions.
Refrigerators.
