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british history > 1951-64 > Flashcards

1951-64 Flashcards

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1
Q

economic prosperity

A

-Churchill: full employment and rising salaries, salaries of ministers cut by 20% and food rationing ended 1954
-Macmillan: his premiership saw a vast improvement in ‘the condition of the people’

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2
Q

leadership

A

-appeared strong and united even in times of crisis (Suez-1956) compared to Labour’s infighting
-deferential politics worked in favour of the tories
-Lord Woolton’s reforms in 1951 made sure the party was unified

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3
Q

housing policy

A

-rebuild after WW2
-Rent Act 1957: abolished rent control putting 6 million properties on the market
-300,000 houses built annually
-created conditions for property owning democracy
-but
-60% of the homes built were private and rents rose considerably

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4
Q

unemployment policy

A

-committed to full employment
-but
-unemployment rose heavily, peak in 1963 of 878,000 and those living in working class cities found it hard to get full time employment

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5
Q

education policy

A

-tripartite system
-robbins report 1963: recommended more funding to universities and an emphasis on scientific education

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6
Q

1950s post war boom

A

-rationing ended 1954
-global economy booming
-by 1955 full employment
-huge expansions in electrical and engineering works
-rising wages as a result in economic growth and low unemployment

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7
Q

chancellors 51-64

A

-R.A. Butler (51-55): 55 election ‘give away’ budget, £134m tax cuts
-Macmillan (55-57): for Eden
-Thorneycroft (57-58): Thorneycroft and Macmillan disagreed over budget cuts leading to his resignation
-Heathcoat Amory (58-60): low unemployment, stable prices, favourable balance of payments
-Lloyd (60-62): dismissed by macmillan due to tax increases and public expenditure cuts
-Maudling (62-64): 1963 budget cut taxes by £260m

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8
Q

stop-go economics

A

-go: expanding economy with low interest rates and rising consumer spending
-stop: when the economy overheats, wage and imports exceed productivity and exports, government slows down the economy using spending cuts and higher interest rates

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9
Q

economic problems after 1961

A

-government introduced a pay pause to prevent wage inflation (unpopular)
-commonwealth trade insufficient
-macmillan applied to join EEC, rejection in 1963 was a serious setback
-1963 Beeching report: recommended massive cuts in British railways, 30% of lines closed led to public outrage especially in rural areas

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10
Q

NEDC

A

-National Economic Development Council
-consisted of government representatives, academics,employers and trade unionists, responsible for long term planning

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11
Q

NICKY

A

-National Incomes Commission
-role to keep an eye on wages and prices

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12
Q

successes of economic policy

A

-inflation and unemployment remained low, and living standards improved
-expansion in electrical and engineering work
-purchase tax reduced from 100% in 1951 to 25% in 1963
-on average wages grew by 72% whilst prices only increased by 45%

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13
Q

failures of economic policy

A

-1961 pay pause to hold back inflation was highly unpopular
-application for IMF loan in 1961
-1961 EEC application rejection in 1963
-balance of payments deficit of £750m by 1964
-instability of stop-go economics

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14
Q

1951 election figures

A

-Churchill
-Con 48%
-Lab 48.8%

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15
Q

1955 election figures

A

-Eden
-Con 49.7%
-Lab 46.4%

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16
Q

1959 election figures

A

-Macmillan(though he was PM from 1957, Eden resigned)
-Con 49.4%
-Lab 43.8%

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17
Q

1964 election figures

A

-Wilson
-Lab 44.1%
-Con 43.4%

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18
Q

evidence for post war consensus

A

-con and lab both pursued decolonisation
-con and lab committed to full employment
-con somewhat accepted atlee’s nationalisation programme
-con accepted that the unions had an important role to play
-con accepted the existence of the welfare state

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19
Q

evidence against post war consensus

A

-1953 con privatised iron and steel industries
-housing under con was private housing, lab mainly controlled by local authority
-disagreement over education, con wanted grammar schools maintained, lab wanted comprehensives
-labour’s defence policy in the early 1950s involved unilateral disarmament, opposed by con

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20
Q

reasons for labour remaining in opposition: internal divisions

A

-Bevanites vs Gaitskellites
-Bevanites: further nationalisations, anti nuclear weapons and defence spending, anti-EEC
-Gaitskellites: consolidation of Attlee’s reforms,pro nuclear weapons,move away from clause 4,pro-EEC
-entry into the Korean war (1950-53) angered the Labour left
-such a broadchurch of ideas effected the voting
-Bevan resigns on the introduction of prescription charges (1951)

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21
Q

reasons for labour remaining in opposition: image problems

A

-‘cloth cap’ image associated with manual working class
-party of rationing and austerity
-party divisions were obvious
-average age of cabinet was 60, compared to younger fresher conservatives
-Gaitskell was no match for Macmillan on TV

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22
Q

causes of affluence

A

-give away budgets of 1955 and 59 stimulated feelings of affluence via tax and interest rates cuts
-wages for working class men rose by 95%
-1956 34,100 immigrants came to live in Britain
-post war baby boom, created more teenagers

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23
Q

positive impact of affluence

A

-introduction of ITV in 1955 saw adverts for new consumer goods, driving up demand
-by 1968 over 90% of households owned at least 1 TV
-more disposable income meant more tourism, in the 1950s 60,000 people a week holidayed at Butlins
-youth fashion waves e.g. Teddy boys and Mods
-consumer spending on cars and motorcycles quadrupled 1939-59

24
Q

negative impact of affluence

A

-full employment meant that in reality the UK had a labour shortage, had to appeal to people of the commonwealth
-by the 1960s many middle class families could no longer afford servants
-traditional role of women reinforced in the media

25
Q

reasons for tory victory 1955: the party

A

-Eden was a popular replacement for Churchill due to his reputation as Foreign secretary
-tory party was united and working together

26
Q

reasons for tory victory 1955: economy/affluence

A

-marked economic improvement, trade recovered, industries supplying consumer goods were thriving and unemployment was low
-Butler’s 1955 budget intended to have electoral appeal: cut taxes significantly, new mood of optimism

27
Q

reasons for tory victory 1955: labour divisions

A

-split continued after Bevan’s resignation
-right of the party wished to revise clause 4, TUC opposed to its abolition
-decision by government to develop H-Bomb raised another issue

28
Q

reasons for tory victory 1955: reasons to vote tory

A

-‘united for peace and progress’
-evidence of getting rid of rationing highlights freeing progress made since 1951 election
-record employment, pensions, wages and savings up, taxes down
-increased house building

29
Q

reasons for tory victory 1955: other

A

-labours outdated image
-tories utilized TV
-timing of election coincided with wakes week, causing a natural gain for the tories

30
Q

reasons for tory victory 1959: campaign

A

-spent £500,000 getting their message out before it had officially started
-vast majority of people ‘never had it so good’
-campaign posters: ‘life’s better with the conservatives-don’t let labour ruin it’
-Gaitskell’s credibility trashed when he promised to increase public spending without increasing taxes

31
Q

reasons for tory victory 1959: personalities

A

-Macmillan was an asset to the tories,gentlemanly, almost Edwardian
-Gaitskell had a seemingly cold and arrogant manner and did not appear well on `TV like Macmillan

32
Q

class and the establishment

A

-society was deferential and overly hierarchical, monarchy at the top and ‘the establishment’ (including leading politicians, churchmen, landowners, aristocrats etc.) was just below
-by the early 1960s attitudes towards the establishment began to change, hostility grew towards the system, criticism increased

33
Q

women

A

-continuing conservative attitude in society shown by the continuation of the subordination of women
-average female wages were less than 2/3 of that of a males
-women worked for ‘pin-money’ to enable the house to buy little luxuries
-% of women in the workforce did rise from 26-35%

34
Q

immigration

A

-end of the war it was estimated between 20,000-30,000 non-whites were living in Britain, and in the minds of some this threatened the structure and stability of British society
-the anxiety surrounding immigration highlights an underlying racial prejudice within society

35
Q

racial prejudice and violence

A

-mostly the discrimination was based off ignorance and a lack of experience, but even so ‘no coloureds, no irish’ were common signs on housing
-notting hill riots in 1958 gave the ministers the reasoning to implement legislation to attempt to curb the discrimination, The Commonwealth Immigrants Bill came in response

36
Q

youth culture

A

-the description ‘teenager’ came to use, with negative connotations
-youth did certainly benefit from the improving economy, and enjoyed greater affluence and opportunities than those before
-the youth were seen to have too much time (end of national service in 1960) and too much money on their hands

37
Q

youth and crime

A

-young people were seen as an easy scapegoat for Britain’s rising crime
-‘teddy boys’ caused widespread alarm, and were though to carry flick knives
-the issue came with generalisation in the media, though there may have been a small group of youth that did aid the increase of crime, many kept the socially conservative attitude of their parents

38
Q

why did Britain not join the EEC in the first place

A

-wary of europe, germans were the wartime enemies and france had been occupied by them during ww2
-misconceptions of britain being a world power
-not in the national interest, CAP was more suited to more agricultural nations
-heavy focus on the cold war, empire and USA

39
Q

economic reasons for britain joining EEC

A

-britain’s trade was gradually moving towards europe
-the economic imbalance was a chronic problem, alongside stagflation, low growth rates and this was accompanied by a sterling crisis in 1961
-britain’s economy was in poor shape
-hoped that joining would boost industrial production for a large scale

40
Q

political reason for Britain joining EEC

A

-americans believed britain could steer the EEC towards more liberal trading policies, which would aid the US in correcting its balance of payments deficit
-if britain could join the EEC and become a leader, she could regain her status with the US
-US believed britain being in the EEC would stop France having so much influence

41
Q

political reason for Britain not joining EEC

A

-britain’s relationship with the US
-both the main parties were ambiguous and divided on the issue
-charles de gaulle firmly believed there was no place for britain or america’s influence

42
Q

britain’s relationship with the US, developments

A

-korean war, together against communism
-cold war, capitalism vs. communism
-1949 founding member of NATO, 1952 first atomic bomb tested, 1957 H Bomb tested
-April 1957, Sandy’s review of defence strategy: spending 10% of national income on defence was unrealistic and unsustainable
-1963 test ban on nuclear weapons
-failure of bluestreak in 1960, failure of US skybolt 1962 adopted polaris missiles from US in 1963

43
Q

nuclear deterrent timeline

A

-britain decided to develop their own until burgess and maclean affair
-britain was 3rd behind US and USSR to develop nuclear weapons
-CND (protest group formed in 1958) supported unilateralism, organised a protest at Aldermaston

44
Q

britain’s world power status, the debate

A

-traditional argument: decline of britain as a world power, in 1945 she was a vast world power
-by the 1960s, the empire had gone and britain became a junior partner in the relationship with the US
-continuity argument: britain’s role had not changed significantly, evidence of britain attempting to remain a world power
-delusional, britain refused to accept its declining world power

45
Q

‘wind of change’

A

-macmillan embarked on a new phase in Britain’s decolonisation journey, 1957-64, 20 colonies gained independence
-trade pattern changed, % of trade with the empire almost halved in the 1960s

46
Q

the korean war

A

-1950-53
-stalin established a hard-line communist state, in 1950 attitudes to reunification changed, with Stalin’s backing the north launched a surprise attack
-the conflict placed enormous strains on Britain’s resources, economic and military

47
Q

the suez crisis

A

-july 1956, colonel nasser nationalised the anglo-french suez canal company, response in britain was universally hostile
-eden’s reputation had been formed on his supposed opposition to appeasement in 1930s
-military response would be lengthy,and delay proved fatal, majority opinion moved towards a UN settlement, but Eden was plotting with France and Israel
-eden ignored several warnings from the US and went ahead with his plan, to say america was annoyed was a severe understatement

48
Q

night of the long knives

A

-13th july 1962, macmillan announced he would be sacking seven cabinet ministers, setting in motion a wholesale reshuffle involving 52 people affecting 39 ministerial posts
-seen as ultimate display of power of PM over colleagues

49
Q

vassal affair

A

-1963
-John Vassal (civil servant in the admirality) caught spying for soviet union
-suggestions of senior figures trying to protect him
-inquiry found the government was not in control of its departments

50
Q

kim philby

A

-jan 1963, Philby (minister in foreign office) had been passing info to USSR and recruiting spies, fled to Moscow
-Macmillan’s government took the brunt of the blame for failing to spot a traitor at the heart of the establishment

51
Q

argyll divorce case

A

-1963, duke of argyll filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery
-list of 88 men she had slept with, including two unidentified cabinet ministers, one appearing in a pornographic photo

52
Q

profumo affair and its impact

A

-march 1963 Profumo’s (minister for war) sexual liaison with Christine Keeler was exposed, this proved a risk to national security because of Keeler’s soviet clients
-Profumo swore it was not true, but admitted three months later and resigned
-Dr Stephen Ward’s association with other members of the party ruined them as he recruited clients for the girls

53
Q

1963/4 end of conservative dominance: decline

A

-defence: criticism mounted after the failure of blue streak, american dependency and britain’s status asa nuclear power seemed certain
-economy: difficulties encountered in 1961, adverse balance of payments, countered by tax increases and public expenditure cuts, new initiatives e.g. NEDC failed, and rejection from the EEC 1963
-scandal: profumo affair caused embarrassment for the macmillan government
-opinion polls: labour gained a lead for the first time in a decade

54
Q

factors leading to the end of conservative dominance: downturn in the economy

A

-macmillan pushed the ‘go’ period 1959 election, overheated economy
-poor by-election results because of Lloyd’s deflationary policies 1961
-1962 night of the long knives severely damaged macmillan’s reputation
-1962, unemployment reached 800,000
-1963 rejection from EEC, ended hopes of quick solution for declining economy

55
Q

factors leading to the end of conservative dominance: conservative party weakness

A

-reputation damaged by scandals e.g. profumo
-loss of effective leadership, macmillan became out of touch
-douglas-home was ineffective at TV campaigning, and was a hindrance to the party as he was very out of touch, compared to wilson who was young and vigorous
-douglas-home was portrayed as an expert in defence and foreign affairs, when he was a mediocre foreign secretary

56
Q

factors leading to end of conservative dominance: revival of labour

A

-new unity under Wilson, at ease on TV, political commentator David Frost summarised the election campaign as ‘smart alec against dull alec’
-election manifesto, ‘the new britain’ based upon Wilson’s ‘white heat of technology’ speech proved popular focusing on economic planning and ignoring labour’s foreign policy divisions

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