1951-64 key events, policies and acts

Question 1

Homicide Act 1957

Answer 1

restricted the use of the death penalty for murder - a liberal approach from Butler as home secretary

Question 2

Macmillan’s July 1957 ‘never had it so good’ speech

Answer 2

suggested a continuous rise in living standards both socially and economically

Question 3

Rent Act 1957

Answer 3

designed to reduce housing shortages. It abolished rent controls in the hope landlords would be encouraged to maintain, improve and invest in private rented property and thus increase their availability to renters, creating the perfect conditions for a property owning democracy. those on the lower end of the spectrum struggled to afford rising rents

Question 4

Robbins Report 1963

Answer 4

recommends for the immediate expansion of higher education, greater emphasis on scientific education, existing colleges of advanced technology to be upgraded to universities and larger grants to create equal opportunities for lower income students, extended comprehensive ideas into higher education

Question 5

Race Riots 1958-9

Answer 5

riots broke out across Britain (notably Nottingham, Bristol and the poorer London districts) due to tensions between whites, particularly gangs of white youth, Teddy Boys and immigrants

Question 6

Commonwealth Immigrations Act 1962

Answer 6

in response to race riots and tensions, this act limited the number of commonwealth citizens that could enter Britain

Question 7

the Salmon Report

Answer 7

approached the riots as a law and order issue. it put the issue down to white problems with increased immigration but didn’t reference the discrimination and racism experienced by immigrants

Question 8

Butskellism

Answer 8

the phrase coined by the Economist to link the similar economic ideas of Butler and Gaitskell in 1954 which involved a mixed economy and Keynesian economics - political consensus

Question 9

Budget politics

Answer 9

when governments introduce a range of tax cuts in a budget in the run up to an election despite inflation prevailing, the result is a failing economy and a governement being elected on false promises

Question 10

‘stop go’ economics

Answer 10

‘stop’ referred to when consumption and prices rose too quickly so the government responded to by increasing taxes and interest rates, the ‘go’ part refers to production and exports declining which encourages the government to cut taxes and lower interest rates - government lacked direction and policy lagged behind events

Question 11

stagflation

Answer 11

“stagnation” and “inflation” = ‘stagflation’ - when industry declined but inflation persisted so the economy experiences the worst of both worlds

Question 12

Vassal Inquiry

Answer 12

The Vassal inquiry of 1963 was an investigation into the case of John Vassal, a civil servant in the admiralty who had been caught spying for the Soviet Union in 1962. there were rumours that the senior admiralty figures had tried to protect him - there was no evidence but the talk of cover-ups suggested that the government was not in control of its departments

Question 13

Kim Philby scandal

Answer 13

In January 1963 it was revealed that Kim Philby, a senior official in the foreign office, had for decades been passing information to the USSR as well as recruiting agents and running a spy network

Question 14

Argyll divorce case

Answer 14

The Argyll divorce case 1963 was a lurid court case in which the Duke of Argyll sued his wife for divorce on the grounds of adultery and provided the public with a host of salacious details including a list of men, at various times in various numbers, she had been with in a group - the list was said to include two unidentified government ministers who appeared in a pornographic photo that was shown in court

Question 15

Profumo Affair

Answer 15

it was revealed that John Profumo had had a liaison with Christine Keeler, a model, who numbered members of the Soviet embassy among her contacts - the media seized this as a risk of national security and in March 1963 Profumo denied the accusations in the house of commons, three months later he admits he lied and resigned, with the implication spreading to the government and tory party

Question 16

Suez Affair 1956

Answer 16

Egyptian president Nasser nationalised the Suez canal despite Britain having a 40% share. fearing their oil supplies would be affected, Britain, France and Israel planned a secret invasion which was ended by lack of US support and the USSR’s ultimatum

Question 17

Macmillan’s 1960 ‘winds of change’ speech

Answer 17

recognised the political and moral decision to grant African independence

Question 18

Decolonisation

Answer 18

countries in Africa and others in the rest of the world were given independence, mostly unopposed accept for the League of Empire Loyalists on the far right of the party

Question 19

problems of decolonisation in Zimbabwe

Answer 19

in what was known as Southern Rhodesia at the time, the white settler community who held the political party refused to accept the principles of majority rule as they didn’t want to give authority to the Black Rhodesian’s they believed were incapable of exercising it responsibly. long term struggle to meet agreements with consecutive British governments until Thatcher

Question 20

problems of decolonisation in Kenya

Answer 20

Between 1952-60 there were clashes between British forces and Kenyan nationalists, most notably the Mau Mau rising which resulted in the deaths of thousands of Kenyans and hundreds of Europeans

Question 21

the Treaty of Rome 1957

Answer 21

signed by the ‘big six’ (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, created the EEC

Question 22

what made Macmillan apply to the EEC in 1961

Answer 22

Labour’s opposition of the failed EFTA, Suez and doubts about the ‘special relationship’ with the US

Question 23

what made French president Charles De Gaulle veto Britain’s application in 1963

Answer 23

hesitancy over the role of the commonwealth in the EEC, concerns over Britain’s relationship with the US, worries over Britain becoming too powerful in the EEC

Question 24

EFTA

Answer 24

The European Free Trade Association which promotes free trade and economic integration between members

Question 25

Britain’s involvement in the Korean War

Answer 25

Britain committed 60 000 troops. as a member of the UN security council and indebted to the US they were obliged to get involved. 1078 Britons killed. Cold war conflict

Question 26

the Beeching report

Answer 26

identified and closed 55% of stations that weren’t sufficiently used and 50% of route miles