1964 - 1970 Flashcards
Who were the two candidates in the 1964 election?
Alec Douglas Home and Harold Wilson
Why did Home seem out of date and traditional?
Old Etonian, renounced his lordship through a peerage act, didn’t win leadership through any kind of party election
Why did Wilson appear Classless?
He went to a state secondary school
What did Wilson want to do away with?
Privilege, and replace it with purpose/drive
What were 5 tensions and key concerns for the Labour government?
- The economy
- Europe
- Trade unions
- Northern Ireland
- International issues
What is a trade union?
A group that exists to protect workers rights
What did the election results show?
As the conservatives lost almost 6% of the vote shar while Labour only gained 0.3% it showed that people were losing trust and support in the Conservatives, rather than increasing support for Labour
What was Labours majority?
Labour only had a small Majority over the conservatives of 13 seats and only won the popular vote by 200,000 votes
How did Wilson come to be leader of the Labour party?
He beat George brown in the leadership election after the death of Hugh Gaitskell in 1963.
How old was Wilson?
Wilson was in his early 40’s, fitting the trend of younger world leaders like Kennedy
Where was Wilson on the political spectrum?
He was originally a Bevanites on the left, but later was in Hugh Gaitskell’s cabinet, before later challenging him for leadership from the left (although he lost)
What was Wilsons outlook on trade unions and the nuclear deterrent?
He supported Britain’s nuclear deterrent, and wanted to reform the trade unions - many called him an opportunist.
What were the reasons labour won the 1964 election?
Wilson cleverly played with the contrast between him and the ageing and out of date Douglas home
Labour presented themselves as a force for progress and change standing against an out of date establishment
Labour was seen as a more youthful, with it. type of party
Wilson was seen as more dynamic and youthful than home
What are the reasons the conservatives lost the 1964 election?
Weariness and a lack of changing spirit undermined the conservatives
The scandals in 1964-1964 weakened the integrity and credit and competence of the labour party
The old outdated system had put Home as PM without a vote, damaging the conservatives attempts to present a modern image
Unemployment had reached 800,000 despite Macmillan’s claim of never had it so good
The failure of the EEC had shown how much Britain had fallen internationally under the conservatives
Problems with stop go economics and a lack of real growth compared to other first world nations
What are the reasons the conservatives lost the 1964 election?
Weariness and a lack of changing spirit undermined the conservatives
The scandals in 1964-1964 weakened the integrity and credit and competence of the labour party
The old outdated system had put Home as PM without a vote, damaging the conservatives attempts to present a modern image
Unemployment had reached 800,000 despite Macmillan’s claim of never had it so good
The failure of the EEC had shown how much Britain had fallen internationally under the conservatives
Problems with stop go economics and a lack of real growth compared to other first world nations
What did Wilson want to happen with the UK economy?
He wanted to modernise the economy and was desperate to end the stop go economic problems with Macmillan so that the UK could catch up to countries like Japan and west Germany.
What was the Deficit Wilson inherited?
an £800 million deficit.
What department was set up by George Brown to encourage faster economic growth?
The department of Economic affairs (DEA) charged with making a national plan to encourage faster economic growth.
What were the labour governments 2 main options on reducing the deficit?
Devaluation of the pound or import controls or accept deflation
What did Wilson want to do with the balance of payments issue?
Wilson did not want to Devalue the pound and instead insisted on a 15% tariff on key imports
In what ways did Wilsons decision to avoid devaluation backfire?
Further economic crisis continued forcing deflationary policies on the government and in the summer of 1966 the national plan was abandoned, Wilsons Hesitancy to devalue the pound ultimately ended up humiliating when devaluation years later in 1967 ended up working and resulting in a £700 million surplus
What is Devaluation?
Devaluation is the lowering of a currencies value in relation to others
How does devaluation improve the BoP deficit?
Devaluation causes a country’s’ exports to be less expensive making them more competitive on the global market, while also imports become more expensive, encouraging consumers to buy british while manufacturers export.
When did Wilson devalue the pound?
In November 1967, Wilson reluctantly decided to devalue the pound to avoid further economic troubles
How much was the pound devalued by?
The pound was devalued from $2.80 -> $2.40
Why did Wilson create the national plan instead of taking other measures?
Wilson believed that the defecit could be solved with careful management and planning rather than deflation or devaluation.
Why did Wilson want to avoid deflation?
It would go against the Labour governments manifesto to spend more on technology and Welfare.
What did the DEA lead to the creation of?
The National Plan
What were the aims of the national plan?
Aimed at:
- Modernising the economy
- Increase industrial output by encouraging cooperation between government, employers and trade unions.
What happened to the national plan?
Little of its targets had been met and it was quietly abandoned in 1967.
What happened in the 1966 general election?
Labour won a majority of 110 seats as voters were impressed with the modernisation of the economy.
Why did the national plan fail?
Brown and the DEA were in competition with Callaghan and it didn’t have proper government support
What was Wilsons approach to inflation?
Wilson thought the deficit and inflation were Britain’s two biggest problems so he thought wage and salary increases needed to be kept in check.
What did Wilson to do deal with inflation?
He thought the large majority he was given in the 66 election gave him a mandate to enact his pay pausing policies and so he established a price and incomes board that had the ability to regulate pay settlements.
How did the Trade unions react to the price and incomes boards’ establishment?
The left and trade unions were angry, as they expected labour being in power would benefit them,
The leader of the transport and general workers union Frank Cousins resigned as the gap between labour and trade unions widened
There were a series of strikes in 1966 and 1967 by sea men’s and the dockers union
Wilson described these actions as extremists Marxist attacks on Britain’s industrial well being.
What was Wilson forced to do on top of devaluation?
Wilson had to approach the IMF for another loan after receiving a £1billion loan 3 years earlier
Many saw this as the government losing control of their finances, while Wilson blamed the Trade unions and strikers, claiming the Economic problems were almost over until the seamen’s and dockers strike
What was a reason Wilson was so against devaluation?
Atlee had devalued the pound in 1949 and he didn’t want labour to be the party associated with devaluation.
Why was the Devaluation a greater failure than it needed to be?
If it was done earlier and in a less theatrical manner (Wilson announced it on TV) It could’ve been blamed on the conservatives or played down as a minor financial adjustment, the trade unions were also furious they were blamed for the governments failings.
What happened with Britain and the EEC under Wilson?
Because of Devaluation and other economic fears Wilson was prompted to apply to the EEC but once again DeGalle vetoed on behalf of France, and the rest of the EEC were not happy with Frances actions.
When was in place of strife produced?
1969.
Which MP Produced in place of strife?
Barbara Castle Employment minister.
What is a white paper?
A statement of the governments plans in relations to a bill it intends to introduce.
What was the aim of in place of strife and how did it intend to do this?
To prevent future strikes aimed at a series of legal restrictions on the right to strike and by allowing employees to keep arrangements and consult the unions when large decisions were being made
Why did the Trade unions despise in place of strife?
They saw the restrictions on employers as obvious attempts to win over the support of employees by the government that would distract them from the strike controls.
Who was Roy Jenkins?
Jenkins replaced Callaghan after he resigned as chancellor following the devaluation of the pound
How did Jenkins Reduce the deficit?
He introudced deflationary measures, he:
- increased taxes
- tightened government spending
- made improving BoP the top economic priority
Was Jenkins sucessful in reducing the deficit?
Yes, The £800million deficit became a £700million surplus
In what ways did Jenkins not help the economy?
By 1970, inflation was still high at 12%
What was Wilson’s Liberal reforming legislation driven by ?
Driven by Roy Jemkins and his support for private members bills
Who was Roy Jenkins when Legislation was being passed?
Roy Jenkins was Home secretary under Wilson from 1965 - 1967.
What are private members bills?
Backbench MP’s could propose legislation through private members bills, Jenkins wash sympathetic and allowed parliament to have more time for Parliament for reforms to be passed, once keeping parliament going through the night.
What were Wilsons Liberal Legislation reforms (6?)
- The end of Capital punishment 1965/1969
- The divorce reform 1969
- The legalisation of abortion 1967
- Decriminalisation of homosexual relations 1967
- Educational reform
- The open university
What was public opinion on Capital punishment like at the time?
Sharply divided, The anti hanging campaign recieved a boost from the cmapaign of Ruth Ellis, a mother who murdered her unfaithful husband in 1955. In 1957, the Tories reduced the number of sentences leading to death, but many were in support of total abolishment.
How was the end of capital punishment brought about?
In 1965 during a free vote (a vote where MP’s do not have too vote in line with party policy) hanging was abolished for a period of five years and in 1969, this was made permanent.
What other legislation also progressed the justice system?
In 1967 Jenkins refused the authorisation of beating prisoners, and also made it that in court only a majority verdict would need to be reached, rather than unanimity (only 10/12 jurors had to agree on a verdict rather than all 12)
When did capital punishment end in the UK?
In 1965 it was put on a trial period, before permanently being abolished in 1969
When was the Divorce reform act?
1969
Pre - Wilson what was Divorce like?
Until the 60s, divorce could only occur if there was evidence that one member had committed adultery, but this was often impossible as evidence was hard to gain, especially for the poor, who couldn’t afford cameras, Jenkins thought this was out of date and the divorce reform act was passed in 1969.
What was the Divorce reform act?
The divorce reform act allowed for a ‘No fault’ divorce which meant that couples could divorce if:
- They had lived apart for two years and both partners wanted a divorce
- They had lived apart for five years and one partner wanted a divorce
How much did the number of divorces go up after the divorce reform act?
1950: 2 divorces per 1000 marriages
mid 1970’s: 10 per 1000 marriages
Divorces had increased 5x
However in what ways was the divorce reform act not as significant as it seem?
It could be argued the increase in divorce was due to rising female independence
women in abusive toxic relationships would still have to wait at least 2 years to legally divorce
What was Abortion like Pre - Wilson?
Unless on medical grounds, Abortion was illegal, with the only way to get one was to go to a private clinic or go to a backstreet abortionist which was often dangerous.
How many backstreet abortions happened per year and what did it lead to?
between 100,000 and 200,000 backstreet abortions occured, causing 35,000 women to be admitted to hospital with complications following the procedures
- between 1958 - 1960, 82 women died from backstreet abortions
What two pressures swayed public opinion to support abortion?
The abortion law reform association had campaigned for reform since 1945
The thalidomide disaster of 1952 -1962
What was the Thalidomide disaster and how did it change public opinion?
During the early 1960s the drug thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women with morning sickness, but instead it ended up producing congenital deformities in children when taken early, some children were born without bones or limbs. and as a result, public opinion polls began to show a majority in favour of abortions when abnormalities had been detected in the foetus.
How was the Abortion act pushed through parliament?
The Liberal MP David Steel led the reform campaign in Parliament and Roy Jenkins ensured an all night commons sitting in order to pass the bill.
When was the abortion act passed?
1967
What was the abortion act?
Allowed for the legal termination of a pregnancy within 28 weeks, under medical supervision and with the written consent of two doctors
The only justification needed was the ‘mental suffering of the pregnant woman’ - nothing to do with physical health like before.
How much did the rate of abortion increase after the Abortion act?
1968 : 4 births per 100 were abortions
1975 : 17.6 births per 100 were abortions
35,000 abortions in 1968 compared to 141,000 abortions in 1975
