1964-1970 Flashcards
Harold Wilson’s strengths (1964)
-Witty
-Skilled with the media
-Had a ‘normal man’ portrayal, as he was Yorkshire-born and smoked a pipe in public
-Younger than most of his competitors
Harold Wilson’s economic policy from 1964-1970
-Devaluation in 1967
-The National Plan in 1964
-The DEA, which was led by George Brown
-The Prices and Incomes board
-His application to the EEC was vetoed by Degaulle in 1967
Industrial relations from 1964-1970
-A series of wildcat strikes in 1966 and 1967, by the Seamen and Dockers, and the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders
-Barbara Castle’s ‘In Place of Strife’ white paper in 1969, which limited the right of the unions to strike. This caused uproar within the unions and the Labour party, and 50 Labour MPs were ready to rebel. Frank Cousins resigned over it. However, the public supported the harsher outlook on the trade unions
The end of capital punishment
-The Murder Act of 1965
-Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in Britain, in 1955
-Campaigned for by Sydney Silverman
-Came into force permanently in 1970
Divorce reform
-1969
-Roy Jenkins, who believed the old divorce laws were “archaic”
-Couples could now divorce if they had lived apart for 2 years, and both partners agreed to a divorce, or if they had lived apart for 5 years and one partner wanted the divorce
-In 1950, less than 2/1000 marriages ended in divorce, but by the 1970’s, nearly 1/100 marriages ended in divorce
-The reform helped to forward the female independence movement
The legalisation of abortion
-1967
-Before the act, between 100,000-200,000 backstreet abortions were performed each year, and each year, 35,000 women were admitted into hospital with complications as a result
-Between 1958-1960, 82 women died as a result of backstreet abortions
-Led by the liberal MP David Steel
-The number of abortions increased from 4% in 1968, to 17.65% in 1975
Homosexual relations legislation from 1964-1970
-The 1967 Sexual Offences Act
-The act did not legalise homosexual relations, it simply de-criminalised them
-Campaigned for by the Labour backbencher, Leo Abse
-Both partners had to be over the age of 21, and both had to consent. It also had to be in private
-An extension of Macmillan’s Wolfenden Commission of 1957
Educational Reform from 1964-1970
-By 1964, 1/10 pupils were being educated in a comprehensive school
-Tony Crossland became the minister of education in 1963
-Circular 10/65 was released in 1965, urging all local communities to adopt the comprehensive school system
-By 1970, there were 1145 comprehensive schools, catering for 1/3 pupils in secondary education
-However, some parents simply turned to direct grant schools and independent schools, showing that the comprehensive system was flawed from the start
The expansion of higher education and the Open University from 1964-1970
-By 1968, there were 30 polytechnics and 56 universities
-However, middle class children still dominated the old universities
-The Open University was established in 1969
-The Open University recruited largely part-time students with a totally different background from traditional university students
-By 1980, the Open University had 70,000 students, and was awarding more degrees than Oxford and Cambridge combined
The Special Relationship from 1964-1970
-Wilson was pro-American
-Britain and the USA co-operated closely during the Cold War
-Wilson refused to send troops to Vietnam in 1964, despite Lyndon B. Johnson’s plea for military aid, which had been provided by Australia already
-The British public were mostly against the Vietnam War, as were the majority of Labour MPs
-Wilson offered non-military support, such as secret information out of Hong Kong and police training in Vietnam
Britain’s relationship with Europe from 1964-1970
-Wilson’s EEC application was rejected in 1967, as he refused to step away from the ‘Special Relationship’
-Many on the left of Labour were Eurosceptics, including Michael Foot and Barbara Castle, as well as the trade unions
-There were a number of europhiles within the Labour Party, including George Brown and Roy Jenkins
-Wilson’s EEC application damaged his relationship with the trade unions
The expansion of the mass media from 1964-1970
-In 1955, there were 4,504,000 Britons with TV licenses. This figure had reached 13,253,000 people by 1965
-ITV had been launched in 1955
-BBC 2 launched in 1964, and was the first channel to regularly broadcast in colour
-‘The Sun’ newspaper was created in 1964
The reduction in censorship from 1964-1970
-‘Hair’ was a 1968 play which featured 13 naked cast members for 30 seconds
-More daring films, such as ‘Darling’ from 1965, were released. These films included more violence and sexual topics
-BBC Radio 1 played more youthful music
What is permissiveness?
A great or excessive freedom of behavior
1964 election results
The Labour Party won a small majority of 4 seats over the Conservatives
