1964-70 specific information and key terms Flashcards
swinging sixties
increasing sexual freedom, music and drug culture to emphasise break with 1940’s and 50’s conformity: more ‘permissive society’
commonwealth
organisation of former British colonies including Jamaica, Canada, Australia, Ghana etc
post industrial economy
moving away from an economy based on heavy industry like coal and steel
European Economic Community (EEC)
the European ‘common market’. countries in the community are in a free trade agreement and also share some economic powers.
trade deficit
when a country spends more on imports than the value of its exports
devaluation
when in an era fixed exchange rates, a government announces its currency will be worth a lower amount of $
industrial relations
the state of the relationship between employers and workers: when it is poor there may be strikes
what was Labour’s majority after the 1964 election
4 seats
what was Labour’s majority after the 1966 election
98 seats
what had commentators come to know Britain as during this period
- ‘Britain in decline’
- ‘the sick man of Europe’ (meaning they had failed to reach the growth rates of other post war nations such as Japan and Italy
how did Wilson react to these industrial disputes
he characterised them as a deliberate attack by a group of Marxist extemists on Britain’s industrial wellbeing.
“tightly knit group of politically-motivated men who are now determined to exercise backstage pressures endangering the security of the industry and economic welfare of the nation” - Wilson addressing the commons in 1966
white paper
a preliminary parliamentary statement of the government’s plans in regard to a bill it intends to introduce.
how long was the seamen’s strike in 1967
7 weeks
how much had Wilson borrowed from the IMF in 1964
£1 billion
the IMF
the international monetary fund. a scheme intended to prevent countries going bankrupt. each member state paid into a central fund whichit could then draw from in time of need
what value did Wilson devalue the pound to in 1967
$2.80 to £2.40
how did Wilson announce the devluation of the pound to the public
after Callaghan had announced the measure to the commons. Wilson made a prime ministerial broadcast to the nation where he informed them of what the government had been reluctantly forced to do. he assured viewers tht the pound in their pocket would not be worth any less - doubtful piece of economic reasoning
why was Wilson unwilling to devalue the pound
he was part of the Atlee government which had to devalue the pound in 1949 and wanted to avoid the charge that Labour was the party of devaluation
why is it considered that Wilson may have overestimated the seriousness of the balance of payments crisis
because in the private sector of the economy there was no deficit but a substantial profit (+£1326 million)
what strike figures supported Wilson’s strong belief that poor industrial relations were causing the sluggish industrial performance
in 1969 there was 3116 strikes and 6 846 000 days lost - days lost doubled and roughly 500 more strikes since 1960
the ‘permissive age’
characterised those unhappy with the socially reforming society. feared this permissiveness could easily become an encouragement for socially irresponsible behaviour
how did Jenkins respond to this ‘permissive age’
saw it more as a ‘civilised age’
what did Jenkins himself characterise as the start of the so called ‘permissive age’
the Lady Chatterley’s Lover Case in 1960 - finally uncensored
how many votes was it suspected Enoch Powell took from Labour in the 1970 election to lead to a Conservative victory
2.5 million
rise in divorce rates from pre 1939 to 1970
1 in 100 to 1 in 7 marriages
increase in children born to unmarried mothers from 1914-70
3-10%
increase in the number of legal abortions from 1968-75
roughly 22 000 to roughly 105 000
was the establishment of the race relations board successful
no - 70% of claims fell outside of this law and weren’t dealt with
what did unemployment in this period increase to
1.8-2.8%
what was the balance of payments deficit in 1969
+402 million
how many women MP’s were there by 1966
21
what did university participation increase to in this period
5%-10%
