1970-79

Question 1

When was the Selsdon manifesto drawn up?

Answer 1

January 1970

Question 2

What are market forces?

Answer 2

the natural laws of supply and demand

Question 3

Who was Heath’s minister for Labour?

Answer 3

Robert Carr

Question 4

What did the Industrial Relations Act 1971 do?

Answer 4

• restricted the right to strike
• established the National Industrial Relations Court
• unions had to put themselves on a register in order to maintain their legal rights

Question 5

Who was John Davies?

Answer 5

a former director-general of the CBI who Heath appointed as head of the new department of trade and industry in an effort to move towards free-markets.

Question 6

What were Baber’s original actions as Chancellor?

Answer 6

• income tax cuts
• reductions in govt spending
• scrapping the Prices and Incomes board
• cuts in subsidies paid to local authorities

Question 7

What did the opposition criticise Heath for?

Answer 7

• abandoning the mixed economy
• weakening the welfare state
• undermining full employment
• putting economy before social development

Question 8

How high was inflation by the end of 1971?

Answer 8

15%

Question 9

How much money was paid to the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders?

Answer 9

£34 million

Question 10

How many working days were lost in 1972?

Answer 10

23,909,000

Question 11

When was the first NUM strike?

Answer 11

1972

Question 12

How much of the wage increase did the NUM get?

Answer 12

21%

Question 13

When did the NUM go on strike again?

Answer 13

1974 - they gained confidence from their wage increase

Question 14

What were Heath’s main problems by 1974?

Answer 14

• rapid inflation
• union wage demands
• high unemployment
• the 3 day week

Question 15

How many seats did Labour and Conservatives get in Feb 1974?

Answer 15

Cons - 297
Lab - 301

Question 16

What and when was the Local Government Act?

Answer 16

1972/3 - reformed the structure of local govt and created many new regions

Question 17

When did de Gaulle retire as French President?

Answer 17

1969

Question 18

Which treaty led to Britain joining the EEC?

Answer 18

Treaty of Accession 1972

Question 19

What were the advantages of joining the EEC?

Answer 19

• access to European markets
• benefits of the end of wartime disputes
• better chance of attracting global business
• entitled to EEC development grants
• had the right to work in other EEC countries
• greater freedom of movement

Question 20

What were the disadvantages of joining the EEC?

Answer 20

• no longer able to buy cheap Commonwealth food
• pain high contributions
• CAP led to higher prices
• Common Fisheries Policy restricted rights to fishing
• had to impose VAT on many things
• joined protectionist organisation

Question 21

How much did the cost of oil change between 1973 and 1980?

Answer 21

from $2 to $35 per barrel

Question 22

What were the economic impacts of the OPEC oil embargo?

Answer 22

• BOP deficit rose to £1 billion
• inflation rose to 16%
• the value of the pound dropped to $1.57
• interest rates were raised to 15%
  -a record budget deficit occurred
• unemployment more than doubled to 1.44 million between 1974 and 1976.

Question 23

What were the 3 restrictions on Labour in 1974?

Answer 23

• narrow majority
• struggle with unions
• rapid inflation

Question 24

What was the Labour majority after the Oct 1974 election?

Answer 24

42

Question 25

What was the Lib-Lab pact?

Answer 25

a pact made me Callaghan and Steel in 1977 which committed the Liberals to voting with Labour in return for the govt consulting the Liberals on key issues.

Question 26

What happened to the £ in March 1976?

Answer 26

it dropped to below $2 in exchange value.

Question 27

Who became chancellor in Dec 1976?

Answer 27

Healy

Question 28

How high was unemployment in 1978?

Answer 28

1.6 million

Question 29

What was the IMF loan evidence of?

Answer 29

Britain's further decline

Question 30

What was the social contract?

Answer 30

an informal agreement from 1972 between Wilson and Vic Feather, the TUC leader that when Labour returned to power the govt would adopt a friendlier pro-worker set of policies.

Question 31

When was the EEC referendum?

Answer 31

5th June 1975

Question 32

What did Martin Pugh say about the referendum?

Answer 32

People voted more out of fear of the consequences of leaving rather than the enthusiasm for remaining in

Question 33

How did people vote in the 1975 referendum?

Answer 33

Yes - 64.5% No - 35.5%

Question 34

When did Wilson resign?

Answer 34

March 1976

Question 35

What was announced in September 1977?

Answer 35

a 5% restriction of wage rises.

Question 36

How many working days were lost in 1979?

Answer 36

29.4 million

Question 37

What were the most disruptive strikes of the 70s?

Answer 37

- firefighters - 1977 - Ford Motors - 1979 - Lorry Drivers - 1979

Question 38

How much of a pay rise did Lorry drivers get?

Answer 38

20%

Question 39

How many workers went on strike on 22nd Jan 1979?

Answer 39

1.5 million

Question 40

Which parties did Labour have to rely on?

Answer 40

Liberals and SNP

Question 41

When was Callaghan beaten in a vote of no confidence?

Answer 41

28th March 1979

Question 42

How many seats did each party win in 1979?

Answer 42

Lab - 269 Cons - 339

Question 43

What was Thatcher's majority in 1979?

Answer 43

43

Question 44

What did Nixon do in 1972?

Answer 44

visit Beijing

Question 45

What was Heath the first major British politician to do?

Answer 45

visit the PRC

Question 46

What did the Soviets do in 1979?

Answer 46

invade Afghanistan

Question 47

Explain what happened with Georgi Markov

Answer 47

he was an anti-soviet Bulgarian who was killed mysteriously in London in 1978. May thought he was assassinated by the KGB but they denied any involvement.

Question 48

In 1971 what percentage of homes had a fridge, TV, washing machine and telephone?

Answer 48

Fridge - 69% TV - 91% Washing machine - 64% Telephone - 48%

Question 49

Which were the most popular newspapers in 1976?

Answer 49

The Sun and Daily Mirror

Question 50

Give the 6 acts that helped gender equality in the 70s

Answer 50

- Equal Pay Act 1970 - same rates of pay for the same job - Finance Act 1971 - husbands and wife's earnings taxed separately - Employment Protection Act 1975 - can't refuse pregnant employees - Sex Discrimination Act 1975 - outlawed discrimination on the grounds of sex - Social Security Act 1975 - maternity allowance fund - Social Security Pensions Act 1975 - pension schemes had to be equal for men and women

Question 51

What were the 4 consequences of internment?

Answer 51

- increasing tension - Catholics felt persecuted - strained relations between Britain and Ireland - breaking of cross-party understanding in the commons

Question 52

What was the Widgery report

Answer 52

An inquiry into Bloody Sunday conducted by Lord Widgery

Question 53

What did the Widgery report do?

Answer 53

- further convinced the Catholic population that the British govt was hostile - increased tension between London and Dublin - increased the gap between the Irish parties

Question 54

What did Catholics remain angry about after Sunningdale?

Answer 54

- unemployment - presence of the British army - slow progress in civil rights - diplock courts

Question 55

What happened in May 1974?

Answer 55

a 15 day long strike by the Ulster Workers Council

Question 56

What did the 1974 Northern Ireland Act do?

Answer 56

created a power-sharing Constitutional Convention. The first vote for it in 1975 saw a 66% turnout. However, it remained ineffective and was dissolved in 1976

Question 57

What did the Labour govt do in Northern Ireland?

Answer 57

removed special category status in order to crack down on terrorism

Question 58

What act was introduced after the Birmingham pub bombings?

Answer 58

Prevention of Terrorism Act

Question 59

What happened in the Birmingham pub bombings?

Answer 59

21st Nov 1974 - 21 people killed and 180 seriously injured.