2.6 Liberal Reforming Legislation

Question 1

Commonwealth Immigration Act 1968

Answer 1

. Prohibited new immigrants from settling in Britain unless had family connections already established
. Both major parties had concluded that limits on entry into Britain were necessary in the interests of peaceful community relations

Question 2

The Abortion Act 1967

Answer 2

. Allowed termination of pregnancy where 2 docs certified that there was a risk to physical/mental health of mother, or risk of child born with abnormalities
. Gave woman right to choose

Question 3

Theatres Act 1968

Answer 3

. Ended theatre censorship - no longer need approval from Lord Chamberlain
. Theatre no longer censored

Question 4

Sexual Offences Act 1967

Answer 4

. Legalised male gay acts in private between ‘consenting adults’
. Govt recognised need to extend rights

Question 5

Ombudsman 1967

Answer 5

. Special parliamentary officer appointed to whom citizens could appeal if they felt they suffered abuse from authority

Question 6

Abolition of Death Penalty 1969

Answer 6

. Removed 5 remaining categories of offense for which death sentence had been imposed
. Parliament lead rather than followed public opinion on moral issues

Question 7

Divorce Reform Act 1969

Answer 7

. Allowed couples to divorce on grounds of ‘irretrievable breakdown of relationship’

Question 8

The Open University 1969

Answer 8

. Enabled prev unqualified students to read for degrees by studying courses
. Broadcast on radio + tv, Wilson said it was his greatest achievement

Question 9

Race Relations Act 1965 and 1968

Answer 9

. Prohibition of racial discrimination in public + houses
. Made incitement to hatred a racial offense
. Set up Race Relations board and set up Community Relations Commission to promote inter-racial understanding

Question 10

Quotes about Social Reform

Answer 10

. “the changes allowed the British to be more openly themselves.” - Marr
. “the young generation began to dilute the conservatism of power.” - Pugh

Question 11

Criticisms of Permissive Society

Answer 11

. Eroding family life
. Children exposed to mature ideas
. People aren’t moral - stricter laws needed

Question 12

Favour of Permissive Society

Answer 12

. Govt changed views of the public
. Impossible to censor everything
. People should decide for themselves

Question 13

Education System

Answer 13

. Grammar schools: 11+ exam
. Secondary modern
. Technical schools
. The Tripartite system intro’d by 1944 Education Act by Rab Butler

Question 14

Necessity of Comprehensive Schools

Answer 14

. Socially divisive system
. Majority of grammar school places were going to those of a middle class background

Question 15

Changes made to Comprehensive Schools

Answer 15

. Every child would have same opportunities to learn at own pace + sit exams according to their abilities
. Tony Crossland became Minister of Ed in 1965, accelerated progress
. He issued Circular 10/65 to all
. Local Education Authorities, requesting them to convert to comprehensives
. Many authorities responded especially after 1966 when govt made money for new school buildings conditional on the drawing up of plans for comprehensives

Question 16

Success of Comprehensive Schools

Answer 16

. By 1970, only 8 authorities had failed to convert + there were 1145 comprehensives catering for 1 in 3 of all state educated secondary school pupils
. 76% in comprehensives

Question 17

Failure of Comprehensive Schools

Answer 17

. Caused disruption in early days
. Many middle class parents remained unconvinced: some turned to direct grant schools + independent schools
. The idea of a truly ‘comprehensive’ system was flawed from the start

Question 18

Necessity of Expansion of Unis

Answer 18

. Fears that UK was slipping in science + tech ed led to the Robbins Committee in 1961
. Robbins Report found that Britain lagged behind France, Germany + US in provision of uni places + too many students followed arts-related courses to the exclusion of the study of science + tech

Question 19

Changes made to Expansion of Unis

Answer 19

. Polytechnics replaced Colleges of Tech: focus to be on applied ed for work and science + they’d concentrate on teaching rather than research
. 9 colleges of advanced tech became unis + the Royal College of Science in Scotland became Strathclyde uni
. New unis to be founded + charters given to some, like Sussex, which had been recently established

Question 20

Success of Expansion of Unis

Answer 20

. By 1968: 30 polytechnics + 56 unis
. New institutions brought new courses
. Became possible to take a degree in architecture, eg
. Opened up higher ed for many families who’d never attended uni

Question 21

Failure of Expansion of Unis

Answer 21

. Middle class children still dominated old unis so it was hard to persuade anyone of the parity of the opportunity

Question 22

Necessity of the Open University

Answer 22

. March 1963, a Labour Party study group proposed an experiment on radio + TV called ‘University of the Air’
. Following election success, ‘64, Wilson appointed Jennie Lee to consider the project, her commitment saw it through

Question 23

What was the Open University

Answer 23

. Combined Wilson’s enthusiasm for equal opportunity in ed, modernisation, + “the white heat of technology” by offering high quality degree level learning in arts + sciences for those who’d been able to go to uni
. Sep 1969: the Open University’s headquarters were established in Milton Keynes, by middle of 1970 there were enough applications for first students to begin studies in Jan 1971

Question 24

Success of the Open University

Answer 24

. Open Uni used radio + tv in innovative forms of distance learning, and recruited largely part time students w a diff social profile from traditional students
. Attracted older, women, disadvantaged. Raised esteem those who thought themselves ed failures
. By 1980: Open Uni had 70,000 students + awarded more degrees than Oxford + Cambridge combined

Question 25

Failure of the Open University

Answer 25

. Its critics attacked it at first for not being elite enough and later for attracting too many middle class women