3.9 Heath's government, 1970-79 Flashcards
By the time he became PM, how long had Edward Heath been leader of the opposition?
5 years
Heath was good at … but not at ….
Heath was good at policies but not at politics
Why did Heath know the issues surrounding the EEC inside and out?
He had been the chief negotiator in 1961 to 1963
In the January before the 1970 election, where was a Conservative conference held?
Selsdon Park
Selsdon Park Agenda/Programme (+ basis of Conservative Manifesto)
- tax reform
- better law and order
- reforms to trade unions
- immigration controls
- cuts to public spending
- end to public subsidy of ‘lame duck’ industries
What did Heath still believe in?
One Nation Toryism + post-war consensus - the Selsdon Park Programme not intended to be an all-out rejection of post-war consensus politics
reforms made under Heath’s government
- school leaving age raised to 16
- local government reorganised
- decimalisation (agreed in 1965, into force 1971)
How did the Barber Boom begin?
Chancellor Anthony Barber initially introduced cuts in public spending + also tax cuts to try and encourage investments –> rapid rise of inflation, not accompanied by economic growth + unemployment actually went up (stagflation)
As unemployment started to edge towards a million, what did the government do?
Rolls Royce was nationalised in 1971 and government money was poured in to prevent Upper Clyde Shipbuilders going bankrupt
The famous U-turn
By 1973, what showed that the investment into modernising industry was working?
Unemployment had fallen back to 500,000
What caused the oil price crisis of 1973?
the Yom Kippur War –> prompted OPEC to declare oil embargo.
After OPEC’s oil embargo, how did the price of oil increase?
exports suddenly stopped + price of oil rocketed to four times the usual levels.
when did the NUM demand a huge new pay rise?
November 1973
When did Heath bring in the Industrial Relations Act?
1971 - was very similar to ‘In Place of Strife’
What did the Industrial Relations Act 1971 do?
Set up an Industrial Relations Court + provided for strike ballots + a ‘cooling off period’ before official strikes could begin
Why did the Industrial Relations Act not work as expected?
Both the TUC and CBI were opposed to it. There were major strikes in 1972.
1972 saw the highest number of days lost in strikes since the General Strike of 1926: ..,…,…
23,909,000
When did the miner’s strike in 1972 start? how did it end?
January 1972 at time of harsh winter weather - by 9 February - State of Emergency, 3 day week –> NUM leader was able to negotiate generous wage settlement
What Act aimed to manage wage demands by including the government in agreeing wages, prices, investment, + benefits?
Industry Act of 1972 - Heavily criticised by Right of Conservative Party, such as Enoch Powell
What led to a further increased wage demand from the workers? when? how did they strengthen their demands?
November 1973 - continued oil crisis –> introduced overtime ban
When was the 3-day week reintroduced
at the beginning of 1974
When did the NUM call a national strike?
refused the pay offer negotiated by Willie Whitelaw (moved from NI office) - January 1974, NUM called national strike
When did Heath call a general election for?
28 February 1974
What was the question + issue Heath posed with the 1974 election?
‘Who governs Britain?’
