AAAA

Question 1

What happened in politics post 1954?

Answer 1

End of rationing
Increased consumer spending
Full employment
Rising real wages

But:
Building pressure in the economy
Inflation
Balance of payments
Value of £
Stop to Economics - Boom & Bust

Question 2

What happened from 1967?

Answer 2

Efforts to embrace technology revolution unsuccessful
Devaluation of the pound which Wilson had to take blame for
Rising unemployment
Increasing confrontation with unions peaks in 1969

Heath:
Private businesses & private individuals will be best placed to drive economic growth
Cuts made to state spending
Inflation & global economic policies fail

Question 3

How important were industrial relations?

Answer 3

British Leyland spent 5% of their time in industrial relations whilst Ford spent 60%

Question 4

Why did Unions have Power?

Answer 4

• High unemployment and high union membership led to strong collective bargaining
• Corporatism meant unions were involved in making economic policy
• Lack of desire to confront unions whilst in conditions of prosperity
- Unions get what they want
- Industrial peace prioritised
• Union power peaked in late 60s to 70s as the economic situation turned bad

Question 5

What was the Doom Loop?

Answer 5

1) Bad economic conditions push unions to demand higher wages
2) Granting wage demands feeds inflation
3) Government have to reconcile
- Union power
- Gov’s role as employer in nationalised industry
- Gov’s role in controlling the economy meant industrial relations dominates 70s

Question 6

How were industrial relations after WW2

Answer 6

• War led to the inclusion of trade unionists in gov decision bodies
- working with unions and making an effort to not make industrial relations a party political dispute and clear concerns about minimising industry disputes
• Gov forced with keeping unions happy risking inflation or imposing control on wages & prices risking the relationship
- Gov tried range if less forceful methods to reduce pay but none were particularly effective

Question 7

Industrial relations before 1972?

Answer 7

• Throughout the period though the economy the it failed to grow as rapidly as competition
- Struggled to compete
• Efforts to limit inflation through price and wage control led to tension
• Sporadic serious strikes throughout such as 1966 Seamen strike
- Gov used appeasement and ineffective sanctions to deal with unrest
• Labour reliance on trade union funding and party membership made it impossible for them to resist demands
• Conservatives also shred away from confrontation due to value of civic order
• Heath 70-74 unable to tackle root causes of unrest
- Industrial Relations Act 1971 failed to curtail union power as they weren’t forced to sign up

Question 8

Industrial Relations 1972-79

Answer 8

• Industrial relations worsened in 1970s as wages failed to keep up with prices
- Escalation of action largely due to gov efforts to resist pay demands
- National union of miners demanded a 43% pay rise (1971)