affluent society Flashcards
examples of how britain was class conscious in the 1950s
- conscious of mislabelling someone to be of the lower class, dress and appearance was highly regarded
- andrew marr - ‘bowler hat signified upper-middle class’
- proper addressing of names, ‘first name would make a daring assumption of intimacy’
example of the boom of trade unions in the 1950s
andrew marr - ‘9.5 million people paying regular trade union dues (6 million today in a much larger workforce’
examples of church participation in the 1950s
andrew marr:
- ‘religious retrieval’
- 10.3 million regular attenders in 1930s, numbers still as high in the 1950s
examples of britain being socially conservative in the 1950s
‘broken marriages would be pointed out and embarrassed’
‘moral force throughout queen’s reign’ (the church)
‘bible always had political consequences’
examples of britain being overwhelmingly white in the 1950s
‘small numbers of immigrants from carribean’
‘smaller chinese, african, indian societies’
- only 400 windrush immigrants
examples of britain being a prejudice and racist society in the 1950s
- following windrush, Attlee said, ‘cause discord and unhappiness among concerned’ , indicating that black communities would start problems
- called ‘humorous, dangerous and unfortunate’ and ‘blacked-up minstrel’
- newspapers used racist cartoons = shows public acceptance
- most unaware that they were a racist society
examples of britain not embracing new liberal and socialist ideas fast
‘no logical connection between the policies of the post-war labour party and the waves of the liberalization’
‘nothing about the british liberal reform was inevitable’, as there is a common misconception that it happened post-war
what were the five parts of the post-war consensus?
- economic growth
- trade unions
- mixed economy
- welfare state
- social equality
what was part of the economic growth plan of the post war consensus? what effect did it have?
- commitment to full employment by keynesian techniques (low taxes and high spending) therefore increasing the level of economic activity
- this increased businesses and jobs = reducing unemployment and poverty
what was the trade union part of the post war consensus? what was the impact?
- acceptance and some encouragement of trade unions
- in contrast to pre-war years the government recognised and consulted trade unions regularly about workplace relations
- therefore reduces strike action and keeps workers onside
- also acknowledgement of the role of workers in ww2
what was the mixed-economy part of the post-war consensus? what impact did it have?
- large role in state ownership of utilities (nationalisation = lower prices and less focus on profit)
- hopeful protection of jobs and lower prices for the public
what was the welfare state part of the post-war consensus? what was the impact?
- to provide free healthcare when a family’s income was hit by sickness, old age, unemployment or death of the main breadwinner
- services were provided out of general taxation
- therefore avoids a repeat of the 1930s (depression)
- agreement that a ‘safety net’ is required
- benefits everyone
what was the social equality side of the post-war consensus? what was its impact?
- government played a positive role in promoting greater equality through social engineering
- e.g. by progressive taxation (taxing the rich/taxed on salary bracket), redistributive welfare spending, comprehensive schooling)
- therefore it helps those who contributed most in ww2
what is a snap election, who called it and why in 1950?
- a quick turn around election
- labour/atlee
- as they lost 78 seats in the 1950 election, tory won 90 seats. was not a landslide victory so atlee was unsure that government would run smoothly, aim was to get more of a majority win
who won the general (snap) election of 1951?
- tory win narrowly and churchill returns
what can we infer from the 1951 snap election stats?
- labour had overall majority by getting 200k more votes than tory, as well as getting the most votes they have ever had
- tory won marginally by 5 seats as Woolton’s local government funding worked (winning marginal seats)
- very close election again
- shows however that labour didn’t loose popularity at all
what was the labour manifesto of 1951 snap election? and what were the issues?
- promise to maintain full employment
- aimed lower cost of living
- accused tories of mass unemployment, fear and misery in the inter-war years if 1918-1939
- out of date
- why hasn’t this happened already? (already been in government for the last couple years)
why was labour becoming weak by 1951 election?
- became divided over key policies, bevan and wilson resign
- many of labour ministers wanted labour to become more central
- 2 minsters defected to the soviet union
- atlee in and out of hospital
who was bevanite quarrel and why did he impact the weakness of labour in the 1951 election?
wanted socialism to be the way forward
- therefore conflicting against the ministers who wanted to be more central
what was the tory manifesto of the 1951 snap election?
- welfare state support and NHS
- promised 300k more homes a year (100k more than labour)
- ‘more red meat’ (end to rationing)
- stop nationalisation and privatise more things
- would denationalise/privatise steel industry
what were other tory strengths of the 1951 snap election?
- Lord Woolton responsible for the re-constructure of local tory associations
- therefore can win over marginal seats
- Butler sold 2.5 mill copies of the ‘industrial chapter of 1947’:
new vision for tory policies (inclusion of the worker, women and the consumer and protection of labour rights)
the popularity of this shows how influential this was
when did churchill come into power for the second time? and what was his majority?
1951 - 1955
17
give an evaluation of churchill’s second premiership.
- allowed necessary reforms to take place
- was still very popular amongst Britons for the war’s success
- very old and unhealthy, therefore very absent premiership
- no fresh ideas, any kind of reform emanated from below
when was eden’s premiership? and what was his majority?
1955- 1957
60
give an evaluation of eden’s premiership
- lots of experience in foreign policies, not domestic
- suez crisis ruined reputation personally and of the UK. resulted in mistrust from usa and fell UK into a financial crisis. unrecoverable scandal
- very unsuccessful premiership
when was macmillan’s premiership? and what was his majority?
1957-1963
100
give an evaluation of macmillan’s premiership
- very popular with the public until end of premiership with all of the scandals
- helped with the economy and with bringing affluence to Britain
- however lots of debt and trade union protesting
- successfully disposed of the suez crisis
- however reactive with economics rather than proactive resulting in a fluctuating economy
when was home’s premiership? how much did he loose by?
1963-1964
lost by 4 seats
give an evaluation of home’s premiership
- caused a party split between powell and butler
- seen as the safe option after macmillan as butler was not wanted as pm by macmillan
- came to power through an ‘old boys’ programme. an old etonian
- seen as out of touch and an aristocrat - large difference to working class wilson therefore alienating the conservatives more
- was not good with the public therefore finished off the tory reputation of the 13 years
examples of success in conservative economic policies
- general rise in living standards in context of post-war britain (consumer boom)
- increase in wages
- housing boom (354k built in ‘54, as promised by tories (300k a year))
- car industry improvements
- increase in trade (stimulated by post-korean war)
examples of the consumer boom
- increase spending on durable goods rose by 10% - TVs and fridges (‘57 GB was spending £1 billion, ‘61 GB was spending £1.465 billion)
- 1960, 28% owned a car
- most middle class families in 1956 could readily afford record players, cameras or vacuum cleaners (leisure items)
- post war reconstruction and transport sectors expanded
- first motorways, M1 between London and Birmingham opened 1959
examples of increase in leisure and free time
- average person went to the pictures 28 times a year - highest proportion in the world
- 9/10 children made regular visits to the pictures
- increase in interest for fashion, developments in synthetic fibres and and cheap colourful dyes
- 1958, 2 million were holidaying abroad
- seaside boom of ‘butlins’
- became normal for minimum 2 weeks paid holiday
- 1955 first commercial TV
examples of increases in wages and employment
- average weekly wage more than doubled (£8 - £18)
- experience of almost full employment
- between 1948 and 1970, unemployment rates only touched 2% eight times
- economy grew by 4% in 1959
examples of government policies made by conservatives
- amory pre-election tax cut (giveaway of £360 million to public)
- end of food rationing 1954
- standardisation of electricity provision brings down prices
examples to support that there was significant social change between 1951 and 1964
- weekly wage doubled meaning consumer boom in spending
- beginning of youth culture and market - 5% all personal spending was from teenagers
- increase in birth rate, 2 million more in ‘61 than ‘51
- substantial trade increase ensuring plentiful employment
- 1955 full employment achieved (only 200k not)
- 6k new schools built
- expansion in engineering and electrical work
- pre-war slums cleared and new towns built like harlow and stevenage
- 1957 homicide act passed - ended death penalty
examples against there being significant social changes between ‘51 to ‘64
- women are still primarily seen as housewives, 75% all women were married, average age for marriage in women was 21
- only 20% of women worked in 1951
- mortgages and bank accounts primarily held by men
- ‘double shifts’ women caring for children during the day and then working night shifts.
- little to no higher education for women
- purchasing power of the pound halved
- 4% to 12% were under the poverty line
- 3 million still living in slums
- lots of imports, unstable in the long term
- reliance on credit card borrowing, lots of debt, therefore decrease in consumer spending confidence
examples of conservative economic policy failures
- money wasted on defences for the Korean War rather than on economic growth
- no strategic economic policy making
- stagflation happened
- shipbuilding and textile industries decline due to lack of investment by the government
- most customer purchases were on credit
- limited modernisation
what is balance of payments
difference between amount of money flowing in and out of the UK (trade)
- should theoretically be the same as each other or positive
what is Butskellism?
aka post war consensus
- butler and gaitskell approach to economic policy in the context of the post-war consensus
what is gdp?
gross domestic product
- value of goods and services produced domestically within a country’s borders
what is gnp?
gross national product
- value of all goods and services produced by a nation’s economy domestically and abroad
what is a deficit?
debt
what was the scarborough conference?
- gaitskell emotional speech convincing against nucleur disarmament
- following this labour had major shifts, lots of criticism facing tories being ‘out of touch’ and ‘old’
what is a fundamentalist?
maintenance of traditional principles and position within the labour party - generally left
what is a revisionist?
wanted to modernise the party - generally right of labour party
are bevanites fundamentalists or revisionists?
fundamentalists
are gaitskellites fundamentalists or revisionists?
revisionists
examples of labour divisions in terms of domestic policies
bevanites:
- wanted socialist britain
- state ownership over privatisation
gaitskellites:
- against clause IV (nationalisation)
- believed the public were against further privatisation
examples of labour divisions over defence policies
bevanites:
- in favour of unilateral nucleur disarmament as it would in theory; a) make more money available for social reform. b) would end arms race
- wants to distance us and uk
gaitskellites:
- in favour of maintaining nucleur deterrent
- thought that a vote against this would threaten legitimacy of any future labour government
- want to keep usa alliance
examples of labour divisions in terms of party politics
bevanites:
- believed unions should have a real say in party politics as they represented the working class
- in favour of block voting at conferences as it favoured the larger unions
gaitskellites:
- believed labour mps should have a say and unions should not be involved in party politics as it undermines labour’s legitmacy
when do bevanite and gaitskell die?
bevanite = july 1960
gaitskell = january 1963
- therefore wilson is able to come to power
why were the labour party unable to effectively challenge the conservative party?
- unresolved dramas and divisions between the party - over foreign, domestic and party policies (bevanites and gaitskellites)
how many seats do labour loose in the 1955 election?
18
how many seats do labour loose in the 1959 election?
19
cronyism
favouritism through friends
through old boys network (old etonians)
when did macmillan resign?
- october 1963 due to ill health and following the profumo affair that lasted 18 months
when and what was the night of the long knives?
- july 1962
- cabinet reshuffle following by-election loss in orpington
- 1/3 replaced
- amory replaced by lloyd as chancellor
- macmillan never recovered authority
what were the unemployment levels in 1962 to 1963?
rose 800k
three ways the conservative party lost the support of the electorate after 1959
- amory pre-election budget deemed to generous, macmillan forced a ‘standstill’ budget. Amory resigns, replaced by Lloyd who is uninterested.
- profumo affair, argyll divorce case, philby case and vassal scandal
- trade union deficit worsening
what was the vassal scandal?
- civil servant john vassal was a spy for soviet union
- imprisoned 1962
- proposed homosexual ‘plot’ that involved government ministers involved too
what was the philby case?
- philby double agent for MI6 and soviets
- based in beirut
- covered work as a journalist
- during the 1950s, macmillan as foreign secretary vouched for his innocence
- 1963 soviet union announced his soviet citizenship
what is the argyll divorce case?
- aristocrat couple divorce after the woman commits adultery
- ‘headless man’ in adultery photos
- rumoured to be defence secretary, Duncan Sandys
- rumours to it have involved members of high society, including royalty and government
what is the profumo affair?
- stephan ward introduces 19yr old Keeler to secretary of state for war 46 yr old John Profumo
- ward imprisoned but commits suicide during trial
- profumo lies to HOC about affair
- resigned 10 weeks later as evidence suggested otherwise
- keeler involved in a sexual relationship with soviet naval attatché
- unlikely that profumo told keeler any state secrets
