Booklet 2: 1964-70 Flashcards
What made Wilson a strong/popular leader?
- Relatable: educated at state secondary school, Yorkshire accent, smoked a pipe
- Not on the extreme right or left of the party: used to be a Bevanite and resigned in 1950 over prescription charges but also served in Gaitskell’s cabinet and promoted nuclear weapons as deterrent
- Promoted modernisation
What deficit did the Labour government inherent in 1964?
£800 million
Why were Labour so reluctant to devalue the pound?
- Attlee had devalued the pound in 1949 and Wilson did not want the party to gain a reputation as the party of devaluation
- would make Britain look weaker in the world
Why would devaluation have been a good idea?
- would make imports more expensive and help exporters by making British goods cheaper in other countries which would in turn help the balance of payments
What economic policy did Wilson pursue instead of devaluation?
- Wanted to solve the problem through careful management and planning of the economy
- Set up the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA): Brown was in charge and set growth targets and devised a national system of ‘economic planning councils’
- Aimed to secure the restraints needed to prevent inflation rising
When was the DEA abandoned?
1967
What is a prices and incomes policy?
Government intervention to set limits on price rises and to call for wage restraint in negotiations between unions and employers.
Why was the pound devalued in 1967?
Outbreak of war in the Middle East and the a long strike from the National Union of Seamen.
What was the public opinion of trade unions in 1960s?
60% had a favourable view
When did industrial relations with trade unions begin to deteriorate?
1966-7
What case triggered discussions about the abolishment of capital punishment?
Ruth Ellis a young mother convicted of murdering her abusive boyfriend in 1955.
What was the thalidomide disaster and how did it help the pro-abortion campaign?
- The drug thalidomide which was being prescribed to pregnant women for morning sickness was found to produce deformities in children
- Children born without the long bones of the arms or the legs
- Opinion polls began to show a majority in favour of allowing abortion when an abnormality had been detected in a foetus
When was BBC 2 launched?
April 1964
When was the Sun launched and how did they brand themselves?
1964 - ‘the only newspaper born of the age we live in’
When was the bill to end theatrical censorship passed?
1968
What proportion of people in higher education were women in 1970?
28%
How many women reached managerial posts by 1970?
5%
What were the demands of the first National Women’s Liberation Conference that was held in 1970?
- equal pay
- free contraception and abortion on request
- equal educational and job opportunities
- free 24-hour childcare
What was the 1970 Matrimonal Property Act?
Established that the work of the wife, whether in paid employment or in the home, should be taken into account in the divorce settlements.
When did the Equal Pay Act come into force?
1975
When was National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association set up and what was it?
1965
A group that campaigned against the publication of broadcast of media content that it viewed as harmful, blasphemous and offensive (sex,violence etc)
What did the Dangerous Drugs Act 1967 do?
Unlawful to possess drugs such as cannabis and cocaine
What was the sentence for supplying drugs by 1970?
14 years imprisonment
How many people attended the anti-Vietnam war protest in October 1968?
30,000
