Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Britain 1906-1957 > Britain from 1951 to 1957 > Flashcards

Britain from 1951 to 1957 Flashcards

1
Q

Why did the Conservatives win the 1951 election? Give three reasons?

A
  1. Revival of the Conservative Party - reorganised, four million new members who were modern and younger. The amount of constituency agents increased
  2. Accepted many Labour policies, including the NHS and promised to build 300,00 new homes - 100,000 more than Labour
  3. The public were tired of Labour’s policy of ‘austerity’, high taxation and the strict rationing system
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

State three qualities of Churchill as a leader from 1951?

A
  • Absentee PM due to ill-health - he suffered a serious stroke in 1953 that left him with impaired speech
  • International statesman that spent more time abroad than at Downing Street
  • Enormous Prestige and political ability which ensured he still wielded a lot of power and influence
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

When did Anthony Eden take over as Prime Minister?

A

1955

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

How could Conservative Britain be described in 1951?

Why?

A

‘Land of Lost Content’

There was enormous pressures from below - the working class. Many no longer trusted politicians

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What was the impact of the Suez Crisis in 1956?

A
  • Caused a split in the Conservative Party.
  • There was a rebellion of 40 MP.
  • Edward Heath, chief whip, was strongly opposed to Eden’s actions.
  • Worst of all for the government, the pressure from the USA had exposed Britain’s financial weakness and started a run on the pound
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What was Nasser, the nationalist leader of Egypt, referred to by Eden?

A

The ‘Egyptian Hitler’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What was Macmillan’s famous words about the State of Britain in the 50’s?

A

‘Never had it so good’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Who was Macmillan’s main rival for position as PM?

A

‘RAB’ Butler, whose budget in April 1955 earned him great popularity with many sections of the population. However his reputation had been ruined by introducing tax cuts shortly before the 1955 election

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Why was Macmillan named ‘Supermac’?

A

As he restored party unity, the economy prospered and he led the Conservatives to a comfortable victory, increasing the seats to 100

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Macmillan appeared to have the media ‘in the palm of his hands’ according to which historian?

A

Willis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

How did the Conservatives under Macmillan build a welfare state?

A
  • By expanding the number of houses built and increasing state benefits
  • By accepting the NHS and other welfare reforms Attlee’s government had introduced
  • By accepting the terms of the ‘mixed economy’ (a mixture of privately owned and nationalised businesses) by maintaining government control of rail, coal, electricity, air and road transport industries
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What did the Conservatives manifesto state about the 1944 White Paper/The Beveridge Report?

A

‘We regard the aim of full employment as the first aim of a Conservative government’ - Keynesian idea

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Give three things both Labour and Conservatives accepted?

A
  1. That the days of the Empire were in decline > policy of decolonisation
  2. Both parties were committed to developing’s Britain’s own nuclear weapons to act as a deterrent in the Cold War era
  3. Both parties had been shaped by the impact of the 1930s and WW2 = a sense of collectivism
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Jones’ quote on the political consensus not being present between Labour and the Conservatives…

A

‘a mirage, an illusion which fades rapidly the closer one gets to it’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Dutton quote on the political consensus being present between the two main parties…

A

‘Politicians…largely agreed on the essential issues’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Who were the Bevanites?

A

Labour left-wing members associated with the ‘keep left’ movement

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What were the aims of the Bevanites?

A

Supported Bevan and wanted further nationalization and were critical of foreign policy. Were against German rearmament and the manufacturing of the hydrogen bomb

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Nye Bevan labelled the Conservatives as…

A

‘lower than vermin’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What socialist campaign opposed the development of nuclear weapons?

A

CND - Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What was Gaitskell described as?

A

‘A hard-headed politician’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

When was the Clean Air Act aimed to prevent the smog of the 1950s introduced?

A

1956

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

When was the Housing and Factory Act aimed to improve standards of living and working conditions introduced?

A

1956

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What did the National Service Act of 1947 enforce?

A

That all men between the ages of 18-21 had to serve in the armed forces for two years to aid decolonisation

24
Q

Butskellism…

A

founded by the Economist magazine and it is a word consisting of both Butler and the shadow chancellor Gaitskell to suggest that there were few differences between the opposing politicians

25
Q

What is meant by consensus?

A

Agreement between the two main parties on key issues

26
Q

What was the general view of the government’s ‘stop-go’ policy?

A

It was a source of controversy even though it was an attempt to prevent overheating and recession

27
Q

Following the fragile economic situation in 1951, what year was it that Britain began to become prosperous again?

A

1954

28
Q

When did food rationing finally come to an end?

A

July 1954

29
Q

By 1961, how many people were in Great Britain?

A

51 million people

30
Q

What did the global economy booming post-war lead to?

A

Increase in overseas trade which brought high levels of earnings from exports and investments

31
Q

In what year was it estimated that full employment had been reached with only 200,000 unemployed?

A

1955

32
Q

Which industries was there a huge expansion in?

A

Electrical, engineering, steel and cars

33
Q

What did Butler’s policies (Conservative) in 1951 and 1955 show that he had adopted?

A

The Keynesian economics - full employment

34
Q

The Conservative government in 1951 inherited a balance of payments crisis with deficits of nearly…

A

700 million

35
Q

What recommendations were in Butler’s (Conservative) October 1951 memorandum?

A
  • Cutting food subsidies
  • Reducing travel allowances
  • Reduction of imports
  • Raising interest rates from 2% to 4% to discourage borrowing
  • Cutting ministers salaries
  • Denationalisation of iron and steel industries
36
Q

What did the STOP in the ‘stop-go’ policy mean?

A

Deflation was necessary through raising the bank rate and credit restrictions being imposed. Also higher interest rates and spending cuts

37
Q

What did the GO in the ‘stop-go’ policy mean?

A

Focus on expansion and removal of controls. Reduction in income tax and purchase tax - encouragement of buying consumer goods at this time

38
Q

What is the overall conclusion about the economy from 1951-1957?

A

Britain was not keeping up with economic growth in Europe, especially in west Germany and that Britain had seize the opportunity for manufactures to invest in industrial research and development to increase industrial growth

39
Q

Who was Macmillan’s Chancellor of the Exchequer?

A

Peter Thorneycroft - who believed in ‘monetarism’ (cutting inflation)

40
Q

By the end of 1957, how many Commonwealth immigrants had settled in Britain?

A

210,000

41
Q

Which Commonwealth countries did the immigrants mainly come from?

A

Pakistan, West Indies, India and Jamaica

42
Q

Why did immigrants want to come to Britain?

A

Pull factor: false hope of the ‘Mother Country’, lots of jobs available
Push factors: Britain was the only hope/choice of a better life, Economic problems in home countries encouraged migration

43
Q

What were the public attitudes to immigration?

A

Outright racism. Complaints included:

  • Use of the NHS
  • The fact that they were prepared to work longer hours for less money encouraging employers to keep wages low
  • Bringing crime into the country
  • their unwillingness to mix into local communities
44
Q

What was the ‘colour bar’?

A

An example of discrimination against non-whites by big companies where only 5% of jobs could go to non-white people. This was supported by unions

45
Q

What was the leader of the House of Lords, Lord Salisbury, view towards immigration?

A

He argued that if government action was taken against racism/discrimination, it would make Britain even more desirable to immigrants - against it

46
Q

What was the government’s attitude towards immigration?

A

Economically desirable for filling low-wage jobs and hoped that social tensions would ease gradually overtime

47
Q

What was one of the most important decisions made by Attlee’s government (Labour) about protection for Britain?

A

Development of an independent nuclear deterrent and close relationship with USA, Truman, to develop the atomic bomb

48
Q

When was the 1946 Atomic Energy Act passed by Congress and what did it do?

A

1946 and blocked atomic collaboration meaning Britain and USA could not work together to build nuclear weapons - due to tensions in the Cold War

49
Q

What seemed to be the main reason Britain focused on the development of Nuclear Weapons in the eyes of Attlee and Bevin?

A

To maintain a ‘great power’ status and according to Churchill ‘the only way to sit at the top of the table’

50
Q

When was Britain’s first H bomb tested?

A

1957

51
Q

What was the aim of Macmillan’s government in 1957 in terms of defending Britain?

A

To reduce conventional forces and rely on nuclear weapons as a deterrent

52
Q

In 1952, what % of the public approved the development of the British atomic bomb?

A

60%

53
Q

Which party was most affected by nuclear armament?

A

The Labour party - it caused a split as Bevan who once opposed it and believed in Unilaterism, began to support it in 1957

54
Q

Give an example of a racist slogan that immigrants faced in Britain in the 50’s?

A

‘NO IRISH, NO BLACKS, NO DOGS’

55
Q

What was the public opinion on Nuclear Weapons?

A

60% supported the development of Nuclear Weapons however there was fierce opposition due to the increase spending on the weapons and the harm they could cause

Britain 1906-1957 (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions