1970-1979 Politics: Conservatives (Unit 3, Topic 1)

Question 1

Hung Parliament?

Answer 1

A situation where no political party has an overall majority in the House of Commons

Question 2

Internment?

Answer 2

Locking up suspects without trial

Question 3

Direct Rule?

Answer 3

Northern Ireland was to be ruled from London rather than having its own separate parliament

Question 4

Proportional Representation?

Answer 4

A system of voting whereby those elected are in proportion to the number of votes received

Question 5

‘Lame Duck’ Industry?

Answer 5

An industry that cannot pay its debts so has to get help from the state in order to start trading again

Question 6

U-Turn?

Answer 6

A reversal of a previous policy

Question 7

OPEC

Answer 7

An oil organization led by Saudi Arabia aimed on protecting the interests of its members by fixing production prices and preventing falling prices

Question 8

Decimalization?

Answer 8

New British currency agreement with 100 new pence than 144 pence

Question 9

Stagflation?

Answer 9

Economist term to describe the unusual and stagnant inflation of economical combination growth

Question 10

What was Heath’s Leadership Style like?

Answer 10

-Held the party together after Suez crisis
-Pro-European, failed EEC negotiations
-Detailed negotiator reputation
-Challenged Enoch Powell, made racial relations difficult
-More moderate than traditional conservatives
-Powerful public manner, good at convincing own side but not opposition

Question 11

What was the 1972 Industry Act?

Answer 11

They aimed to involve the government, the TUC and the CBI in agreeing wages, prices, investments and benefits. This policy was heavily criticized by some on the right of the conservatives party such as Enoch Powell `

Question 11

What was the 1971 Industrial Relations Act?

Answer 11

Set up an Industrial Relations Count and provided for strike ballots and a ‘cooling off period’ before official strikes. The policy didn’t work as expected, both the Trade Unions Congress and the Confederation of British Industry opposed the act

Question 12

What is the Famous U-Turn?

Answer 12

Unemployment started to edge towards the millions making the government who didn’t want to take state action intervene. The government money was also poured into preventing Upper Cycle Shipbuilders going bankrupt

Question 13

What is Barber Boom?

Answer 13

Encouragement of investment with rapid inflation rise

Question 14

What was the Cause of the 1971 Industrial Act?

Answer 14

Major strikes by miners, ambulance drivers, firefighters , civil servants, power workers, hospital staff and engine drivers

Question 15

What caused the NUM union to Conduct a National Strike in 1972 and 1974?

Answer 15

Factories in decline and possible closure. Miners redeployed in other areas, mines closed leaving 11 from a previous 134, only 17,000 miners left with jobs. Coal became cheaper to extract so less money came into the industry. Arthur Skargill initiated miner strikes, as miners really needed money for life commitments. Brought the sober industry to a halt and prevents people from powering stations. £5 worse of than previous years and wanted a £9 a week rise of pay.

Question 16

How did the Miner Strikes Impact Britain’s Economy?

Answer 16

Lost the economy lots of money due to its large scale industry and prevented power stations from running. It threatened a standstill of the economy and coal industry. Prevented the industry from making a profit and billions of coal was left unmined

Question 17

How did Heath Respond to the Strikes?

Answer 17

Brought in an Industrial Relations Act, he also abolished the National Board for Prices and Incomes. Introduced an Industrial Relations Court and ‘cooling off periods’ where they had to be a specified amount of days between strikes. Industry Act of 1972 aimed to agree on wages, prices and investment for the miners

Question 18

How Feared were Trade Unions Due to the Strikes?

Answer 18

Showed that they had the power to bring the country to a potential economic standstill and challenge the government for changes in the industry

Question 19

What happened as a Backlash of the Miner Strikes?

Answer 19

-19th January 1972, Miners want pay rise
-Picketed outside of major coal mines
-Britain was 2 weeks from a blackout
-Heath introduced internment trials in Northern Ireland
-1972 30th January, large catholic protest
-13 civilians killed in IRA bombing campaign
-Clockwork orange causes national uproar
-Yon Kippur War causes oil crisis
-Electricity limited for everyone for 3 days a week
-Heath promises a ‘world of tomorrow’

Question 20

IRA? INLA? UDA? UVF? UUP? DUP?

Answer 20

Irish Republican Army
Irish National Liberation Army
Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Volunteer Force
Ulster Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party

Question 21

Alliance?

Answer 21

A union or association formed for mutual benefit

Question 22

Social Democrat Party?

Answer 22

A UK political party with socialist aims

Question 23

Sinn Fein?

Answer 23

A political movement and party seeking a united Ireland

Question 24

Bloody Sunday?

Answer 24

A civil rights march where 13 civilians died

Question 25

Sectarian?

Answer 25

Member of a sect

Question 26

Internment?

Answer 26

State of being imprisoned for military or political reasons

Question 27

Direct Rule?

Answer 27

A system of government in which provinces are controlled by a central government

Question 28

Ian Paisley?

Answer 28

Led the loyalist opposition to the Catholic civil rights and was involved in setting up loyalist organizations, he eventually served as first minister for Northern Ireland 2007-08

Question 29

John Hume?

Answer 29

Involved with Irish civil rights movements, he co-founded the Social Democratic Labour Party, he won the Nobel Piece Prize

Question 30

What was Heath’s New
Approach for the 1974 Election?

Answer 30

-New policies to modernise Britain
-New Industrial policies
-Tax reforms
-Better Law and Order
-Trade Union reforms
-Immigration controls
-Cuts to public spending
-End to ‘lame duck’ industries

Question 31

What were the Criticisms of Heath’s Approach for the 1974 Election?

Answer 31

-Economic and industrial problems that are unsolved still
-He was considered not good at politics

Question 32

Why was the Relation between the Government and Unions for the 1974 Election?

Answer 32

-The unions were suspicious and hostile with the TUC union voting nit to work with the government

This made Heath’s government look incompetent and unrealistic and encouraged the more combative trade unions to increase demands

Question 33

What was the Heath U-Turn?

Answer 33

Due to the rise in unemployment and the government who previously wanted to reduce state intervention felt compelled to go against their word and take action

Question 34

What was the Impact of Reforming the Local Government?

Answer 34

Reshaped the structure of the local governments, destroying many administrative landmarks

However, there were protests about destroyed name places , people felt their local identity was attacked

Question 35

What was the Impact of Being a EEC Member?

Answer 35

EEC invited the UK to join again gaining access to national markets and getting in some global businesses. It also provided greater movement opportunities for British people

However, they were no longer able to buy cheap commonwealth food this inflated farming prices and Britain had to pay 20% of the EEC revenue and received 8% expenditure

Question 36

What was the Impact of International Oil Price Rises in 1973?

Answer 36

Arab used its control of oil to weaken Israel forces in the war. OPEC raised oil prices Arab, reduced oil supplies to the west. This caused a payment deficit to rise by £1 billion with annual inflation rising by 16%. The value of the sterling dropped with a record budget deficit

Question 37

Why did Harold Wilson become PM again?

Answer 37

Due to Heaths disastrous failures and problems in the 4 year period Labour ended up winning more seats. The Miner strikes brought the economy and the government to a standstill. The people needed a change