Britain transformed - Facts to know + Gold standard Flashcards
What Act was passed in 1911 that helped the development of the Labour Party?
The Wages for MPs Act
The Representation of the People Act (1918), led to the size of the British electorate going from 7.7 million to what…
21.4million
What happened to the economy in Britain between 1918-1920?
There was short-lived economic boom (a key part of this was a speculative boom)
What did unemployment increase to during the economic recession of 1920-1921?
12%
Lloyd George advocated a policy of government spending cuts to appease his middle-class voters. This policy was known as…
Retrenchment
What was the Geddes Axe 1922?
A series of spending cuts announced by Chancellor Sir Eric Geddes as part of Lloyd George’s retrenchment policy
What issue split the Conservative party in the early 1920s?
Free trade or Protectionism (tariffs)
What was the Housing act in 1924 - Introduced by Labour
it increased the money available to local authorities to build homes for low income workers.
What is the gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system where a country’s currency has a value directly linked to gold. It means your currency is less likely to fluctuate massively
Which conservative leader decided to put Britain back on the Gold Standard?
WInston Churchill
When was britain put back on the gold standard?
1925
The famous economist John Maynard Keynes believed that on the Gold Standard exchange system the pound was overvalued by how much?
10%
Why did many businesses in the UK want to come off the Gold Standard?
Because they believed it would make their exports cheaper and more competitive across the world.
How much did Britain’s exports decline by after the Wall Street Crash?
50%
The Labour governments led by Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931 are both examples of…
Minority Governments
