Britain Transformed- Unit 1 Flashcards
Unit 1- What were some of the factors that resulted in Britain being economically damaged at the end of WWI?
- British government did not expect the war to go on for so long, commended a lot of the British resources and wiped out gold reserves and still borrowed heavily(Especially from the US)
- Britain had been cut off from many exports due to German U boats, lead to foreign buyers looking elsewhere. eg. US steel was favoured due to superior quality and price.
- By 1918, 750,000 British men had been lost to the war, who were essential to its economic output.
- 3.25 Billion the total financial cost.
Why was Britain in a post war boom?
What caused the end of the boom?
- Individuals and businesses had been unable to spend due to the wartime restrictions such as rationing. Therefore, there was a significant investment in the economy, especially bonds.
-Lots of people bought into the London Stock Market, the most in British history. Investment in new shares up by 65 million, now 384 million in 1920. - The boom was ended due to businesses not able to keep up with demand, therefore increasing prices drastically, which lead to less spending. It was also due to the inflation that was caused due to mass spending.
When was the recession, how was it caused and what was its effects?
When- 1920-21
Recession was followed by the boom and was one of the most severe slump Britain had experienced before 1929.
Caused by loss of export trade- Global economy had been transformed by the war, no longer dominated by Britain. eg. US steel.
Unemployment increased to 12% of adult-working population.
By 1921, 2m workers were unemployed and places like South Wales who had traditional industries were depressed.
Cost of living increased by 25%.
What was the other causes of the recession?
Under-investment- Hardly any investment in traditional industries.
Industrial relations- In 1919, Lloyd George had paid off British workers to not strike with good pay and generous hours.
Deflation- Gov cut spending by 75% between 1918 and 1920. Due to government wanting to return the value of the pound to pre-war levels they raised interest to 7%. Drained available spending money from the economy.
Who was PM 1918-22 and what party did he belong to?
David Lloyd George
Liberals
Who was PM 1922-23 and what party did he belong to?
-Andrew Bonar Law
- Conservatives
Who was PM in the years 1923-24 and what party did he belong to?
- Stanley Baldwin
- Conservative
Who was PM in the year 1924 and what party did he belong to?
- Ramsey Macdonald (First time round)
- Labour
Who was PM in the years 1924-29 and what party did he belong to?
- Stanley Baldwin
- Conservative
Who was PM in the years 1929-31 and what party did he belong to?
- Ramsey Macdonald(2nd time)
- Labour
What was the status of the Liberal Party in 1918?
- Liberals were the dominant party previously.
- Believed in free trade and limited government intervention
- However, the decline of the liberals were near due to the representation of the peoples act, the party splitting between David Asquith and Lloyd George and scandals.
What was the status of the Labour Party in 1918?
- Labour Party was growing and had 1 million members by 1906.
- Supported by trade unions, it battled for workers rights and the representation of the people’s act lead to votes tripling in size to 21 million
What was the status of the Conservative Party in 1918?
- Conservative Party had been associated with the upper classes in the 19th century.
- After the representation of the peoples act 1918 it meant the Conservatives needed to expand their voter base and started to attract middle classes and even some working classes.
- Lots of votes came from property owning women
Why did the liberal party decline?
- Lloyd George honours scandal in 1922 tarnished his reputation. Was done discreetly and given to people with criminal convictions. Needed to raise funds for the liberal party.
- George’s business with Turkey led to the Conservative party’s chance to strike. In 1922 the Conservatives decided to leave the coalition at the Carlton Club and led to a disaster election for the liberals.
