changing living standards Flashcards
how far did David Lloyd George’s “land fit for heroes to live in” become reality?
- post war boom - frims change back to peacetime production
- government did little to regulate production
*
short lived as there was a rising class of unemployed, many ex-soldiers
what was the picture of unemployment in the 20s/30s?
- never fell below 1 million
- women sometimes able to maintain work - teachers, shop assistants, nurses
- new industries - helped unemployment
- 12% of new industries are in electrical appliances (new tech)
what were the regional differences in living standards in inter-war period?
- decline of heavy industry (coal, iron cotton) mostly in the north
- disparity between poor and wealthy parts of the country - north/sputh divide
- south wales also suffered immensly during great depression - 40% unemployment (compared to 11% in london)
what did a 1933 survey conclude about the poorest families ?
hunger
- unemployment benifits were not enough to support a family
- not enought o provide minimum diet recommended by Ministry of Health
- many familys saw meat as a rarity
what was the effect of the depression on womens nutrition specifically ?
- more WC women went hungry than men
- often to give to childrena dn men who were breadwinners
- dispropotionate effect on woemns health
how did some people experience a growth in living standards during the Depression?
- light industries grew - production of household appliances
- more prosperous areas of south east experienced a consumer boom
post depression - what were some characteristics of the consumer boom?
- electrial appliances - washing machines, cookers and vacuum cleaners
- 300% increase in sales of elctrical cookers
- greater amount of houses electrified - new suburban housing
- advertising and favourable public/industry relations helped consumer boom
- teen culture - spending money on clothes and music
post depression - how did food and nutition improve?
- import of fresh fruit and more variety of food
- (many still believed that fresh fruit was harmful to children and preffered canned fruit)
- prices for basicas fell - bread, milk ect.
- increase in fish and chip shops 20,000 (affordable for the average family)
post depression - how di the housing situation improve?
- many moved into council houses in the suburbs
- 90% of houses built were new estates
- government policy made house ownership rise - older housing in less affluent areas were less than a small car
ww2 - how did rationing effect food and nutrition?
positives
* allowed all people regardless of class access to equal food and nutrition
* ministry of food 1940 - all food and luxuary food allocated by ration cards
* average health actually improved due to rationing
* infant mortality fell
negatives
* still a lack of favourable food
* national loaf - unpleasant bread allocated to people due to lack of white flour
* limited fish and meat
how did working conditions and benifits improve during and after the war?
- new jobs were created
- civillian munitions - good pay and working conditions thanks t o trade unions
- average pay increased
- creches (childcare) was set upnto allow women to work in mnitions - earn on money
how was rationing distributed post war?
labour government forced to continue - especially bread
most hated measure by much of the population
clothing and wood was also rationed until late 40s
utility furniture - minimal wood used - restricted to newly married couples effected by the war.
why was rationing contiued after the war?
- britian bankrupted by the war
- alot of food was imported and britain lacked the foreign currency reserves to properly finance these imports
- USA stopped giving mony to britain inn1945 - lend-lease agreement
why was winter 1946-47 particuarly significant ?
- exposed the economic fragility
- coal shortages due to war made a normally uneventful winter devestating
- increased strain on the national grid - only allowed 19hrs a day of electricity
- food reseves also declined due to poor conditions
how was the problem of housing post war dealt with?
- pre-fabricated homes -made of wood, quick and cheap to build
- 1944 Temporary Housign Act - Excalibur Estate, built in anticipation of post-war housing needs
- pre-fbricated hpuses not luxuary but any reported satisfaction
- block flats - appeared to be an easy solution
- new towns act 1946
what was the new twons act?
1946
* government seen as having a social responsibility to improve WC housing
* 14 new housing towns created
* releive overcrowed cities
* represented improvement instandard of living for WC
what were cahracteristics of the “aflluent scoiety”?
- post war sustained improvement in standard of living
- rise in idividual spending power
- global economic boom
- welfare state
- committment to full employement
- stong trade unions - increase in wages
what was the significance of macmillans statement “most of our people had never had it so good”?
- showed the 50s economy had improved
- mixed economy (welfare state and sucessful private industry) provided for the nation effectively
- problems still remained - poverty still pervasive
why was there a consumer boom in the 50s-60s?
wages
wages in 1959 were 2x what they were in 1950
consumer boom - how did the prevelance of labour saving devices change role of women?
why were women advertised to?
- allowed women more free time
- empowered housewives - domination of the kitchen through electrical devices
women were more often than not in charge of the household budget
how did many WC families participate in the consumer boom 60s?
how was this viewed in society?
consumer credit
relaxed in 1954 - borrowing increased the rate of consumerism
inter-war years saw credit as immorral and not repectable but 50s-60s began to socailly relax
what were some cultural criticisms of the consumer boom?
- “admass” J.B Priestley - consumerism encouraged suiperficiality
- fears that domination of american brands served to “americanise” british culture
how many people lived below the poverty line in 1967?
7.5 million
what were some of the failures of high-rise flats in the 60s?
- cold and damp
- 1968 - explosion, builders used newspaper instead of concrete in some places
- structurally unsound
- park hill
what were the park hill flats
post. neg.
1961
face to face font doors to maintain community
in decline - poor noise insulation and rise in crime
park hill had a long history of crime (cannot be blamed on the government/planners)
