Changing quality of life for Britons Flashcards
What did the short-lived boom after WW1 fail to do?
It failed to generate the levels of high employment needed to absorb the large numbers of men demobilising from the Army
= caused an economic crisis and decline in living standards, which was exacerbated by the Great Depression of the 1930s
Boom, 1918-20
- Towards the end of War, DLG promised ‘a land fit for heroes’ -> seemed initially achievable
- post-war boom which firms recalibrated for peacetime production
- prices continued to rise and gov. did little to regulate production
- initially demobbed soldiers returned to work and it seemed that living standards would rise and that families had money to spend
By end of 1920, how many people were unemployed? What proportion of them were ex-servicemen?
1 million - 1/3 of them ex-servicemen
In 1932, ___% of those engaged in electrical appliance were unemployed
12
Percentage of those engaged in shipbuilding who were unemployed by 1932
70%
What types of industry declined in the 1920s and 1930s?
heavy industry - e.g. ship building, production of coal, iron and cotton
What did the decline of traditional industry lead to?
Widened the disparity between living standards in the poorest and wealthiest parts of the country in the 1920s and 1930s
What were the unemployment rates in London and South East vs Wales at the height of the Depression in 1932?
London and South East: 11%
Wales: 40%
What areas in Britain slumped during the Great Depression?
South Wales and coal fields, the ship-building regions of the Clyde and the Tyne and formerly busy ports like Liverpool
What was a persistent factor in the lives of many unemployed families in depressed areas?
Hunger
What did a 1933 survey conclude?
that unemployment benefits were insufficient to provide a minimum diet recommended by the Ministry of Health
When did real scientific understanding emerge about the effect of nutrition shortages and the causes of deficiency diseases?
during the 1930s
examples of deficiency diseases
rickets
Examples of foods that were rare for families in depressed areas
Meat and fresh vegetables
Why were more working-class women on average more likely to go hungry than men when there was insufficient food to go around?
mothers would ensure their children ate first and men as the primary breadwinners would eat too = meant that women suffered disproportionately
What staples made up most meals?
bread, margarine, and tea
What household electrical appliances filled the homes of working-class families throughout the 1930s?
Washing machines, electric cookers and vacuum cleaners
How did many poor working-class families manage to make ends meet?
by getting ‘tick’ from the local greengrocers and in poorer areas the local pawnbroker enabled families to borrow money
In 1930, how many vacuum cleaners were sold a year?
200,000 a year
- 1938: 400,000
Between 1930-35, there was an _____% increase in the sale of electric cookers
300%
Why was there a growth in the sale of household electrical applicants?
greater number of homes electrified, many being built in new suburban housing estates = electricity had a significant effect in improving living standards
By the late 1920s, how many fish and chip shops were there in Britain?
20,000
Out of the 1.1m council houses built during the interwar period, what percentage of them were built on new estates?
90%
Number of owner-occupiers in 1914 vs 1938
1914 - 10%
1938 - 32%
What was the increase in home ownership the result of?
government policy
- decent new houses could be purchased from £450 in the London region and outside London a small bungalow could cost as little as £250
- older houses could be purchased for £125 in less affluent areas - less than the cost of a new small car
Rationing in the interwar years
Rationing in the interwar years
Creation of the Ministry of Food in 1940
involved 50,000 administrators - meant that nearly all foodstuffs, from meat and fish to dairy products and luxuries like coffee and chocolate were allocated by ration cards
Other items apart from food that were rationed
clothing, soap, paper, fuel and kitchen utensils
Why were restaurants subject to rationing controls in 1942?
to prevent resentment from working-class households who saw wealthier Britons getting round the rationing restrictions and eating well
Why did many people in Britain feel that their health improved during the war despite the decline in living standards?
food was supplemented with vitamins and minerals by the Ministry of Food
- infant mortality also fell, which might account for the post-war baby boom
Working conditions for men during WW1
large number of jobs created during the war for civilian munitions offered good standards of pay and working conditions as a result of negotiations with the trade unions
What were established in order to allow women munitions freedom to work?
Crèches (child care centres) were established in the factories of many essential war industries
- the first were set up in November 1941 and within 6 months there were 647 creches that were either open or in the process of being set up
Pre-war Taylor-Walters report
specified minimum space and number of rooms, and restricted building to 12 houses per acre
Daily Mail response to Labour gov. being forced to introduce bread rationing after the end of the war (1946-48)
The general public hated it.
When were clothing and wood rationed?
until 1949
Why did the Labour gov. have little choice but to continue rationing as Britain was bankrupted by the war?
- 55% of British food was imported but Britain did not have the foreign currency reserves to pay for all the import reserves that were needed
- The USA ended Britain’s wartime financial lifeline in 1945, the Lend-Lease Agreement
What overseas spending commitments impacted on spending at home?
- feeding parts of Germany that were under British control
- re-establishing British control in Asian countries like Malaya
- keeping men fighting in Greece
- Korean War
% of Britain’s GDP that was dedicated to defence
23%
Winter of 1946-47
extremely heavy snow - exposed the extent of Britain’s post-war fragility + had a significant effect on the quality of life for British people
- coal shortages for Britain due to depletion of coal stocks
- electricity supply to industry and homes was cut to 19hrs a day
- resulted in cold homes and unemployment
- 1/4 of britain’s sheep were lost, food reserves declined
Response to food during the harsh winter of 1946-47
Canadian and Australian citizens began to post food parcels to British families
Reason for the electoral defeat of labour 1951
due to the failure of the gov. to ensure food and energy distribution
Response to the huge problem of homelessness caused by the destruction of homes in the war
Building of wooden pre-fabricated homes that quickly and cheaply assembled
When were the lawn flats built?
Harlow, Essex, 1951
