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History: Britain > Chapter 11: Domestic Policies 1940-51 > Flashcards

Chapter 11: Domestic Policies 1940-51 Flashcards

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1
Q

When did WW2 break out?

A

September 1939

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2
Q

What happened in the war 1939-40?

A

‘Phoney War’ - only significant campaign was in Norway

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3
Q

What were some concerns over the outbreak of WW2?

A

Threat to civilian life due to planes
British army was inferior to Germany
French divided & lacked enthusiasm for war
Nazi-Soviet pact: No eastern ally
Fear of Japan & Mussolini
USA was very isolationist - unlikely to get involved

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4
Q

What were some of the actions taken during the war 1939-40?

A

Children evacuated from bombing areas to the countryside
Little attempt to directly attack Germany
Expeditionary force sent to France led by Lord Gort

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5
Q

Who were mainly in Chamberlain’s cabinet?

A

pro-appeasement ministers

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6
Q

When was Churchill re-accepted into cabinet?

A

1939 - taken back to First Lord of the Admiralty

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7
Q

Why was Chamberlain losing influence by 1940?

A

Failed campaign to save Denmark & Norway from Nazi invasion
Vote after debate - government only won vote by 81 despite having majority of over 200
Labour MPs refused to serve under him

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8
Q

Why was Winston Churchill a favourite to take the role of PM?

A

Lord Halifax was only alternative - he was unwilling
Labour agreed to serve under Churchill
He was a well-known public figure for opposing appeasement.
He had become the main driving force behind British efforts in WW2, not Chamberlain

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9
Q

What was the Emergency Powers Defence Act 1939?

A

An act that gave Parliament the government authority to make regulations covering any and all aspects of life.

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10
Q

What was the effect of WW2 on food?

A

Improvements in health due to improved diet
Availability of cheap food helped those at work & took the pressure off of housewives.
1942 Restaurant Prices cap helped close gap between rich & poor
Ministry of food created to ensure rationing was effective

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11
Q

How was the effect of WW2 on food limited?

A

Black market flourished - people could still get what they liked if they try

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12
Q

What was the effect of WW2 on Women?

A

Joined the forces - 72,000 ‘Wrens’ in the Navy & 190,000 in the army (ATS) by 1945
Women’s voluntary services allowed women to get involved in the war effort
Nurseries set up to help women during the war

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13
Q

How was the effect of WW2 on Women limited?

A

Equal pay still not a thing - 59% less than men
Took until 1934 for women to be able to gain equal compensation for wartime injuries (from ww1)
Wartime support ended post-war: 1300 nurseries closed after the war
Societal attitudes didn’t change

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14
Q

What was the effect of WW2 on Health?

A

Emergency Hospital Scheme set up - funded by central govt & were open to normal medical issues
1944 - Government White Paper on the NHS proposed
Wartime emergency care did save lives

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15
Q

In what ways was the impact of WW2 on health limited?

A

EHS only ever covered a small percentage of the population
Impact was more on attitudes, leading to the NHS in 1948

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16
Q

What was the impact of WW2 on Housing?

A

220,000 houses built during the war
Town & Country Planning Act enabled local authorities to develop areas of extensive damage
1m people pre-war to only 337,000 people in building
Bombing destroyed 200,000 houses & made a further 250,000 uninhabitable

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17
Q

In what ways was the impact of WW2 on housing limited?

A

Housebuilding was insufficient to meet demand

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18
Q

What was the impact of WW2 on Industry?

A

Increased demand for materials
Full employment during the war
Increased hours to 60 per week and conscripted labour (Bevin Boys)
Newer industries thrived due to new technology (Aircraft/chemicals/electricals)

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19
Q

In what ways was the impact of WW2 on Industry limited?

A

No change in working practices
Overreliance on sheer numbers of workers rather than improving productivity
Industries continued to be inefficient
Industrial issues re-emerged after Marshall Aid stopped

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20
Q

What was the impact of WW2 on Children?

A

Education was disrupted
1m children evacuated from main cities

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21
Q

What were the economic effects of WW2?

A

Rationing - oil, food, clothes, soap
Government took full control of the economy
People were conscripted into work
Key workers weren’t called to fight in the war

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22
Q

What were some long-term economic effects of WW2?

A

Bretton-Woods 1944:
Set out the IMF to prevent another global depression
World Bank established to produce loans
ITO formed to regulateb free trade

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23
Q

What was the Beveridge Report?

A

A report that identified the ‘five giants’ of poverty, published 1942 by William Beveridge

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24
Q

What were the Five Giants of the Beveridge Report?

A

Want, Squalor, Disease, Ignorance, Idleness

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25
Q

What was the 1944 Butler Education Act?

A

School Leaving age increased to 15 by 1947
Education divided into Primary (5-11), Secondary (11-16), and Tertiary (16+)
Schools fees in state schools ended
Ministry of Education set up
Tests at 11 decided which schools children were sent to

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26
Q

What was the 1945 Family Allowance Act?

A

An act that introduced child benefit, brought into effect in 1946

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27
Q

How many copies did the Beveridge Report sell?

A

Over 396,000

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28
Q

What election did the Beveridge Report arguably have a great effect on?

A

1945 election - unexpected Labour victory

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29
Q

What were some limitations of the Beveridge Report?

A

It reccommended nothing new directly
It wasn’t radical - Beveridge was a Liberal
Broad and vague aims
Suggestions listed weren’t particularly generous

30
Q

What were some successes of the Beveridge Report?

A

Accepted by both major parties
Sold a lot of copies - far-reaching document
Arguably led to the creation of the NHS 1948

31
Q

What were some successes of the Butler Education Act?

A

All children were in education for longer
More social mobility for poorer children - could attend grammar schools

32
Q

What were some successes of the Butler Education Act?

A

All children were in education for longer
More social mobility for poorer children - could attend grammar schools
Free Education for all

33
Q

What were some failures of the Butler Education Act?

A

Arguably no great change to social mobility - 87% of Modern School made up of children of workers
Grammar schools disproportionately funded
Middle classes used tutors to gain access to grammar schools

34
Q

Why did Labour win the 1945 General Election?

A

Labour’s ministers had proven themselves during the war - ‘Bevin Boys’ down the mines
Churchill’s increasingly negative campaign - said welfare state would need a gestapo
Labour’s campaign was very positive & focused on how they were going to rebuild Britain better
People were more willing to see state intervention due to wartime experiences

35
Q

What was the result of the 1945 election?

A

Conservatives - 213 seats
Labour - 393 seats

36
Q

What were some industries nationalised in 1945-51 by Labour?

A

Coal
Bank of England
Transport
Electricity
Gas

37
Q

What percentage of the economy was nationalised under the postwar Labour government?

A

20%

38
Q

What were some criticisms of the nationalisation policy 1945-51?

A

Method wasn’t direct public control - companies run by boards
Substantial sums paid oiut - £164.6m to the mine owners
Central planning became harder - fuel crisis of 1947 was harder to fix
Very little change - most were nationalised in wartime

39
Q

What was the National Insurance Act 1948?

A

An act that formally ended the old Poor Laws & made provision for those not able to pay National Insurance e.g. the homeless.
All benefits made more generous.

40
Q

What were some issues with the new national insurance scheme?

A

Those paying for private insurance couldn’t opt out - universal expectation to pay whether it was needed or not
Employer’s contribution made employees cost more
Benefits still too low
Limited real change from the 1911 act

41
Q

What was the most significant change introduced by the Labour government 1945-51?

A

The NHS

42
Q

Who was the Health Minister that introduced the NHS?

A

Aneurin Bevan

43
Q

What was the difference between the expected cost of the NHS and the actual cost?

A

Expected £140m a year, actually cost £358m by 1950

44
Q

What were some effects of the NHS?

A

Illnesses involving malnutrition like rickets became rare
Infant mortality fell by 50% by the mid-50s
Allowed widespread use of antibiotics
Loss of life from TB and pneumonia was reduced

45
Q

What was a key change made to the NHS in 1951?

A

Prescription charges

46
Q

Why were prescription charges introduced in 1951?

A

Rising costs of the NHS

47
Q

Where did the main resistance to the NHS come from?

A

The Medical Association

48
Q

Who was the Labour education minister 1945-47?

A

Ellen Wilkinson

49
Q

How many servicemen were trained as teachers post-war?

A

35,000

50
Q

How many new Primary schools were constructed in the late 1940s?

A

1,000

51
Q

What were some criticisms of Labour education reform?

A

Did not take down private or grammar schools
Left the requirement for daily prayer
Little expansion of alternative comprehensive schooling
All the limitations of the 1944 Butler Act remained

52
Q

How much money did John Maynard-Keynes negotiate as a USA loan in 1946?

A

£3750 million

53
Q

Under what terms was the USA loan of 1946 agreed?

A

Controls over trade in the pound had to be dropped

54
Q

What led to the convertibility crisis of 1947?

A

The lack of control over trade in the pound led nervous investors to sell, thereby devaluing it.

55
Q

What was the difference between imports & exports during the convertibility crisis?

A

£438m

56
Q

Who was slated to replace Attlee as PM during the crisis?

A

Ernest Bevin, then Foreign Secretary

57
Q

What was the policy of the Chancellor during the 1947 crisis?

A

Austerity - Stanford Cripps encouraged low wages to prevent people buying goods that could be profitably exported

58
Q

What happened in 1948 that aided UK economic recovery?

A

Marshall Aid

59
Q

What happened in 1949 that made the economic situation worse?

A

There was big devaluation in the pound, and Hugh Gaitskell, President of the Board of Trade, decided to devalue the pound from $4.03 to $2.80.

60
Q

Why was the devaluation of the pound in 1949 a good idea?

A

Imports became dearer, and exports were cheaper - helped to balance the trade defecit

61
Q

What was the economic position by 1950?

A

Mixed - shortage of consumer goods, but inflation had been controlled.
Older Industries were dying - not enough demand

62
Q

What is a main criticism of Attlee’s reforms post-war?

A

He pushed on with high spending during a time of great economic downturn

63
Q

What was a main cause of the divisions within the Labour party forming by 1950?

A

Some thought Atlee had betrayed the fully socialist ideas of the party - policies like devaluation & prescription charges were divisive

64
Q

What was the result of the 1950 General election?

A

Labour - 315 seats
Conservatives - 297 seats

Labour marginally held its majority

65
Q

Why did labour lose popular support for the 1950 & 1951 elections?

A

Great legislative plans were over - govt more susceptible to divisions
Still too much regulation in some areas of production - made govt unpopular to some
Shown as incompetent over failed investments in Africa - £36 wasted
High-profile rhetoric lost middle class support: Bevan’s ‘Tories are lower than vermin’ speech 1948
Economic issues in 1949

66
Q

What were some effective Conservative tactics in the 1950 general election?

A

Exploited policy weaknesses such as over-regulation
Churchill was far more moderate in his criticism of the socialist policy
Well-organised opposition to further nationalisation

67
Q

Why did Atlee call the 1951 election?

A

He wanted a larger majority after several ministers resigned - Harold Wilson & John Freeman

68
Q

What were the issues surrounding the Korean war?

A

Government was forced into a rearmament program they couldn’t afford - £4,700m spent
This led to tax increases & some charges within the NHS - led to the resignations

69
Q

What was a key factor specifically for the 1951 election?

A

Liberal decline - almost all Liberalsupport went Conservative

70
Q

What was the result of the 1951 General election?

A

Conservatives - 321
Labour - 295

History: Britain (7 decks)

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