Chapter 18

Question 1

What did the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 legislate?

Answer 1

The government was granted authority to make regulations covering any aspect of life

Question 2

What sort of ministries were established during the war?

Answer 2

Ministry of Aircraft Production, Ministry of Labour and 1942 Ministry of Production

Question 3

How many workers were under the Royal Ordinance Factories

Answer 3

300,000

Question 4

What were Bevin’s aims in the Ministry of Labour?

Answer 4

To get the unemployed into work, but also ensure every industry was represented

Question 5

How much did the total workforce rise by during the war?

Answer 5

2 million

Question 6

How did Bevin improve working and living conditions?

Answer 6

He used ‘essential work orders’ to improve canteens, medical centres, wages and trade union powers

Question 7

How was agriculture encouraged during WW2?

Answer 7

The ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign led to a huge rise in home grown vegetables across the country

Question 8

What were the Labour government’s rationing policies?

Answer 8

Living standards were held down under austerity, bread was rationed from 1946-48

Question 9

What were the Labour government’s rebuilding policies?

Answer 9

There was an ‘export drive’ in order to buy imports of food and raw materials

Question 10

What were the Labour government’s peaceful industrial production policies?

Answer 10

Government controls maintained the allocation of materials, encouraged new factories in deprived areas

Question 11

What were the Labour government’s economic planning and employment policies?

Answer 11

Nationalisation, used taxation, interest rates, and the budget to stimulate the economy

Question 12

What were the Labour government’s new policies?

Answer 12

General Agreement on Tarrifs and Trade (GATT) at Bretton Woods in 1944 to reguate world trad

Question 13

How did Britain face a financial crisis as a result of the war?

Answer 13

Debts of £4198 million, balance of payments crisis, drop of 60% in exports, rapidly increasing costs of the military

Question 14

What were the conditions of the loan that Keynes negotiated with the USA?

Answer 14

Britain had to end its economic policy of giving countries’ preference, Britain had to join GATT, had to make the pound fully convertible to dollars

Question 15

What economic crisis shook Attlee’s government?

Answer 15

There were not enough dollars in the Bank of England to make the pound convertible

Question 16

How much aid did the Marshall Plan give to Europe

Answer 16

13 billion dollars

Question 17

How had the Labour government’s export drive proved successful?

Answer 17

Exports had increased by nearly 80% between 1946-50

Question 18

What significant economic successes did the Labour government have?

Answer 18

Interest rates, inflation and wage rates were low, productivity in agriculture improved, half of all new factories sat in formerly deprived areas

Question 19

How was the Labour government successful in their nationalisation policy?

Answer 19

They publicly owned 20% of economic enterprises and employed 10% of the workforce

Question 20

How did nationalisation bring improvements in some industries?

Answer 20

Supplies of electricty and gas were expanded, growth in civil aviation and communications, safety and working conditions met minimum standards

Question 21

How much were private owners of business compensated?

Answer 21

£2700

Question 22

How did nationalisation not fully provide benefits?

Answer 22

Labour’s administrative system did not directly involve workers or consumers

Question 23

How was nationalisation arguably radical?

Answer 23

Nationalisation moved Britain towards being a collectivist society, the economy ceased to be entirely capitalist, now a ‘mixed economy’

Question 24

How was nationalisation arguably not radical?

Answer 24

Most industries nationalised already had some State involvement, socialist demands for workers control were ignored, private owners were compensated, most industry remained in private hands