Chapter 6 Flashcards
Economic issues
How much had shell production increased by from 1915 to 1918?
Two million shells to 187 million shells
What economic movement were the government forced to move away from?
Laissez-faire
What was the impact of the war effort on people?
Prices were pushed up and there were shortages of both munitions and workers
What did one factory in Leeds produce and how many workers did it have?
25 million shells a year and 16,000 workers
How many factories and workers did the Ministry of Munitions control by 1918?
250 State factories, 20,000 factories and 4 million workers
What else did the Ministry of Munitions control?
Prices, wages, profits, essential food rations and fuel
What did the Department of Food Production control?
Subsidies from farmers to plough up wasteland and allocate scarce fertilisers
How much did government spending increase from 1913 to 1918?
£200 million to £2600 million
How did workers actually benefit from the war?
Many unskilled workers now had bargaining power due to labour shortages, fall in working class mortality, fall in poor relief applications
Why did the war worsen housing situations?
All resources were focused on the war, overpopulation in industrial towns
Why did Addison’s 1919 Housing Act fail?
He was paying for houses at £910 a house rather than the estimated £385
What shortage of houses were there in 1922?
800,000
What was the impact of Gedde’s Axe?
£46.5 million was cut from the armed series, £18.2 million cut from education, 1920 Agriculture Act repealed
How many strikes were there in 1917?
48 strikes
What did the ‘Treasury Agreement’ of 1914 specify?
It agreed unions involved in vital war work would not strike
What very large union was created in the early 1920s?
Transport and General Worker’s Union led by Ernest Bevin
What did the Conservative-dominated coalition refuse?
The Sankey Commission’s recommendation to nationalise coal mines, troops and tanks
What was steel’s position in the post-war economy?
By 1921, it was clear that there was overinvestment during the war
What was shipping’s position in the post-war economy?
Britain built 2 million tops of shipping during the war but in the post-war only needed to produce 0.5 million
What was coal’s position in the post-war economy?
In 1918, Poland and Germany were now producing more and electricity and oil had become rival energy sources
What was the position of trade post-war?
In 1919-20 there was a short-term increase in exports but by 1922 there was an unfavourable trade balance
