Chapter 6-Economic issues

Question 1

What evidence is there that unions became more radical?

Answer 1

There were more radical/militant unions and the Clydeside incident where tanks were sent in.

Question 2

What kind of powerful new union structures were formed in the 1920s?

Answer 2

Amalgamated unions such as the Transport and General Workers Union.

Question 3

How did LG respond to the threat of strikes?

Answer 3

Lloyd George negotaited to end the 1919 railway strike and he appointed the Sankey commission.

Question 4

What did the Sankey Commission reccomend in 1921?

Answer 4

Wage rises and reduced hours but these were rejected by the Conservatives.

Question 5

What was 1921’s Black Friday?

Answer 5

Transport and rail decided not to strike on behalf of miners afyer talks with LG.

Question 6

What happened to the staple industries during the war?

Answer 6

There was overinvestment, meaning too much was produced after WW1 and couldn’t be sold.

Question 7

What happened to overseas textile markets during the war?

Answer 7

They lost them to other countries who weren’t fighting.

Question 8

Why did coal demand decrease after war?

Answer 8

There was more competition from Poland and Germany and there was more use of electricity and petrol.

Question 9

What types of unemployment was created by the problems with staple industries?

Answer 9

Structural unemployment as they didn’t need to produce as much and so didn’t need the staff.

Question 10

What trade balance did GB have after war?

Answer 10

A negative trade balance as they were importing more than they were exporting.

Question 11

How did Britain deal with the war initially?

Answer 11

They used state intervention to increase the production of weapons. Initially, the demands pushed up prices and created shortages and so the state began commandeering stocks of vital war materials and fixing prices. In 1915 they granted state power over industry by extending the DORA and appointing a ministry of munitions to oversee production of war material.

Question 12

What did the Ministry of Munitions do?

Answer 12

He set up a central purchasing system for buying war materials and encouraged factories to convert from peacetime to war production. It also built national factories and one in Leeds employed 16,000 workers producing 25 million shells a year.

Question 13

How did the state intervene in the manufacturing industry?

Answer 13

They took over key industries such as railways and coal mines and they managed workers. Women were encouraged to enter jobs done by men and the Ministry of Munitions bought 90% of all imports. They introduced the British Summer Time and limited hours of public houses.

Question 14

How did the state help other industries?

Answer 14

A department of food production was set up to increase the amount of homegrown foodstuff to help feed the army. The government subsidised farmers to plough wasteland and encouraged women to volunteer for farm work.

Question 15

How did the government pay for the war?

Answer 15

Spending went from 200 million in 1913 to 2600 million in 1918. Traditionally they balanced the budget but they were unable to do this and so had to borrow money from their own people and from countries such as the USA.

Question 16

What was the economic impact of the war on workers?

Answer 16

Food prices rose by 10% in the first month and by 1918 they had doubled. However, many workers benefitted from the fact that there was more work and now many people could work full time. There was a fall in poor relief application but the middle and upper classes were more disadvantaged by war.

Question 17

What was housing like before WW1?

Answer 17

Many working-class homes were overcrowded and lacked basic facilities such as toilets. Some were classed as slums and families lived in joined-up terrace houses.

Question 18

What was housing like during the war?

Answer 18

War worsened the housing situation as new home building and repairs were paused. Also, the demand for workers in factories led to workers coming into the already crowded cities, leading to landlords increasing rent.

Question 19

What did the government do to deal with housing problems?

Answer 19

Addison introduced the Housing and Town Planning Act in 1919 which encouraged local governments to clear slums and construct homes. This was successful as 200,000 houses were built but they were paying more than it cost to build them and so Addison was sacked.

Question 20

What was the Geddes Axe?

Answer 20

The economic recession in 1921 meant that the government had to reduce spending instead of increasing social provision. A committee was appointed under Geddes and they recommended cuts of 64 million.

Question 21

What were trade unions attitudes during the war?

Answer 21

They adopted a patriotic stance and agreed to the Treasury Agreement so that unions in vital war work wouldn’t strike. However, there were complaints against the union’s decision to accept dilution agreements. However, there was continued strike action despite a ban and in 1918 the trade union movement was stronger. The transport and General Workers Union was created.

Question 22

How did Lloyd George deal with industrial unrest?

Answer 22

He appointed the Sankey Commissions, which brought the rail strike to an end and averted the threat of a coal strike. He also set up councils to negotiate wages and to look at production methods. When the industrial recession begun, strikes increased and in 1921 86 million working days were lost. However, the Conservative government refused to accept guidance to nationalise coal mines.

Question 23

What were the positions of staple industries after the war?

Answer 23

By 1921 it was clear that there was over-investment in steel and the need for ships decreased by 1/4. Coal was less in demand due to electricity as a rival source of energy and Poland and Germany were supplying world markets. The textiles markets were lost overseas to India and the USA during WW1.

Question 24

What was the position of Britain’s trade after WW1?

Answer 24

After the war, there was a short term increase in exports to countries that couldn’t get goods in the war. However, this didn’t last and it was soon clear they had a bad trade balance. In 1922 there were importing £1200 millions worth of goods but only exporting less that £600 million.