Chapter 6 - key dates and stats Flashcards
Who was Home Secretary when much of the Liberal legislation was passed and or debate?
Roy Jenkins
What are free votes?
Where individual MPs can vote according to their personal beliefs rather than towing the party line.
When was Ruth Ellis hanged for murdering her abusive boyfriend?
1955
When was the Homicide Act, that reduced the frequency of the use of capital punishment, passed?
1957
Which backbencher pushed for the end of capital punishment?
Sydney Silverman, Labour MP.
When was the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act passed?
1965
When was the trial period for the end of capital punishment made permanent?
1969
When did the beating of prisoners end?
1967
When were ‘majority’ verdicts rather than ‘unanimous ‘ verdicts introduced in England?
1967
When was the Divorce Reform Act passed?
1969
What did the Divorce Reform Act allow for divorce to be accepted for?
Couples could divorce if:
-they lived apart for two years and both agreed to divorce
-they lived apart for five years and one wanted divorce
What was the divorce rate in 1950?
2 divorce decrees in 1000 (England and Wales)
What was the divorce rate in the mid-1970s?
Nearly 10 in 1000 (England and Wales)
Until when was abortion illegal, unless on medical grounds, in the UK?
1967
Before abortion was legalised, how many illegal abortions occured each year?
100,000 to 200,000
Before abortion was legalised, how many women were admitted to hospital per year in connection with illegal abortions?
35,000
Between 1958 and 1960, how many women died from backstreet abortions?
82
From when was the Abortion Law Reform Association campaigning for legalisation?
1945
When was the ‘thalidomide disaster’?
1959 to 1962
When was the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child set up?
1966
Which MP campaigned for the legalisation of abortion?
David Steel, Liberal MP.
What happened in the thalidomide disaster?
The drug thalidomide, prescribed to pregnant women with morning sickness, was found to produce congential deformities in children.
As a result, a majority of the population supported abortion when an abnormality was detected in a foetus
When was the Abortion Act passed?
1967
Until when was abortion allowed in pregnancy?
Until 28 weeks, with the consent of 2 doctors.
What was the abortion rate change from 1968 to 1975?
4 per 100 (35,000) in 1968 to 17.6 per 100 in 1975 (141,000)
When did the Wolfenden Commission recommend decriminalising homosexuality?
1957
Which backbencher campaigned for the decriminalisation of homosexuality?
Leo Abse, Labour MP.
When was the Sexual Offences Act passed?
1967
What did the Sexual Offences Act permit?
Decriminalised homosexuality if:
both consented
both were over 21
it was in private (interpreted as alone in a building)
In which Local Education Authorities were comprehensive schools established?
Labour-controlled councils like Greater London.
How many students were in comprehensive schools in 1951 and 1964?
1964 - 1 in 10
1951 - 1 in 100
Who became education minister under the Labour government?
Tony Crosland
When did Tony Crosland issue Circular 10/65, urging all LEAs to convert schools into comprehensive schools?
July 1965
What were direct grant schools?
Old grammar schools that accepted many scholarships from LEAs, phased out in 1976.
When was the Robbins Committee, that showed Britain was slipping behind in science and technology compared to other western nations, established?
1961
What replaced Colleges of Technology under Labour?
Polytechnics, focusing on applied education
How many Colleges of Advanced Technology became universities under Labour?
Nine
What did the Royal College of Science in Scotland become, under Labour?
Strathclyde University
By 1968, how many new polytechnics and universities had been established?
30 polytechnics and 56 universities
When did a Labour Party study group first propose a ‘University of the Air’?
March 1963
Who did Wilson appoint to oversee the Open University project, in 1964?
Jennie Lee
When was the Open University’s headquarters established? Where was this?
September 1969, Milton Keynes.
By 1970, how many comprehensive schools were there?
1145, caring for 1/3 of state education pupils
By 1970, how many LEAs failed to meet Circular 10/65?
Only 8
When did the Open University begin studies with its first batch of students?
January 1971
By 1980, how many students did the Open University have?
70,000
By 1980, which two universities was the Open University awarding more degrees than (combined)?
Oxford and Cambridge
