chapter one

Question 1

bevanite quarrel

Answer 1

split in the labour party when bevan (maker of NHS + minister of labour) reigned over labours choice to add charges for prescriptions

Question 2

1951 election results

Answer 2

labour won more votes and conservatives won more seats, but due to first-past-the-post voting system, conservatives won (conservatives 48.0% and 321 seats vs. labours 48.8% and 295 seats)

Question 3

who was prime minister after 1951

Answer 3

winston churchill

Question 4

oppositions view on churchill

Answer 4

regarded as a tired, old (80 years old) force; many believed churchill would struggle with the intense economic difficulties following the war

Question 5

churchill as prime minister

Answer 5

1951-55
suffered from a stroke in 1953 that left him with impaired speech
inactive in domestic policies
prioritised preventing international conflict
uninvolved in party politics
often left other ministers in charge

Question 6

why was churchill inactive in domestic policies

Answer 6

viewed himself as an international statesman

Question 7

why was churchill uninterested in party politics

Answer 7

had switched from conservative to liberal in 1904 before rejoining conservatives in 1924; convinced liberals to join his cabinet and had non-conservatives to oversee ministries

Question 8

acting prime minister when churchill was away 1951-55

Answer 8

anthony eden

Question 9

great depression

Answer 9

1930s depression started in wall street; led to unemployment that affected 25% of brits in the 30s

Question 10

role of rab butler and harold macmillan under churchill

Answer 10

butler; chancellor of the exchequer (responsible for economics + finances; typically 2nd most powerful after the prime minister)
macmillan; minister for housing

Question 11

tensions within churchills government

Answer 11

butler, macmillan and eden did not get on well; and tensions grew between churchill and eden (who would step in after churchill resigned)

Question 12

who was prime minister after 1955

Answer 12

anthony eden

Question 13

eden as prime minister

Answer 13

initially high hopes
increased majority from 17 to 60
very popular with public
suez crisis….. yikes…

Question 14

butler and macmillans roles under eden

Answer 14

butler; chancellor
macmillan; foreign secretary

Question 15

criticisms of eden (pre-suez)

Answer 15

almost all of his previous government experience was in foreign affairs, was inexperienced and uninterested in domestic policies; he was also anxious about making decisions and was ‘too lenient’ with trade unions to avoid industrial conflict

Question 16

suez crisis

Answer 16

december 1956-57
eden had told house of commons that britain did not know israel planned to attack egypt in december 1956; in reality had been planned with britain and france since october to reclaim british access to suez

Question 17

results of suez crisis

Answer 17

turning point for britains illusion of imperial power (eden was v. eton)
edens reputation ruined due to lying, backlash heavily from labour and the press
40 conservative mps rebelled
pressure from usa revealed britain to be weaker politically and economically
eden resigned 1957 over ‘ill health’

Question 18

who became prime minister 1957

Answer 18

harold macmillan

Question 19

why was their tension picking a new leader 1957

Answer 19

rab butler vs macmillan
butler was not as popular in the conservative party, but was with the actual country; reputation had been ruined by tax cuts shortly before an election and then raising them again after; also had associations with britains plan of ‘appeasement’ to nazi germany, whereas macmillan resigned in outrage

Question 20

macmillan as prime minister (initially)

Answer 20

no lasting splits within the party
apparent economic prosperity
very popular with voters (‘supermac’)

Question 21

what majority did macmillan achieve as prime minister and when

Answer 21

100 (october 1959)

Question 22

domestic policies during affluent society

Answer 22

acceptance of the post war consensus
1951; conservatives promised to build 300,000 houses a year (macmillan as housing minister saw the success of this)
education reforms (butler act of 1944) with introduction of grammar schools, technical schools and secondary modern school, school determined by the 11+
clean air act 1956; aimed to prevent smog
homocide act 1957; restricted when the death penalty could be used
the wolfenden commission 1957; homosexual behaviour decriminalised

Question 23

post war consensus

Answer 23

made after world war two by both parties for long term rebuilding of the country unaffected by what party is in government
mixed economy (command and free market)
support for NHS and welfare state
full employment as priorty following the 1930s
working with both trade unions and employers

Question 24

labour divisions

Answer 24

atlee resigned in 1955
growing split in the party of ideology and personality (bevanite quarrel between bevan and gaitskell)
tension with bevan and gaitskell rivaling for head of labour
gaitskell (rep. of right of labour) won
after the defeat of the 1959 election, splits became even more obvious
bevan was against unilateral nuclear disarmament until an increase in the left of labour joining cnd
gaitskell suggested getting rid of clause iv (party commitment to nationalisation)

Question 25

unilateral nuclear disarmament

Answer 25

policy of renouncing the use or possession of nuclear weapons without waiting for any international consultation or agreement

Question 26

nationalisation

Answer 26

state ownership of key industries

Question 27

reasons for conservatives fall from power (after 13 years)

Answer 27

from 1962 macmillans reputation started to decrease as his grip on government and the public/press; leading to his resignation of prime minister in october 1963
britains application to join eec was rejected (embarassing…)
inflation was becoming subtly uncontrollable
‘night of the long knives’
series of spy/sex scandals related to the conservative party

Question 28

1963 eec rejection

Answer 28

britain was viewed as a deadweight or burden; and the joining of the eec was stopped by de gaulle of france
‘sick man of europe’

Question 29

night of long knives

Answer 29

july 1962
macmillan sacked 1/3 of his government in attempt to rejuvenate his cabinet but actually just weakened it

Question 30

george blake scandal

Answer 30

1961; blake convicted of being a double agent for the soviet union

Question 31

john vassal

Answer 31

1962; a civil servant was discovered to have been being blackmailed for being gay to pass on information to the soviet union

Question 32

the profumo affair

Answer 32

the defence secretary (john profumo) had a brief relationship with christine keeler; she was also sleeping with a prostitue spy called ivanov; profumo forced to resign in disgrace

Question 33

final straw for macmillan before resignation

Answer 33

profumo affair

Question 34

who became prime minister in 1963 and why

Answer 34

lord douglas home; due to there being massive party divides between two best ooptions, he was a happy medium

Question 35

issue with lord douglas home

Answer 35

epitome of what the conservative party was negatively associated with (old, out of touch, eton-educated, not for or even with the people)