Chlapter 5 Flashcards
What was the seat distribution in the 1964 election
Labour 317
Conservative 304
What where Harold Wilson’s pollitical views
Initially Harold Wilson had been more left he challenged gaitskell as a member of his cabinet in 1961 and lost he had now become the left candidate
In what ways was Wilson not left wing
He supported nuclear deterents and wished to reform the trade unions,
However some argue he was just an oppurtunist
How did Wilson appear to British society
He reflected the modernisation the Labour Party represented, he was far from the traditional Etonian prime ministers, he was classless first state educated prime minister
What was Wilson’s character like away from the spotlight
He was anxious and insecure about his leadership, he plotted against competition to make sure his role was secure.
What issues did the labour government of 1964 inherit
They inherited a large deficit of 800 million
Britain was trapped in a cycle of stop-go economics with bursts of prosperity leading to inflation, runs on the pound and regular crisis in balance of payments.
The affluence of the post war boom was not reflected in Britains production rates, they were lagging behind
Who was Wilson’s chancellor of the exchequer
James Callaghan
What is deflation
Would support the value of the pound and prevent inflation. But deflation was the old stop go approach that the Labour Party was determined to break away from. There were also fears that it would stop labour from achieving its manifesto
What Is devaluation
Lowers the values of a currency in comparison to others in a fixed exchange system
Pros and cons of devaluation
Would make imports more expensive and help exporters by making British goods cheaper in other countries; this would in turn help the balance of payments. But devaluation would not only make Britain look weaker in the world, it would make Britain actually weaker as it would have to scale back its activities across the globe. Wilson also feared that the Labour Party would become known as the devaluation Party after Attlee in 1949
How did labour aim to combat economic issues
Wilson thought success could be achieved by careful management and planning.
He set up the department of economic affairs led by George brown that set growth tangents and devised a national system of economic planning councils
Why was the dea abandoned in 1967
The dea were virtually in competition with the chancellor and the orthodox economists at the treasury
The treasury and Bank of England often undermined the dea by refusing to pass over papers
Brown was moved to the ministry of foreign affairs in 1966
Harold Wilson tried to pick personalities rather than picking the right people for the job
What was prices and incomes policy
It was government intervention to set limits on price rises and to call for wage restraints in negotiations between unions and employers
Was prices and incomes policy successful
No it wasn’t very successful as in 1966 there was another sterling crisis caused by a long and bitter strike by the national union of seamen
Frank cousins resigned from the cabinet over the policy the relationships between the government and trade unions was deteriorating.
What state was Britains economy in 1967
An outbreak of war in the Middle East known as the 6 day war affected oil supplies
A major national dock strike in 1967 affected balance of payments.
The goverment decided that the devaluation of the pound could not be avoided the pound dropped 14% to 2.40 dollars
Labour also introduced defences cuts and hire purchase restrictions and higher interest rates.
How was the labour goverment affected by the economy in 1967
They tried so hard to avoid devaluation that the devaluation crisis damaged its credibility. A few weeks later Britains second application to join the eec was rejected, it made the goverments economic policies look futile
How did economic situations improve in the late 60s
Jenkins was appointed chancellor of the exchequer in 1967 he used deflationary methods such as raising taxes and tightening goverment spending these measures made the goverment unpopular but by 1969 a balance of payments surplus had been achieved
How did the post war consensus affect trade unions
Post war consensus regarded that they would work closely with trade unions and employers
What where wildcat strikes
Sudden, unofficial local disputes that begun without reference to the national leadership
How did industrial relations with the unions deteriorate in 1966 and 1967
In 1966 and 1977 strikes by the seamen and dockers caused economic problems, these strikes demonstrated that old style union leaders where losing power
Who was Barbara castle
She was Wilson’s employment minister and proposed the white paper in place of strife in 1969
What was the purpose of in place of strife
To limit unofficial strikes
What where the unions reactions to castles proposal
They hated it
Who liked in place of strife
Voters
MPs Roy Jenkins
What plane did Britain develop
Concorde
What issues where there with scientific and technological progress
The goverment was hindered by a lack of expertise Roy Jenkins knew little about aviation so struggled to understand breifs, frank cousins had little interest in technological development, however this change when Tony Benn took over
What policies were there under Wilson
Introduction of the dea
Prices and incomes policy
Trade unions
Housing
The open university
What was the open university
Wilson wanted to be remembered for the OU it gave a second chance to those who could benefit from it.
It faced opposition from Tony cross land on the grounds it was a waste of money, the OU received its royal charter in 1969, first under grade we’re admitted two years later
What did Wilson do concerning house
14 new towns were established designed to alleviate population pressures. The ambitious targets they set were never quite reached due to pressure on the pound.
What issues were there within the Labour Party
The left and right had been United by Wilson through technological modernisation, however there were personal rivalries within the party, Wilson always feared that he would face a leadership challenge from either Callaghan, brown or Jenkins
What tensions were there between brown and Wilson
Brown was hugely resentful that he had lost the leadership election to Wilson and was further disappointed he was not made foreign secetary in 1964. Wilson was also rumored to have undermined browns reputation by keeping a record of Any embarrassing moments he was involved in once he had been reshuffled to the foreign office
What were the tensions between Roy Jenkins and Harold Wilson
He did not really support Jenkins’ liberalising legislation as Home Secretary. When the seamen strike of 1966 happened it caused a sterling crisis Jenkins tried to get the cabinet to support devaluation, Wilson saw this as a plot to replace him.
What tensions were there between Callaghan and Jenkins
Callaghan did not approve of Jenkins pro European stance nor of his liberalising legislation. Jenkins was critical of the failure to devalue when Callaghan was chancellor and was a supporter of the trade union legislation that Callaghan helped to block
Background to the troubles
Northern Ireland had been created in 1922, after the Irish was of independence 1919 to 1921. Ireland was partitioned between 6 counties in the north of Ireland that would remain part of the United Kingdom and the other 26 counties which would be Irish free state.
What was the religion divide in Ireland
Majority of people on the Irish free state were catholic but in Northern Ireland they were majority Protestant. Catholics in Northern Ireland were discriminated against in housing and employment, electoral boundaries were also created to ensure Catholics could not be elected
There were accusations that the royal ulster constabulary the northern Irish police was biased against Catholics.
How did tension in Ireland arise in 60s
- in 1964 the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland started to challenge the biasty, tensions rose as some unionists feared that ira would start a new campaign
- loyalists responded by setting up parliamentary organisations to defend the union.
- in 1968 civil rights marches were held in 1968 to protest against discrimination they were attacked by loyalists
Who were the ira
Organisation that fought for independence in the Irish war of independence it did not accept the partition of Ireland
What happened in 1969 in Ireland
The situation deteriorated further the loyalist apprentice boys went ahead with their annual march in Derry and were attacked by nationalists in the catholic area of the bogside. The ruc tried to storm the bogside but were held back in two days of rioting.
How did Wilson respond to rioting In Ireland
In august 1969 Wilson sent in British army troops
What was evidence for the end of the post war consensus
By 1970 there were signs the post war consensus was breaking down:
Trade unions were seemingly uncooperative,
Left of labour wasn’t pleased by moderate consensus social problems and poverty had not been ended, in the Tory’s it was identified a need for trade union reform, also wether state should take a greater role in planning economy
Why was Wilson expected to win the 1970 election
Jenkins was credited with achieving economic and financial stability
Wilson was considered far better campaigner and more popular than Edward heath
Why did the conservatives win in 1970
-Edward heath had greater strengths than given credit for
-labours position in the 1970s was very fragile
-heath was very competent
-between 1966 and 1969 labour faced a series of setbacks
-1968 Enoch Powell rivers of blood speech. Some voters liked what Powell was saying also showed heath as strong when he sacked him
-concern that post war consensus was not working
Results of the 1970 election
Edward heath won 360 seats giving a majority of 30 seats heath won 46.4% of votes
