Cons 1951-64: 4 Macmillan's gov 1957-63 Flashcards
when was Macmillan in office?
1957-63
how much debt did the suez military operation create?
£564 million
when was the homicide act introduced and who introduced it?
1957, Butler
it effectively ended the death penalty
what was the cons economic policy in 1957-63?
mixed economy, a loose form of Keynesianism
the aim was to avoid extreme inflation and deflation by a series of adjustments if an issue arose
what is budget politics?
‘vote-catching’ (particularly before elections)
Derick Heathcoat-Amory in 1959 made an effort to boost government support through tax cuts when inflation was high - this caused higher inflation and a wider trade gap and Heathcoat-Amory was forced to introduce tax and cut public spending
what was the balance of payments deficit in Britain at the end of 1964?
£800 million
what is stop-go economics?
policy lagged behind events, it didn’t direct them
- ‘stop’ described increased taxes when consumption and prices rose too quickly
- ‘go’ was when production and exports declined meaning taxes were cut and interest rates lowered making it easier to borrow money
what is stagflation?
compound word of stagnation and inflation
- referred to the situation when the industry declined but inflation persisted meaning the economy suffered the worst of both worlds
how was Britain’s industrial growth rate during Macmillan’s time in office?
GDP growth lowest in Western Europe (2.3 compared to Italy’s 5.6) - mostly due to heavy defence expenditure (£1.7 billion per year by 1964, 10% of its GDP)
what phrase did Macmillan coin in 1957?
never had it so good
what happened to wages from 1951 to 1964?
average weekly wage of an adult male rose from £8 6 shillings to £18 7 shillings
more than doubled
what are real wages?
the purchasing power of earnings when set against prices
when prices are high money will buy less; when prices are low the same amount of money will buy more
in the 60s inflation rose however real wages rose more
what happened to financial credit during the period?
greater availability
- loan repayment was on ‘easy terms’ (usually a small amount per month)
- resulted in a consumer boom e.g. sale of cars, foreign holidays, clothing and mod cons
what happened to the sale of private cars between 1950-65?
nearly quadrupled from 1.5 million to 5.5 million
how many houses did the cons pledge to build? how many were built between 1951-64?
300,000 per year
1.7 million (60% private dwellings)
what was the rent act?
1957 - abolished rent control putting 6 million properties on the market - however rent rose considerably making it difficult for tenants to afford leases
what kind of democracy did the cons encourage?
a property-owning democracy
how did unemployment change under Macmillan?
it fluctuated - reached a low 298,000 in 1955, a high of 878,000 in 1963, dropped again in 1964 at 501,000
what was the disagreement over education?
those who wanted to end separate three-tier schooling and replace it with a system of comprehensive schools and those who defended grammar schools
what did the cons do in terms of education?
built more comprehensive schools such as Risinghill School in London in 1960
in the second half of the 20th century more schools were built under cons than lab
Edward Boyle, minister of education (1962-64) wanted to abolish the 11+
what were the main arguments for comprehensives?
- 11+ is selective and unreliable
- selection is socially divisive
- greater share of public money went to top tier schools
- children in lower tiers were liable to be regarded as failures
- records showed that bright children performed as well in comprehensive as in grammars
what were the main arguments against comprehensives?
- denied children from disadvantaged backgrounds to benefit from specialist education to fit their needs
- quality of schools depended on the area meaning deprived areas received worse education
- wealthy parents had a choice of moving to a better area to access better schools
- most comprehensive schools put pupils into sets which differentiated children based on academic ability
what was the Robbins report?
1963
- expansion of existing unis
- emphasis to scientific education
- 12 existing colleges of advanced tech upgraded to uni status
- larger grants to be provided so no student would be deterred by lack of income
how did class change under Macmillan?
- WW2 weakened class divides
- creation of the welfare state by lab, kept by cons showed the wellbeing of entire pop is important
- growing affluence spread wealth across a broader section of the pop
what was ‘the Establishment’?
a social category of people with enough wealth, political, educational or religious connections, intellectual status or control of the media that meant they could influence government’s policy and shape public opinion
what was the response to Macmillan’s social, economic and political policies?
- critics stated that whilst wealth increased the gap between rich and poor widened however it was believed material quality of life improved
- not a coherent economic policy just stop-go economics
- no financial strategy - budget politics
- stagflation - didn’t invest in industrial development
which ship sailed in 1948?
the Empire Windrush - a converted troopship from Jamaica to Britain which helped develop Britain’s multiracial society by carrying hundreds of young males and families who wanted to find work
what was the British Nationality Act?
1948 - gave immigrants full rights to Britain citizenship which encouraged further emigration from the West Indies - the UK gov promoted this with appeals for Caribbean workers to fill work placements due to post-war labour shortages in transport and the NHS
what happened in the late 1950s with regards to race?
disturbing reactions by the white population - posted ‘no coloured’ signs in windows of factories, people spoke of Britain being ‘swamped by waves of immigrants’ (exaggeration - never more than 6% of pop)
what accommodation problems were faced due to rising immigration?
immigrants tended to live in poorer areas due to lack of resources however there was a severe shortage of affordable housing - causing competition between low income residents and newcomers (also prevalent when work was scarce)
what happened in urban areas, most notably Notting Hill?
Race riots of 1958 - gangs of white youths (sometimes referred to as the Teddy boys) harassed black residents who frequently retaliated
August 1958 in Notting Hill, crowds of over 600 white males tried to batter their way into black-owned properties, petrol bombs were thrown - severe prison sentences were imposed on the 9 leaders - it was revealed that they were members of the White Defence League
what did the Salmon report conclude (named after Lord Salmon)?
put the race riots down to white reaction to increased immigration and made no reference to racism
what was the Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1962?
1962 - aimed to limit immigration by creating a voucher scheme, restricting the right of entry to those who had actual jobs to go to
it proved highly controversial and was condemned as being racist as it placed restrictions due to ethnic-origin
a consequence was news of the act led to a rush of immigrants prior to its publication - 1960-2 over 230,000 new commonwealth (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and the West Indies) citizens entered
when were the Race Relations Acts introduced?
1965 and 1968
when did Labour introduce a new Commonwealth Immigration Act?
1968
what was the ‘youth subculture’?
unwillingness of young people to accept the standards and values of their elders and their wish to assert their own identity
could lead to antisocial behaviour such as the ‘mods and rockers’ beginning in 1964 (prearranged fights usually on bank holidays by the beach)
what caused the antisocial behaviour and youth subculture?
- growing affluence meant more independence within youth
- pockets of poverty meant people felt alienated
- first gen to not live through depression and world wars
- psychological theories of the day encouraged youth to act out their feelings
- scandals of those in the Establishment set poor examples
- satire boom on tv and newspapers
IGNORE what reforms were introduced in the 1900s advancing women’s status?
- sex disqualification act 1919 (opened al professions to females)
- matrimonial causes act 1923 (women could divorce their husbands)
- new english law of property 1926 (entitled women to owning and disposing their property the same as men)
- representation of the people act 1928 (gave women over 21 right to vote)
- british nationality of women act 1948 (gave women the right to retain British nationality when married to a foreigner)
what happened when men returned from war (job wise)?
women were expected to give up their jobs - few months post-war 75% of women had left their job and returned to traditional life
what happened to divorce rates after the war?
skyrocketed
1939 - 7012
1947 - 60,190
divorce was only permitted on grounds of adultery, cruelty or desertion
by 1960 how many jobs were held by women?
1/3
however 2/3 of those were in low income roles
despite being regarded as the party of imperialism what process did the cons continue?
decolonisation despite protests by bodies such as the League of Empire Loyalists
when was Macmillan’s ‘wind of change’ speech?
1960
which years did Macmillan gives independence to all colonies in Africa and majority of everywhere else?
1957-1968
all were relatively bloodless
what was the Mau Mau rising?
1952-60 clashes between British forces and Kenyan nationalists resulting in the death of thousands of native Kenyans and hundreds of Europeans
the problems were over when independence was to be granted not whether it would be
what happened in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)?
- the white settler community refused to accept the principles of majority rule and one vote per person
- whites believe it would give black people power which they were ‘incapable of exercising’
- Ian Smith (PM and leader of white Rhodesian Front Party) declared Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965
- Rhodesia, for the next 15 years was subjected to economic sanction and an embargo on tobacco, their main export
- civil war between black African guerilla fighters and white settlers forced Smith to a conference table with PM Margaret Thatcher’s government
- 1980 free elections saw a victory for Robert Mugabe, leader of ZANU
- Zimbabwe was adopted as the name of the country
how did the loss of the empire effect Britain?
common misconception that Britain were gaining finically from their colonies however they were paying more in grants and aid than in profit
- end of war in 1945, after agreeing in 1940 to pay all of India’s war costs found a debt of £1200 million
- end of war Britain owed colonies £454 million
- Britain were in debt and heavily reliant on US financial aid
- the British public ‘hardly noticed’ the lack of colonies
