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