Depth 5 Flashcards
What happened to the British economy after WW1 & why?
The economy boomed.
Because new industrial markets were exploited & semi-skilled workers undertook the work done by skilled workers during the war.
The post-war booked was short-lived.
How did the Great Depression & the WSC make the situation worse?
It made it worse due to a decline in US exports & the instability of markets.
Britain’s heavy industry went into a decline following 1929.
What staple industries failed to adapt to the advances made during WW2?
Coal, steel and iron, textiles & shipbuilding.
What percentage of the market did Britain’s shipbuilding hold in the 1920s?
What had it decreased to by 1933?
1920s: 40% market share.
1933: 7% market share.
What had happened to coal exports by 1930 & why?
Coal exports had halved due to the revival of other countries coal industries & underinvestment.
How much had the price of steel fell after the Depression & why?
The price of steel had fell 45% after the Great Depression.
Due to cheap iron & steel flooding in from Europe & undercut prices.
In the coal & cotton industries, what was the level of unemployment in 1924 compared to 1930 due to the mass laying off?
Coal
1924: 6.9%
1930: 23.8%
Cotton
1924: 15.9%
1930: 44.7%
What industries had developed & grew during and after the war?
Car manufacture.
Light industry (commodities).
What tariff protections were put into place & what did they do?
McKenna Duties (1915)
- Put a 33.3% import tariff on military vehicles during WW1 (continued)
- In 1926, extended to include commercial vehicles.
Safeguarding on Industries Act 1921
- 33.33% import tariff on industries producing optical glass, synthetic materials & metallic tungsten.
(Renewed in 1926)
What did the McKenna duties allow the motor industry to do?
The McKenna duties allowed motor industries to keep production levels high.
What did the government refuse in regard to tariff protection & why?
The Gov refused protection for heavy, staple industries.
Partly because of commitment to free trade, but also because investment in them in 1919-20 led to an initial post-war boom.
What were the factors that led to a decline in trade in the 1920s & 30s?
WW1
Gold Standard
Japanese products/interference
The Empire turns against Britain
WSC & GD ensuing
How did WW1 change the structure of trade?
Britain lost markets abroad & industries geared up to war production.
When did Britain go back to use the Gold Standard and how did it affect them?
1925
Britain went back to the GS at a time when the price of gold was high which therefore made exports expensive.
How did Japan take advantage of Britain’s withdrawal?
They flooded the British market with cheap products, and continuing to export in the 20s.
How did the Empire turn against Britain?
Countries such as India developed their own heavy industries & still imposed tariffs on Britain despite being a part of the Empire.
How did the GD & WSC crash affect Britains trade in the 20s & 30s?
As the US was Britain’s largest trade market they severely lost out.
The WSC meant the US placed high tariffs on imports & recalled loans.
This meant Britain couldn’t repay war debts as the US was the main source of loan repayments.
They were too owed money by the Allies, but they couldn’t repay either.
What areas experienced the most unemployment & why?
The North & North-East
Because that’s where heavy industry was concentrated.
Why did lighter industries grow & invest?
Examples of light industry
Because they were ready to adapt.
Printing & paper, car manufacturing.
What happened in 1934 that employed a lot of people as well as benefitting those in poverty?
Building of council houses - 1 million built in 1934-35 (double for private purchase).
All houses need furnishing which helped industry.
When did the Jarrow March occur?
Oct/November 1936
Why did the Jarrow March occur?
Because of the mass unemployment caused by the sudden closing of Palmers Yard (shipbuilding).
Events of the Jarrow March
Oct 1936: 200 men marched 300 miles to Parliament with a petition with 11,000 signatures.
It requested the re-establishment of industry in Jarrow.
When E. Wilkinson presented the petition to parliament what was their response?
It was basically ignored.
They barely discussed it, just gave the marchers a train fare and sent them off.
Nature of support/opposition for the Jarrow March
MP E. Wilkinson, local businesses, religious groups all supported it as well as the blessing from the Bishop of Jarrow (though Bishop of Durham criticised this).
Money was raised, volunteers joined in, public turned up to watch.
In contrast, the Labour Party Conference in Edinburgh wasn’t supportive & criticised Wilkinson for sending unfit men on a march with no outcome.
Trade Union Congress & NEC of the Labour Party advised Labour branches not to offer support (most ignored this).
What was the National Unemployed Workers Movement (NUWM)?
Set up my members of the Communist Party, it aimed to destroy capitalism & create employment.
What key march did the NUWM organise in 1932?
Why did this occur & what did involve?
A national hunger march due to response to the Means Test.
It involved around 3,000 people marching to Hyde Park from 18 locations.
What was the government and police’s response to the hunger march in 1932?
Government drafted 2,000 extra police, violence broke out.
Police confiscated the petition.
Government trained spies & infiltrated the NUWM.
The NUWM organised a larger hunger march in what year?
1936
Why was the hunger march of 1936 significant?
As this time, the Labour Party gave support.
Those from Jarrod joined in.
What was E. Wilkinson’s political role ?
She was the MP for Jarrow.
What did Wilkinson fight for?
To alleviate the plights of her constituents who were experiencing poverty from the close of Palmers.
When was the second labour government & who was it led by?
1929-31, led by R McDonald.
How did the 1931 crisis occur?
Because of the withdrawal of foreign investors from London banks.
What did increasing unemployment mean for expenditures & why was this difficult to handle?
More benefits, which meant less taxes.
How much money did the government need to balance the books?
120 million pounds.
What did the may report address & recommend?
The 1931 May Report addressed the financial crisis & recommended…
- £23 million should come from increased taxes.
- £97 million should come from government cuts.
Who published the 1931 May Report?
Committee on National Expenditure, set up by P. Snowden (Chancellor of the Exchequer).
After a long cabinet meeting in August 1931, what amount of cuts did they agree on?
£56 million, which wasn’t enough.
What did the divide in the cabinet lead to?
McDonald’s resignation, and the King requested the creation of a National Government.
Snowden, cabinet Chancellor, put a reduction package before the HoC in September 1931.
What cuts did this entail?
15% pay cut for teachers.
10% pay cut for MPs, judges & armed forces,
5% pay cut for police.
10% cut in unemployment benefit.
Tax increases were also put in place.
How much was this estimated to bring in?
£51.5 million
The Bank of England negotiated how much loans from what countries?
£80 million worths of loads from US & France.
When was Britain forced off the gold standard, having listened to Keynes & Bevin?
End of 1931.
What were the results of the October 1931 election?
National Government:
Received 14.5 million votes & 556 seats (conservatives winning 471).
Labour Party:
Votes fell to 6.6 million (1.5 mil decrease), leaving the with only 56 seats.
What did a weak pound guarantee which led to what?
Weak pound led to cheap goods in world trade.
This resulted in more exports which meant more jobs.
What was positive for Britain about the threat of the Nazi’s?
Britain had to rearm, which meant further demand for jobs.
What confirmed the National Government’s success?
A further election win in 1935.
What did N. Chamberlain (replaced Snowden) introduce?
What did it lead to?
Tariffs of 10% to protect British industries like farming.
This led to a 15% increase in productivity?
In 1935, wages were back to their pre-1931 levels.
True/False?
True
Housing boom
Means test
Unemployment act
Special areas act
