Economic Developments: Economic Management from 1964-70 Flashcards
What was happening with Britains industrial state?
It was becoming a post-industrial nation
What would Britain being post-industrial mean?
Manufacturing industry would shrink
What Percentage of Britain’s R&D funds went to military expenses?
34.5%
What percentage of Japan’s R&D funds were spent on military expenses?
0.9%
What was France’s R&D expenditure on military?
Around 25%
How much did Harold Wilson request from the IMF in 1964?
£1 Billion
Who were Britain immensely in debt to in the 1960’s?
America
What did the Labour Manifesto focus on with technology?
Embracing ‘white heat’ of technology to modernist industry. Increase welfare and school spending
What put an end to Labour’s Manifesto promises?
Balance of Payments Deficit of around £800 million
What was happening to Britain’s society in terms of class?
Britain was becoming a classless society
How did Wilson involve himself with modern Britain?
Gave The Beatles MBE’S Met famous actors such as the cast of Coronation Street
What is a building that can show embracing technology? When was it finished? What did it use?
Post Office Tower, finished in 1965 and used telecommunication
What British city was at the forefront of drastic modernisation?
Birmingham
What happened to slums at the center of Birmingham?
They were cleared to make way for a large shopping center
What did Maudling say to Callaghan when he left his job?
He wished him good luck
What would happen to foreign British military bases in the next 5 years?
They would start to disappear as they were too expensive
What is the term referring to the military bases in places such as Malaysia?
East of Suez
Who did Wilson trust to lead the DEA?
George Brown
What did Wilson do with Callaghan and Brown?
Set them against each other as they were partially competing for the same job
What was the Treasury planning to do with the DEA?
Get rid of it before it could even begin
What did the Treasury Plan?
Move all of the people who should have worked in the DEA to other places
What was the DEA’S national plan?
Introduced a prices and incomes policy
What happened with the DEA and it’s plan?
The plan was not used and the DEA by 1967 was silently abandoned
What was the impact of the prices and incomes policy that was instead announced?
Resulted in National Union of Seamen striking
When did the National Seamen Strike start? (To the day)
May 16th 1966
What pay rise did the Seamen want?
17%
What pay rises did the government usually give out?
3.5%
Which year from 1964-70 experienced the least amount of strikes?
1966
How many strikes occurred in 1966?
2000
Why did Wilson often put members of his government against each other?
So they could focus on that instead of possibly taking Wilson’s role in the government
What did Wilson increase Labour seat majority to in 1966?
96 seats
What war occurred in 1967?
Arab-Israeli war
How much was average economic growth per year in this period?
2.5%
What was the impact of the foreign war?
Suez Canal was closed until 1975
As well as the 1967 war, what were Britain dealing with at home in terms of strikes?
NUS were on Strike
What did Labour try and do to counter the run on the pound in 1967 with interest rates?
They rose the interest rates to 16%
How much did Labour devalue the pound in 1967?
By 14%
How much higher were wages and prices in 1966 compared to 1964?
Prices 8% higher in 1966 Wages 11% higher in 1966
Who was initially in charge of the Ministry of Technology?
Frank Cousins
What was a limitation of Ministry of Technology leadership?
Frank Cousins had little experience with technology
What are some examples of public industries embracing technology?
Telephone services used telecommunication more
Who replaced Frank Cousins? What were they like?
Wedgewood Benn, they were an enthusiastic modernist
What is an example of Wedgewood Benn’s modernisation projects?
He oversaw the creation of Concorde
How much did Ministry of Tech spend a year on research establishments? How many were there?
£400 million a year 17 research establishments
What was inflation at in 1970?
12%
How many days were lost to strikes in 1969?
7 million days
How many days were lost to strikes in 1970?
11 million days
