Economic Impacts of WW1 on Britain Flashcards
what did the size of the war require?
state intervention on a huge scale
what policy were the gov steering away from during B’s wartime economy?
laissez-faire
define laissez faire
limited state intervention in its economy and/or society
what did Britain have to support a massive increase in?
production of weapons of war
how many shells had been produced by early 1915?
2 mil
by 1918, what was the overall shell production?
187 mil
what did the supply of machine guns increase to from 1914 to 1918?
1914: 270
1918: 120,870
what was the supply of machine guns in 1914?
270
what was the supply of machine guns in 1918?
120,870
what did B have to supply to its allies?
vast quantities of war materials
List 3 huge demands
use FFT
- provide transport
- increase and protect provision of food
- ensure adequate supplies of fuel (especially coal)
what did the huge demand posed by the war do to prices in 1914?
pushed up prices
what was in shortage due to the huge demand posed by the war in 1914?
materials and workers
Why did the state control of stocks of vital war materials and fixing prices? (3)
- Private industry couldn’t cope with on its own
- protection purposes due to U-boat campaign Germans
- failure of Nueve Chapelle offensive 1915; shortage of shells
What was the first major assault by British forces vs German defences in the West?
Nueve Chapelle
What did DLG persuade parliament in 1915 to grant?
- Greater state powers over industry by extending DORA
- set up MOM
what was the purpose of MOM? (Peppa Pig Sings)
oversee: -production -purchase -supply of all war material
what did MOM set up?
central purchasing system for buying essential war materials
what did MOM organise?
British science to help war effort
what did MOM encourage?
development and production of new weapons
list two new developments of war weapons that MOM encouraged?
- tank
- mortars
what did MOM encourage factories to do?
-convert from peacetime to war production
what did MOM build?
its own national factories - some of which became huge enterprises
how many people were employed in the Leed’s MOM national factory?
16,000 workers
how many shells were produced in the Leed’s MOM national factory a year by end of the war?
25 mil shells p.a
list 3 key industries that came into state control
- railways
- docks
- coal mines
by 1918, how many state factories did MOM directly manage?
250
by 1918, how many state factories did MOM supervise?
20,000
by 1918, how many workers did MOM control?
4 mil
what were women encouraged to do during the war time eonomy?
take up jobs usually only done by men
what else did MOM control? (WPP)
- wages
- profits
- prices
what did MOM ration?
essential foods
what % of all imports did MOM buy?
90%
what were MOM in charge of? (2)
- transport
- fuel
what did the state do to the clocks?
altered them by introducing British Summer Time
what did the state do to the strength of alcoholic drinks?
reduced
what did the state limit?
opening hrs for public houses
why was it hard to feed the huge armies? (2)
- shortage of labour on land
- German U-boat campgain sinking merchant ships bringing food from overseas
what was set up to increase the amount of home grown foodstuffs?
Department of Food Production
why was Department of Food Production set up?
to increase the amount of home grown foodstuffs
why did the gov subsidise farmers?
-to plough wasteland
what was done in order to plough wasteland?
government gave farmers subsidies
what did the gov allocate farmers with?
scarce fertlisers
what/who was supplied to work on the land?
prisoners of war
what were females encouraged to volunteer for?
helping with farm work
T/F in 1913, gov expenditure and revenue was balanced
TRUE
what happened to gov expenditure and revenue from 1913-1918?
gov expenditure was far greater than gov revenue
what did gov spending go from in 1913-1918?
1913: £200 mil
1918: £2600 mil
define balance the budget
ensure that gov only spends as much money as it receives so it avoids going into debt
how was B able to spend so much?
loans - especially from USA
what policy was abandoned during war?
balancing the budget
who did B borrow money from? (2)
- borrowed money from its own people
- and from neutral countries
what was increased in order for gov to spend money?
taxation
who was taxation increased for? (20=)
- middle class
- workers
what sort of tax was greatly extended in 1915?
income
what year was income tax greatly extended?
1915
what bank mainly financed the huge amounts of war materials B bought from USA?
NY banking firm J.P. Morgan
what was happening in late 1915 to B’s financial reserves?
running out
how much was the loan that the USA agreed to give to B?
$5000 mil
what became more crucial to B’s war effort?
financial dependence on USA
what did B face when war ended?
huge debt and severe economic harships
what were workers hit by an increase in?
cost of living
what happened to the cost of living and who did this effect?
workers + it increased
what is the % of increase in food prices in the first month of war?
10%
what happened to food prices following the start of the war?
continued to increase
by 1918, what had doubled?
food prices
what happened to food prices in 1918?
doubled
in what year did food prices double?
1918
in 1914, how were prices and wages levels?
balanced, 100
in 1918, how were price and wage levels?
unbalanced - 203 (prices), 195 (wages)
what did workers benefit from?
more work
list 2 benefits for workers
- full time work
- many unskilled workers had bargaining power due to labour shortages so they earned more
what could those already in work do to increase earnings?
work overtime
list 2 pieces of evidence to show better living conditions for the poorest in working class
- lower levels of working class mortality
- low poor relief applications
what classes were disadvantaged by the war?
- middle class
- upper class
why were the middle/upper classes disadvantaged by the war? (2)
- higher income tax rates
- taxes on land
what happened to many landed estates?
sold off
what was the % of land holdings in England being sold between 1917-1921?
25%
how were conditions for many working class houses?
poor
- lacked basic facilities
- over crowded
what did war do to housing situation?
worsened it
what were the two major factors that worsened housing situation during war?
- new house building and even major repairs were generally halted
- demand for munition workers meant even more people coming into already overcrowded industrial towns
why did landlords increase rents?
increase demand combined with no increase in supply of houses
what was a place where the housing situation was especially bad?
Glasgow
who led unrest to gov which meant they introduced a Rent Restriction Act in 1915?
Mary Barbour
what was introduced as a result of unrest in Glasgow led by Mary Barbour?
Rent Restriction Act 1915
when was the Rent Restriction Act introduced?
1915
what did DLG promise houses would be fit for?
“fit for heroes”
who introduced the first Housing and Town Planning Act in 1919?
Christopher Addison
when was the first Housing and Town Planning Act introduced?
1919
what did the first Housing and Town Planning Act encourage local gov to do? (2)
- clear slums
- construct low rent homes for working class
how many houses had been built by 1922?
200,000 houses
200,000 houses were built by what year?
1922
what was the true building of houses cost but what did Addison end up paying?
true cost: £385
payed: £910
why was Addison sacked?
following outcry vs us of public money to subsidise building industry
what did DLG have to do in HOC?
apologise for house building issue
by 1922, what had been withdrawn?
grants for housing
because grants for housing had been withdrawn, what was the result of this?
shortage of over 800,000 homes for lower classes
what did Addison’s act establish?
principle that housing was now considered necessary public service that local gov were responsible for providing
define recession
a slowdown in economic activity which can lead to businesses closing down and thus more unemployment
what occurred after 1921?
economic recession
what did the economic recession that occurred after 1921 mean?
rather than expanding social provision, gov had to consider a policy of retrenchment
define retrenchment
cutting back on gov spending
why did gov appoint a committee under Sir Eric Geddes?
- struggling with debt interest
- falling tax revenues in trade slump
- rising spending
what did the committee under Sir Eric Geddes recommend?
cuts of £86 mil reduced to £64 mil - became known was the “Geddes Axe”
what are the impacts of the Geddes Axe? (4)
- housing subsidies withdrawn
- £46.5 mil cut from armed forces and £18.2 mil from education
- Agr Act 1920 was repealed
- Unemployment Act altered to make it more hard for unemployed to claim benefits
how much money was cut from armed forces under the Geddes Axe?
£46.5 mil
how much money was cut from education under the Geddes Axe?
£18.2 mil
what did the Agr Act of 1920 do? (2)
- gave price guarantees for farmers
- maintained min wages for farm laborours
when was the Agr Act?
1920
under the Geddes Axe, what was the impact on Unemployment Act?
it was altered to make it more hard for unemployed to claim benefits
what stance did TU adopt during war?
patriotic
what did DLG negotiate with TU movement?
keep strikes at min
what did the Treasury Agreement in 1914 specify?
unions involved in vital war work not allowed to strike
what act banned strikes for munition workers?
Munitions of War Act 1915
what also became illegal for workers in key production posts?
to switch jobs w/o permisson
reaction of some workers to bans/acts
some objected and believed that TU no longer fulfilling role of fighting for better wages and conditions
what were there complaints about in particular by TUs?
acceptance of dilution agreements
define dilution agreements
agreement between gov and TU in various industries to allow semi’skilled, unskilled, and female workers to be trained to do jobs previously reserved for skilled craftsmen
what continued despite bans?
strike activity
in 1917, how many strikes were there across B?
48
by 1918, what was clear about relationship between gov and TU?
good relationship coming to an end
what was stronger by 1918?
TU movement
what happened to membership in 1921 (TU)?
doubled to 8 mil
what was the mood amongst TU?
militancy
what happened in early 1920s?
creation of v large unions through amalgamation eg Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU)
what does TGWU stand for?
Transport and General Workers Union
who led TGWU?
Ernest Bevin
when was there a police strike in Liverpool?
1919
when were there serious riots in Glasgow?
May 1920
what R campaign did unions support?
“Hands off Russia”
what did dockers refuse to load?
a ship w/ weapons to be used vs R communist
who continued to try and improve industrial relations?
DLG
in 1919, what did DLG manage to put a stop to?
rail strike
what did DLG avert the threat of in Feb 1919 and how?
coal strikes by appointing Sankey Committee to investigate pay and conditions in coal industry
what did DLG set up to negotiate wages rates and look at production methods?
industrial councils
why were industrial councils set up?
to negotiate wages rates and look at production methods
why did wages get slumped and why did no. of strikes grow?
industrial recession that started in 1921
how many days were lost in strike activity in 1921?
almost 86 mil days
define nationalising
taking an industry into state ownership, organisation and control
what did Cons-dominated cabinet refuse to accept?
recommendations of majority of Sankey Commission to nationalise coal mines
why was Sankey Commission set up in 1919?
investigate wages and conditions in mines
what did the Sankey Commission’s reveal about conditions in mines?
poor living conditions; chaotic structure of industry
what Sankey Commission recommendations were agreed by gov?
- higher wages
- shorter working day
why did Cons want to avoid nationalising coal mines?
too radical and sounded too much like socialism
why did miners who wanted coal mines to be nationalised feel betrayed by gov?
they suffered from harsh conditions and this would help to alleviate exploitation from mine owners
what were used to end strikes regarding nationalising coal mines?
troops and tanks
what did post-war strike activity lead many to fear?
B workers may follow eg of R communists who had taken control of gov under Lenin in 1917
what was DLG told there would be?
“some sort of revolution” w/i next 12 months
what was established in 1920?
Communist Party of Great Britain
what was centre of radical unionism?
Clydeside in Glasgow
how many demonstrators filled up George Square in 1919, demanding the 40-hr week and raised socialist red flag?
90,000
how did gov react to demonstration at George Square?
sent in troops and tanks
what were most workers in B more concerned with?
- low wages
- rising prices
- food shortages
as opposed to political change
what occurred in 1919 and 1920?
economic boom
how were domestic and export industries doing 1919?
well
what was rising? (4)
- industrial production (grew about 20%)
- employment levels
- profits
- wages
what stopped in winter of 1920-21?
economic progress
what happened to unemployment in 1920-21?
more than doubled
what was there an urgent need for during war?
B’s staple industries products
demand for what declined dramatically towards end of war?
products from staples
what expanded by 50% during war?
B’s capacity to produce steel
by 1921, what was clear had been done in steel indsutry?
substantial over-investment
B had how many tons of shipping during war to cope with demands of continual losses to G u-boats?
2 mil
after 1918, how many tons needed to be produced a year?
0.5 mil tons
by 1918, what countries had producing more and were supplying wolrd markets?
Poland and Germany
2 rival energy sources that affected coal industry
- oil
- electricity
what had been lost during war to Japanese, India and US?
overseas markets
what lowered demand?
restrictions on trade
what affected staples the most?
- tougher foreign competition
- restrictions on trade
what impact did decline of staples have on workers?
massive lay-offs of workers
define structural unemployment
unemployment resulting from changes in make up of economy
T/F before war, B already imported greater value of goods than it exported
TRUE
how did B make up for greater levels of value of goods than it exported?
- selling services
- income from overseas investment
T/F B had an unfavourable trade balance before war
FALSE
define trade balance
balance between imports and exports
during war, what did B gov and other investors do to many overseas investments?
sold them off
what did B have to pay from loans?
interest
after war 1919-20, what was there a ST increase in?
exports to countries that couldn’t get B goods while war was fought but this didn’t last
by 1921-22, what did B have an unfavourable…?
trade balance
