Economy (+ industrial relations)

Question 1

When was Steel privatised?

Answer 1

1953

Question 2

Butler’s giveaway budget?

Answer 2

1955 - £134 million in tax cuts

Question 3

What was unemployment at in 1955?

Answer 3

Below 1%

Question 4

What was the bank rate at in 1957?

Answer 4

7%

Question 5

‘Never Had It So Good’ speech

Answer 5

1957

Question 6

Which of Butler’s policies did Macmillan’s chancellors continue?

Answer 6

• operate a mixed economy
• follow a loose form of Keynesianism

Question 7

Name Macmillan’s chancellors.

Answer 7

• Thorneycroft (1957-58)
• Heathecote-Amory (1958-60)
• Lloyd (1960-62)
• Maudling (1962-64)

Question 8

Who was chancellor under Churchill?

Answer 8

Barber

Question 9

Who was chancellor under Eden?

Answer 9

Macmillan

Question 10

Deficit in 1964?

Answer 10

£800 million

Question 11

Britain’s GDP? France’s GDP? Why was this?

Answer 11

2.3% compared to 4.3% in France. Part of this was because Britain wasn’t affected by the war as severely as France but also because they spent heavily on defence (£1.7bn).

Question 12

What percentage of R&D was spent on defence? What percentage of Britain’s total GDP was this?

Answer 12

34.5% on R&D and this was 10% of Britain’s total GDP.

Question 13

Who was Minister of Labour under Churchill?

Answer 13

Walter Monckton

Question 14

When were prescription charges introduced?

Answer 14

1952

Question 15

What was there a ‘paradoxical relationship between’ according to Jeffreys?

Answer 15

affluence and economic decline.

Question 16

Impact of the end of the Korean War?

Answer 16

Dramatic fall in the price of raw materials in 1953.

Question 17

How much more could Britain afford to buy in 1953 for the same level of exports?

Answer 17

13%

Question 18

1959 pre-election budget?

Answer 18

£370 million

Question 19

How many were employed in service industries?

Answer 19

5 million

Question 20

When and why did Thorneycroft resign?

Answer 20

1958 after Macmillan failed to back his proposed package for budget cuts, although there had been underlying tensions between the two throughout his time his chancellor.

Question 21

Inflation rate in 1961?

Answer 21

3.46%

Question 22

When and how did Macmillan attempt to reduce inflation?

Answer 22

By applying for an IMF loan in 1961

Question 23

When was the deflationary budget and what was this a result of?

Answer 23

1961 - a result of the expansionist budget that had been implemented earlier that year.

Question 24

What did the deflationary budget include? Who broke the policy?

Answer 24

A 7 month pay pause - it was broken by the electricians’ union but was generally successful

Question 25

By how much did exports rise between 1961 and 1962?

Answer 25

5%

Question 26

Consequence of Maudling’s ‘dash for growth’?

Answer 26

Worsened balance of payments.

Question 27

When was the ‘expansion without inflation’ budget? What was the growth target?

Answer 27

1963 under Maudling - had a growth target of 4%

Question 28

On what did Maudling abolish the rate of duty on?

Answer 28

Home Brewed Beer

Question 29

Neddy and Nicky

Answer 29

1962 - NEDDY responsible for long term planning and consisted of govt representatives, academics, employers and trade unionists; NICKY was created to keep an eye on wages and prices.

Question 30

Beeching Cuts

Answer 30

1963 - recommended 30% of the rail network be closed. This caused public outrage.

Question 31

What sparked a run on the pound?

Answer 31

The Suez Crisis

Question 32

Who resigned alongside Thorneycroft?

Answer 32

Enoch Powell and Nigel Birch

Question 33

Britain’s growth rate by 1964?

Answer 33

6%