end of consensus 1970-79

Question 1

What was stagflation?

Answer 1

Combination of inflation and economic stagnation/unemployment

Question 2

What was Heath’s u-turn?

Answer 2

1970 election manifesto promised to end subsidy of ‘lame duck’ industry - u-turned on this by nationalising rolls royce in 1971

Question 3

What effect did the Yom Kippur War have on Heath’s government?

Answer 3

OPEC declared an oil embargo - oil prices increased by 4x

Question 4

How many days were lost to strikes in 1972?

Answer 4

24 million, the most since the general strike of 1926

Question 5

What measures did Heath implement to deal with oil and coal shortages?

Answer 5

3 day week, TV shut off at 10:30

Question 6

What was internment and when was it implemented?

Answer 6

Locking up suspects without trial - implemented by Heath’s govt in 1971

Question 7

What % of those interned between 1971-75 were Catholic?

Answer 7

95%

Question 8

What was Bloody Sunday?

Answer 8

British soliders killed 13 NI citizens protesting internment in Derry

Question 9

What was direct rule?

Answer 9

Suspension of NI Stormont parliament and direct rule from Westminster

Question 10

What was the Sunningdale agreement and what did it propose?

Answer 10

Attempt at compromise by Heath/Whitelaw - proposed power-sharing executive, proportional representation and some ROI input

Question 11

Why did Sunningdale fail?

Answer 11

Opposition from both sides - unionists opposed any ROI input and nationalists saw it as a sell out

Question 12

How was the economy when Labour returned to power in 1974?

Answer 12

In ruins - inflation at 15%, deficit of £3 billion (£26 billion today)

Question 13

What was Wilson’s ‘social contract’?

Answer 13

Repealing Heath’s measures against the unions in exchange for voluntary pay restraint

Question 14

What were Callaghan’s ‘twin evils’?

Answer 14

Unemployment and inflation

Question 15

What did Callaghan and Healey do in 1976 to save the economy?

Answer 15

Applied for a £3 billion loan from the IMF (International Monetary Fund)

Question 16

What was the Lib-Lab pact?

Answer 16

12 Liberal MPs would vote with Labour - restored majority

Question 17

How was the economy in 1978?

Answer 17

Callaghan managed to restore the economy - GDP up 3.4% in 1978 and had £250 million surplus

Question 18

What effect did the Winter of Discontent have?

Answer 18

Made Britain look backwards (bodies piling up in streets) - “sick man of Europe”

Question 19

What was the NICC

Answer 19

Northern Irish Constitution Convention - set up by Labour to govern NI

Question 20

What happened to the NICC?

Answer 20

Failed due to unionist majority who opposed any form of power sharing

Question 21

What was special category status and when was it removed?

Answer 21

In 1976, special category status was removed meaning that IRA prisoners were no longer considered political prisoners

Question 22

What was the ‘Dirty Protest’?

Answer 22

Over 250 prisoners refused to leave their cells and smeared excrement on the walls

Question 23

What measures were taken to tackle gender inequality between 1970-79?

Answer 23

1975 Sex Discrimination Act - outlawed discrimination on basis of gender or marital status

Question 24

When was the birth control pill first made available through the NHS?

Answer 24

1971

Question 25

How much did women’s wages increase in comparison to men’s during the 1970s?

Answer 25

From 59% in 1970 to 70% in 1977

Question 26

What was the Employment Protection Act 1975?

Answer 26

Introduced paid maternity leave and outlawed dismissal on grounds of pregnancy

Question 27

When did Trade Unions first advocate for equality?

Answer 27

1979

Question 28

What was the 1971 Immigration Act?

Answer 28

Restricted Commonwealth immigration - had to have a guaranteed job and at least one grandparent born in Britain

Question 29

What was the National Front?

Answer 29

Political party prominent in the 70s opposing non-white immigration

Question 30

What were Thatcher’s views on immigration?

Answer 30

Thatcher attempted to appeal to NF ideals in a 1978 interview, talking about ending New Commonwealth immigration

Question 31

What was Heath’s attitude to Europe?

Answer 31

Extremely pro-Europe, desperate for EEC membership

Question 32

When did Britain first join the EEC?

Answer 32

1973

Question 33

Why did Wilson call a referendum on EEC membership in 1975?

Answer 33

To maintain unity in the Labour party

Question 34

What % of Britons voted to remain in the EEC in 1975?

Answer 34

68%

Question 35

What was the Markov affair?

Answer 35

Markov was a Bulgarian who defected to the West and was outspoken in his criticism of Communism - assassinated in London in 1978

Question 36

How did relations with China change between 1970-79?

Answer 36

Improved massively - Heath was made “People’s Friendship Envoy” and Hua Guofeng became the first Communist Chinese leader to visit Britain in 1979

Question 37

When did unemployment hit 1 million?

Answer 37

1972

Question 38

What was the Domestic Violence Act and when was it passed?

Answer 38

Passed in 1976, made it possible for women to get restraining orders on violent partners

Question 39

When did the birth control pill become available freely on the NHS?

Answer 39

1971

Question 40

How many New Commonwealth immigrants had come to Britain by 1974?

Answer 40

1 million

Question 41

How many black police officers were there?

Answer 41

Only 70 out of a total 22,000

Question 42

What was the punk movement?

Answer 42

Rejection of 60s hippie culture, linked to nihilism and shocking clothing/hair, rejection of commercialism

Question 43

What were the political results of increased environmental concern in the 1970s?

Answer 43

Ecology Party (later Green Party) was formed and put up 53 candidates in the 1979 election

Question 44

What were the social results of increased environmental concern in the 1970s?

Answer 44

Greenpeace founded in 1971 (UK 1977), CND campaigned as nuclear power deemed unsafe, Attenborough’s “Life on Earth” (1979)