Heath's Goverment Flashcards
Why was Heath different to several of the other establishment Tories within his party
He was state school educated; coming from a radically different social background
He was seemingly uninterested in plots and intrigue; unlike harold wilson
He was regarded as too honnest and wellmeaning for his own good- great at policies but not at politics
What was Heaths job between 1961 and 1963
Chief negotiator for the uks entry to the EEC
At what conference did Heath detail his more neo-classical economic viewpoints, and give some examples of these
Selsdon Park conference
Policies included tax reform, union reforms, immigration controls, cuts to public spending and endings of subsidies for lame duck industries
What were two of Heaths contradictory viewpoints
Selsdon Park programme and One Nation Toryism. however, selsdon park was not meant to be a complete rejection of the post-war consensus
Name a number of reforms that took place under Heaths premiership
School leaving age raised to 16, decimalisation, local govt was reorganized
Who was Heaths Chancellor and what actions did he undertake
Anthony Barber- He intially cut both spending and taxes. however, this lead to a rapid rise in inflation, yet was not accompanied by economic growth, leading to Stagflation and an event known as Barbers Boom
Why did the govt u-turn on its Selsdon Park conferences and how did it do that
Unmeployment was approaching a million.
They nationalised Rolls Royce in 1971, and more notably and the famous U-turn, they pourned money into Upper Clyde Shipbuilders to keep them solvent
What undermined Heaths govts moderately successful economics policies in 1973
The yom kippur war and the subsequqent opec embargo on countries perceived to be supporting Israel, causing the price of oil to treble.
What did the rise in the price of oil precipitate
A demand for a huge pay rise from the National Union of Miners at the end of 1973
What legislation did Heath pass in relation to industrial relations and what pervious legislation did it mimic
Industrial Relations Act-similar to in place of strife
What did Heath abolish, having been previously set up by Harold Macmillan to control inflation
National Board for Prices and Incomes
What did Heaths Industrial Relations Act implement
An industrial relations court, strike ballots with a cooling off period.
Why did the IRA(trade union) fail
Unions were radically opposed to it; notably the Trade Union Congress and Confederation of British Industry
How many days were lost in 1972 to strikes;the highest number since 1926
Nearly 24 million
When did the Miners Strike begin and who was it lead by
1972 and Arthur Scargill
