Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Unit 5: Labour and Conservative governments > How sucessfully did Wilson and Callaghan deal with the problems Britain faced between 1974 and 1979? > Flashcards

How sucessfully did Wilson and Callaghan deal with the problems Britain faced between 1974 and 1979? Flashcards

1
Q

What was the result of the October 1974 election?

A

The Conservatives won 35.8% of the vote and 277 seats

Labour won 39.2% of the vote and 319 seats

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What was Labour’s majority?

A

3 seats

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Why did Labour and the TUC reach an agreement and what was this called?

A

To demonstrate that the 1971 Industrial Relations Act had been unnecessary

The Social Contract

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What was the Social Contract?

A

The unions agreed to cooperate in trying to control wage increases

The government promised to try and keep down prices and provide improved welfare benefits

There would be a return to free collective bargaining over wages and no statutory income policy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What was the impact of the Social Contract?

A

It didn’t solve the nation’s economic difficulties because wage increases continued to exceed the inflation rate and cynics suggested that ‘the only give and take in the Social Contract was that the government gave and the unions took’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Who was regarded as the most powerful man in the country?

A

Jack Jones, the leader of the transport workers’ union

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What did the Social Contract suggest?

A

The trade unions and government had some shared objectives

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What happened during Labour’s time in opposition and how was this reflected?

A

The party had moved to the left

In two Cabinet appointments, Michael Foot as the Department of Employment and Tony Benn as secretary of state for industry

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What did Wilson promise?

A

To renegotiate the terms of British membership of the EEC and hold a referendum on the issue

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What was announced in March 1975?

A

The new terms of British membership of the EEC, by which Britain’s contribution to the EEC budget would be reduced

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What did Wilson allow?

A

His Cabinet ministers freedom to campaign for either side

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What happened on 5 June 1975 and why?

A

A 2:1 vote in favour of continued membership

Voters believed that the success of the EEC offered a way to overcome Britain’s economic difficulties

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What was the result of the referendum for Labour?

A

It buried the issue of Europe and appeared to preserve Labour unity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What happened in March 1976?

A

Wilson announced his resignation as he had decided in March 1974 to serve no more than two more years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Who became PM?

A

Callaghan

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

How had the Labour government settled the miners’ strike in 1974?

A

By means of a 29% pay increase

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What was the rate of inflation in 1975?

A

30%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What was the response of the unions to rising inflation?

A

To demand ever bigger wage increases

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What was GDP in 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1979?

A

1973: 6.5%

1974: -2.5%

1975: -1.5%

1979: 3.7%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What was the unemployment rate in 1974 and 1978?

A

1974: 3.7%

1978: 5.5%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What was Britain’s BOP in 1974 Q4?

A

£-878 million

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What did Denis Healey conclude?

A

That economic recovery depended on conquering inflation

23
Q

What was announced in the 1975 budget?

A

Income tax rates increased by 2%

A higher 25% rate of VAT would be applied to electrical appliances in place of the basic rate of 8%

Food subsidies cut

24
Q

What was introduced in July 1975 and what was the reaction?

A

A formal income policy, setting a £6 per week ceiling on wage increase with a freeze on higher incomes

The TUC reluctantly agreed to it, but the policy was opposed by some left-wing MPs

25
Q

What did the government do in 1976 and what was the result?

A

Reduced the ceiling to £4 a week

Wage increases fell from 26% in 1975 to 15% in 1976, and to 10% in 1977

26
Q

What was the rate of inflation in 1976, 1978, and 1979?

A

1976: 16.56%

1978: 8.26%

1979: 13.42%

27
Q

What was BOP in 1976 Q1 and Q3?

A

Q1: £132 million

Q4: £-476 million

28
Q

What happened in March 1976?

A

The Public Expenditure White Paper was defeated by the Labour left

29
Q

What did public expenditure average?

A

Between 45% and 38%

30
Q

What was the value of the pound in October 1976?

A

$1.58

31
Q

What did the Bank of England do?

A

Bought pounds on the foreign exchanges in order to prop up its value, but this threatened to use up the nation’s currency reserves

31
Q

What did Callaghan realise and what did he say in 1976?

A

The onset of ‘stagflation’ had destroyed some of the economic assumptions that had prevailed since 1945

‘the option of spending yourself out of a recession no longer exists’

32
Q

What did Healey do in September 1976 and why?

A

Asked the IMF for a loan of $3900 million in an attempt to arrest the falling value of the pound

33
Q

To secure the IMF loan what was required?

A

Cutting government spending by £2.5 billion

34
Q

What had the crisis done but what had Callaghan prevented?

A

Deepened the rift between the Labour leadership and the left of the party

A severe economic crisis became a political one as he preserved the unity of his Cabinet and kept the government in office

34
Q

What did Callaghan and Healey succeed in doing?

A

Persuading the Cabinet to accept the terms

35
Q

What was the Tories lead in November 1976?

A

25%

36
Q

What happened to Labour’s majority?

A

Disappeared

37
Q

What happened in March 1977 and what was this called?

A

Callaghan negotiated a deal with the new Liberal leader, David Steel, by which the thirteen Liberal MPs agreed to support the government

Lib-Lab Pact

38
Q

What did the government’s strategy for controlling inflation depend on?

A

The unions agreeing to pay rises of no more than 5%

39
Q

What did unions believe?

A

That Healey had abandoned the Social Contract and that their members were suffering disproportionately from the government’s counter-inflation strategy

40
Q

What happened in December 1978?

A

Ford workers won a 15% pay increase after a three-month strike

41
Q

What happened in January 1979 and what was the consequence?

A

The lorry drivers went on strike demanding a 30% rise

Affected deliveries and caused petrol shortages

42
Q

What did the NUPE do and what was the result?

A

Demanded a 40% increase

Rubbish piled up on the streets and graves weren’t being dug

More strikes and overtime bans

43
Q

What was it easy for the press to do?

A

Sensationalise the situation as symptomatic of the country’s decline and the government’s impotence in the face of over-mighty union power

44
Q

What did Callaghan appear to be and why?

A

Complacent and out of touch

The tabloid headline ‘CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS?’

45
Q

How were the strikes settled?

A

The gravediggers settled for a 14% pay rise

The waste collectors got an 11% rise, plus £1 per week

Lorry drivers accepted a rise of 20%

Ford accepted a rise of 17%

46
Q

How many hospitals were only treating emergencies?

A

1100 of 2300

47
Q

What was 18 January 1979 called and why?

A

‘Day of Action’ or ‘Misery Monday’

Public sector unions, such as ASLEF, NUR, and RCN, held a 24-hour strike and marched to demand a £60 per week minimum wage

48
Q

What was the public perception?

A

That Labour could neither control the unions nor manage the economy

49
Q

Who had the government won the support of and how?

A

Plaid Cymru and SNP by promising to devolve some power to Wales and Scotland

50
Q

What happened in March 1979?

A

A referendum in Wales and Scotland failed to win enough votes in favour of devolution to proceed

The nationalist MPs expected more support for devolution from the government and felt badly let down

51
Q

What happened on 28 March 1979?

A

A vote of no confidence in the Callaghan ministry, whereby Labour lost by 311 votes to 310

52
Q

How many working days were lost to strikes in 1974, 1976, and 1979?

A

1974: 14,750 000s

1976: 3,284 000s

1979: 29,474 000s

Unit 5: Labour and Conservative governments (7 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions