Izzy Notes Flashcards
What was the rate of unemployment in 1921?
11.3%
What was the Unemployment Insurance Act?
Dole system - 39 weeks of unemployment benefit
What was the 1919 Housing and Town Planning Act?
subsidies to build 500,000 new houses. Falls through due to the weakness of the government
How many houses were built overall through Housing Acts?
1.1 million
What did the Cunliffe Committee report in 1918?
Return to the gold standard
By how much was public expenditure cut in 1920?
75%
How much was the Geddes Axe initially?
£87million, reduced down to £52 million
Who agitated for the retraction of the state?
In 1921 the Anti-Waste League was formed by Lord Rothermere to campaign against what they considered wasteful government expenditure, and three of its candidates won by-elections from government supporters between February and June 1921
What did Baldwin succeed in negotiating by 1923?
£34 million p.a. debt repayment to the US. 40% of government spending.
When was the Gold Standard returned to?
1925, at $4.86
What techniques was the UK market slow to adopt?
Fordism, consumer credit, eliminating surplus capital, structured management.
What emerged in the UK?
North/South divide
What do McKibbin and Jarvis argue about the nature of conservative appeal?
Conservatives learnt to appeal to urban, industrial workers by arguing that Labour was a sectional, special-interest party – governing in the interests of miners, the poor and the unemployed – and thereby against the interests of the ordinary ‘public’
How did franchise change?
7.7m to 21.4m
What do Thackary and Jarvis contend?
Working class broken down from a homogenous mass
What are the key principles behind Conservatism?
Rights of property, importance of authority and order, cross-class integration, religion (C of E), private enterprise, commitment to Britain’s Great Power status (importance of Empire).
How many votes did the Liberals get in 1918?
13.3%
Where did the Liberals retain support?
Liberals retained support in areas of Yorkshire, East Midlands, London, and Rochdale.
What is significant about the formation of a national government in terms of Baldwin’s image?
By encouraging the king to invite MacDonald to form another party, he gives the impression of being ‘above’ politics. Jackson: Baldwin successfully projected himself as a non-partisan, inclusive figure who spoke for the nation as a whole. Apolitical father of the nation.
What does Cowling argue about Baldwin
Baldwin had political genius. The Liberal decline was not inevitable, and was in fact as a result of tactics of Baldwin (plus internal divisions).
What does Mandler argue about Baldwin?
Little Man - national character. Pipe, garden, family.
What did WW1 do for the trade unions?
WW1 dramatically enhanced the legitimacy of collectivism and Trade Unions, but this was no immediately translated into electoral success for Labour. Had poor organisation outside its industrial heartland in the 1920s. Limited appeal in the 1923 election.
What was crucial to Labours victory in 1923?
The defence of free trade
What were the key policies of the Labour government of 1924?
Wheatley Housing Act (1924) sought to rectify damage to building trade during the war, making rent more affordable.
Increase benefits slightly
What does Owen argue about the first Labour government?
dispute over court dress important - to a great extent damaged by inability to accord to the conventions of parliament
By how much did unemployment increase under the Labour government?
From 1.1 million to 2.5 million
Philip Snowden in 1922
The Labour party is the very opposite of a class party
What did the Labour party think from the 1920s onwards?
That history was on its side
What was notable about MacDonald from 1930s rhetoric?
clearly lacked clear policies.
What is Beers’ position on MacDonald?
MacDonald was lazy and hopeless in preparing for the political broadcasts of 1924, but Snowden was seen as excellent
