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HISTORY - britain > labour reforms - COMPLETE > Flashcards

labour reforms - COMPLETE Flashcards

1
Q

what party was in charge during ww2?

A

britain was run by a coalition government made up of liberal, labour and tory politicians

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2
Q

what was the breakdown of seats in the 1945 election?

A

labour - 393 (47.8%)

tories - 213 (39.8%)

liberals - 13

others - 45

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3
Q

give details on labours 1945 election success.

A

it was a landslide win and labours first ever majority

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4
Q

who was william beveridge?

A

a british economist who wrote a report on poverty and social reform, where he introduced his concept of the five giants of poverty

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5
Q

what were beveridge’s five giants?

A 
want (poverty)
ignorance (education)
disease (healthcare/NHS)
squalor (housing)
idleness (unemployment)
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6
Q

name the reforms passed by labour to tackle want.

A

family allowance act 1945
industrial injuries act 1946
national insurance act 1946
national assistance act 1948

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7
Q

what was the family allowance act, which was passed by the coalition but implemented by labour?

A
  • 5s per week for each child after the first
  • legal entitlement of the MOTHER, not the father
  • very small amount but it was hoped that it would keep wage demands down
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8
Q

what was the industrial injuries act?

A
  • compulsory for all workers
  • paid through contributions by workers and employers
  • applied to anyone injured at work
  • benefit for 6 months
  • if the injury lasted beyond that the person was entitled to a pension
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9
Q

what was the national insurance act?

A
  • compulsory for all workers
  • covered sickness, unemployment, maternity, widow and guardian benefits, old age and a death grant
  • ministry of national insurance set up with 40,000 civil servants to run the system (determined to work)
  • would pay for itself as long as unemployment was under 8.5%
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10
Q

what was the national assistance act?

A
  • covered those who could not afford to make insurance contributions such as the unemployed, the poorly paid or the handicapped
  • main claimant had to pass ‘needs test’
  • payments were low; could be weekly or a one-off grant
  • did away with the workhouse
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11
Q

give some analysis for social security.

A
  • benefit levels were fixed for 5 years but prices rose (inflation) and money was worth less
  • benefits were only 19% of the average wage and not enough to keep people above the poverty line
  • however, the population was covered from ‘the cradle to the grave’, if people were in need the government would be there to help
  • poverty was reduced but not eliminated
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12
Q

give some analysis/evaluation for the want reforms.

A
  • care from cradle to grave
  • took away poorhouse

however

  • benefits were low
  • national assistance become more than a safety net
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13
Q

name the reforms passed to tackle ignorance.

A
  • butlers education act 1944

- school building

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14
Q

what was butlers education act?

A
  • school leaving age raised to 15 , then 16 as soon as possible (didn’t happen until 1972)
  • three stages introduced: nursery, primary, secondary
  • primary and secondary compulsory and free
  • at age 11 (england) or 12 (scotland) children would sit an exam that determined whether they would receive an academic education (pass) or a practical one (fail)
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15
Q

what was the school building reform?

A

prioritised because:

a) many schools damaged/destroyed during the war
b) school leaving age raised and secondary made compulsory

by 1980, 1176 schools had been built or were under construction

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16
Q

give some analysis/evaluation for ignorance.

A
  • very few technical schools were built so a two-tier system developed
  • supposed to be ‘parity of esteem’ between Grammar and Secondary Modern schools but it was clear that a first-rate, second-rate structure was in place
  • this reflected and exacerbated social and class divisions in society as a whole
  • divisive system was also not suited to late developers
  • overall, labour did not do enough to address the educational needs of working-class children
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17
Q

what caused the major housing shortages at the end of WW2?

A

700,000 homes had been destroyed in the war

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18
Q

how many houses were needed in scotland?

A

469,00

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19
Q

what fraction of all homes needed repair and renovation?

A

one third

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20
Q

aside from houses, what else was in short supply?

A

construction workers and building materials (which were also expensive)

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21
Q

which body was responsible for housing and who was in charge of it?

A

the ministry of health, led by aneurin bevan

22
Q

what was the first priority in reducing squalor?

A

housing the homeless

23
Q

what war-time policy did the government continue with in regards to housing?

A

putting up pre-fabricated (prefab) homes

24
Q

what were prefabs?

A

ready-made factory built houses that would be put up quickly

25
Q

how many prefabs were built and how long were they used for?

A

157,000 were built and were used for much longer than originally planned

26
Q

name the acts the government introduced to tackle squalor.

A

the new towns act (1946)

town and country planning act (1947)

27
Q

what was the new towns act and what did it do?

A

12 new towns (including east kilbride and glenrothes) were created to resolve overcrowding in cities

these communities were carefully planned - industrial areas would be built away from housing areas and they would have schools, shops and leisure facilities

28
Q

what was the town and country planning act?

A

this act meant that local authorities could buy land for building low cost homes and would receive a 75% subsidy for building council houses

29
Q

how effective was the town and country planning act?

A

by 1951, 700,000 houses had been built

but there was still a shortage of about 750,000 homes

poor housing and homelessness were still serious problems

30
Q

give four successes of labour’s attempts to tackle squalor.

A
  • prefabs provided temporary housing
  • 700,000 council houses built
  • 12 new towns designed and built
  • a great deal achieved despite shortages and costs of workers and materials
31
Q

give four failures of labour’s attempts to tackle squalor.

A
  • many prefabs used much longer than planned
  • government did not create separate ministry of housing
  • 750,000 homes still needed
  • homelessness and poor housing continued
32
Q

give some analysis/evaluation for squalor.

A
  • housing shortage main reason labour lost 1951 election
  • still 750,000 fewer houses than households
  • poor compared to previous governments in housing terms, e.g. National Governments of the 1930s

HOWEVER

  • given social and economic circumstances (post-war economy, shortages) labour should not be judged too harshly
33
Q

between what years did unemployment rise and what caused the increase?

A

between 1945-46 when demobilised servicemen and women returned from war

34
Q

when did unemployment peak?

A

in 1947 at 480,000

35
Q

how did unemployment in the 40s compare to the 30s?

A

the massive levels of unemployment in the 30s were never reached in the 40s

36
Q

what did hugh dalton (labour chancellor) think of the party’s work against idleness?

A

low unemployment was “the greatest revolution brought about by the labour government”

37
Q

what did the government do to tackle idleness?

A

negotiating marshall aid from the usa

nationalising certain industries

encouraged american businesses to come to the uk

38
Q

what was marshall aid used for by the labour government?

A

to subsidise the rebuilding of britain’s infrastructure, thereby creating jobs

39
Q

which industries were nationalised and what effect did this have?

A

coal, electricity, steel, gas, railways and the bank of england

this protected jobs more than it created them

40
Q

which american businesses set up in dundee?

A

NCR and Timex, which gave employment to thousands in the 40s/50s

41
Q

what alternative reasons were given for low unemployment, as opposed to labour’s policies?

A

the baby boom removed many women from the workforce

export industries boomed (cars, motorcycles, chemicals) which created many jobs

42
Q

give some analysis for idleness.

A
  • unemployment remained low compared to 1930s figures
  • hugh dalton quote

however

  • dalton’s words not completely true, low figures were due to a mixture of policies, private industry, local councils and the baby boom
43
Q

when was the NHS introduced?

A

act passed in 1946, implemented on july 5 1948 (the ‘appointed day’)

44
Q

who was minister for health and housing and what implication did this have?

A

aneurin bevan headed both bodies, which suggests labour did not take these issues that seriously if labour had one man for the two jobs

45
Q

where did the NHS get it’s funding?

A

9% came from national insurance, the rest from taxation

46
Q

how did doctors feel about the NHS?

A

at first 2/3 doctors were opposed to it but were persuaded by beveridge, who allowed consultants to retain their private patients and guaranteed them a fee per patient

47
Q

the nhs was free at the point of use and provided what services?

A 
GPs
specialist treatment
hospital treatment
dentists
opticians
prescriptions
48
Q

how much did the nhs cost by 1950?

A

£358 million

49
Q

what did the government do in 1951 to reduce the cost of the nhs?

A

they introduced PET (prescriptions, eyes, teeth) charges for prescriptions, eye care and dental care

50
Q

what did bevan do when PET charges were introduced?

A

resigned, as he was opposed to these charges

51
Q

give some analysis for disease.

A
  • major reform, largely successful
  • massive demand shows necessity

however

  • enormous expense was shocking (£358 million by 1950)
  • strained post-war meant that charges had to be introduced (PET) which caused bevan to resign

NEVERTHELESS, the nhs was “arguably the biggest single achievement in the story of the welfare state” - RC Birch

52
Q

did the labour reforms establish a welfare state? (conclusion)

A

by 1951, a welfare state definitely existed

  • secondary education now available for all up to age 15
  • firm commitment to ridding britain of squalor
  • for first time government accepted responsibility for mass unemployment
  • comprehensive universal system of social security
  • comprehensive, universal, free health service
  • cradle to grave care/support

HISTORY - britain (5 decks)

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