Lecture 3: Interwar Britain: A Time of Contrasts? Flashcards
Britain in the inter-war period:
- Official picture of Britain was that it was forward looking, modern, increasing prosperity and standards of living in the inter-war period
- Government emphasised successes
- Key claim to success = declining rate of infant mortality, indicator of social well being
George Orwell:
- Road to Wigan = bleak image, particularly in depression period of the 1930s
Versions of Britain:
- Selective opinion on the inter-war period
- Peoples experiences varied, dependant on regional and social factors
J.B. Priestly:
- travelled around England ‘English Journey’ = travel diary
J.B. Priestly: 3 different types of England
- Traditional old England of literature and history books
- Bleak 19th C England – industrial England
- Consumption and Prosperity – sense of soullessness and loss of community, new post-war England
How varied were experience of the interwar years?
- Contrasts between: occupational groups, genders, social classes, 1920s and 1930s
Contrasts between occupational groups in inter-war period:
- Old and new industries, very different, usually divided by geographical lines
- Traditional industries, mass unemployment in inter war years, period of despair for industries such as coal, steel, shipbuilding, cotton industries
- Decline due to disruption of the economy due to the war and increased competition
- Hunger marches – 200 unemployed ship workers marched to London to protest the 78% unemployment rate in Jarrow
- Demoralising effects of unemployment
- Occupational differences, urban and rural poverty
Despite the depression interwar period actually a period of growth:
- Chemicals
- Electricity supply systems, developed 1933 National Grid
- Retail – mass consumer society
- Motor industry – 1930 exceeded a million
- New industries overwhelming concentrated in the south and the midlands, thus unemployment didn’t strike everywhere, experiences tied to region
Contrast between genders in the inter-war period:
- Class and occupational differences also relate to issue of gender
- Women often first to suffer in a household if money was short – allowed husband and children to eat
- Time of little unemployment benefit
- Women expected to undertake the domestic tasks, looking after husbands and children
- Mental health suffered as women were cut off from society due to their roles within the house
- Even when women worked they were disadvantaged
- Married Women couldn’t qualify for national insurance 1931 Anomalies Act
- Maternal mortality rate went up in the inter-war period – higher than it had been at the turn of the century
- Regional impacts on maternal mortality rate
Contrast between different social classes in the inter-war period:
- Living standards, middle class social groups did better in the inter war period, particularly white-collar workers
- Middle classes enjoyed real affluence between the wars
- Groups had access to new consumer durables, e.g. cars, homes
- Rise of motorcar – meant countryside became open for leisure e.g. bank holiday traffic jam first experienced
- Domestic service – final years of domestic services, relationship between classes evident
- Middle class life = house ownership, housing big issues after WW1, by late 1930s 360,000 houses built a year, aspirations for home ownership became middle class norm, led to the growth of suburbs
Social and political outlook between classes in the inter-war period:
- Militancy of organised labour, industrial strikes and discontent
- The General Strike of May 1926 – strike came about when trade unions called sympathetic strikes for miners, by 8th May up to 2 million men on strike, in addition to miners already, ended in nine days, confused end to the strike
- Constitutional and political issue due to such large-scale action
- Despite the fact middle classes better off, many worried about militant labour
- Threat of communism, could overturn governments
- Fear of the economic rise of the working classes
Contrasts between 1920s and 1930s:
- 1930s different decade in terms of the social politics
- Union power diminished by 1930s
- Rise of the affluent worker in 1930s
Unifying experiences:
- Railways at peak in the inter war periods
- Development of the railways (and therefore more efficient postal services)
- Transport links across the country improving
- Spread of national newspapers – unprecedented circulation
- Foundation of the BBC – more news outlets being developed
- Conservative hegemony – lack of people supporting extreme parties, total dominance for mainstream parties, particularly the conservatives, most people voted conservative in the inter-war period
Interwar year and Unemployment:
1921-39, unemployment never fell below 10%
1931-35, never less than 2m people unemployed
1932-33, almost 3m unemployed
Jarrow March, 1936
Protest as unemployment level of 78% in Jarrow
Changes in inter war years
ICI formed 1926
1920: under 3/4m electricity consumers, 9m by end of 1930s
1919: 123 branches of Sainsbury’s, 244 by 1939
1913: private cars exceeded 100,000 for 1st time. 1m by 1930
Mid 30s: 78% unemployment in Jarrow compared to 5% in Oxford
Contrasts between genders:
1931 Anomalies Act: married women disqualified for national insurance
Maternal morality rate rose by 22% 1923-33
Contrasts between social classes (living standards)
J. Stevenson, “Britain 1914-45” (1984): argues the salaried middle classes enjoyed the real fruits of affluence
1931: around 1/2m households employed at least 1 domestic servant
Late 1930s: average of 360,000 houses built a year
1926: general strike + miners’ lockout (2m men on strike and 1m miners)
1932: Mosley’s British Union of Fascists: about 40,000 members at peak
Unifying experiences in inter war period:
1914 - national daily newspapers selling 3m copies
1939 - selling over 10m
BBC founded 1922, became state owned corporation in 1927
TV Licences grew - 2m in 1926, 3m by 1930, 9m by 1939
