Liberal Reforming Legislations Flashcards
What was and How successful was the legislations towards ending capital punishment?
DETAILS:
-(1965) hanging was abolished for a trail period of 5 years, and then made permanent in (1969)
-Jenkins authorise refusal for beating prisoners using ‘majority’ verdicts for English juries
SUCCES:
More criminals convicted
FAILURE:
Crime rate not reduced
What are private membership bills?
Proposed legislations from backbench MPs, who often brought forward a number of reforms . Which was possible due to the free votes
[These bills were successful in 1960s as Jenkins was sympathetic to the backbench MPs ]
What are free votes?
Individual MPs being able to vote according to there own science rather than following official party line
(Considered moral laws if passed)
(Possible in labour government as there was not any clear outline in there manifesto towards liberal reforms)
What was and how successful was the divorce liberal reforming legislation?
Divorce reform act passed in (1969)
-allowed divorce if they lived apart for 2 years & both partners agreed to divorce
-if lived apart for 5 years & one wanted to divorce
Succes:
-divorce rates rose from 2 to 10 divorce decrees per 1000 married couples
-1950s-mid1970 (increased number of divorces)
Failure?
-(growing women independence had bigger impact)
What and how successful was the liberal legislations towards abortion?
Details:
(1967) abortion act , allowed legal termination of pregnancy in first 28 weeks, with the consent of 2 doctors. Aswell as only needing justification of having ‘mental suffering’
Success:
-abortion increased from 35,000 (1968) to 141,000 (1975)
-less deaths
-more female independence
Failure:
Failed warning people in education & from use of contraceptive pills to limit abortion
What and how successful was the liberal legislation towards homosexuality ?
(1967) sexual offence act involved :
-both partners having to consent to homosexual acts
-both had to be over 21
-both had to be in private
Success:
-an increase in men declaring homosexuality, less likely to live an double life
Failure:
‘Private’ clause was interpreted strictly , so acts only allowed when no one else was in the building =people still prosecuted
What was the context behind the capital punishment legislations
Capital punishment tensions:
-was an anti-hanging campaign following (1955) the case of Ruth Ellis (young mother was convicted of murdering abusive boyfriend)
-labour backbencher campaigned in 1960s
-1957 torries reduced number of offences involving death penalty
What was the had the divorce situation for women been like before liberal legislations in the 1960s?
-there was an unfair nature of rich being able to hire detectives (for evidence of adultery )& poor having to live unhappy marriages
-rise in divorce reform demand from an seconds wave of feminism entering Britain
What was the background behind the moral concerns towards abortion in the 1960s?
-were mostly illegal
-to terminate an pregnancy, women had to go to private clinic,
-between 100,000-200,000 illegal abortions performed each year
-(1958-1962) 82 women died after back street abortion
-the thalidomide disaster (1952-1962) caused abnormal growth in fetus, persuaded a lot of public opinion
-David steal, liberal mp, lead parliament campaign for abortion reform
What was the context towards homosexuality pre liberal legislations?
-men had been imprisoned for 2 years for participating in homosexual acts
-governmant had rejected wolfenden recommendation to decriminalise homosexuality
-labour governmant of 1954 was divided on the issue
What educational reforms were there in the sixties (1964-1970) under labour government?
-development of comprehensive schools
-Expansion of higher education & inauguration of the open university
-the open university
What were the success and failures towards the development of comprehensive schools?
SUCCESS:
-local education authorities: established comprehensive schools.
Allowing secondary education for all children in given area, providing opportunity for individuals to learn at there own pace so exams according to there ability
-(1964) 1 in 10 pupils educated in comprehensive
-Increase in comprehensive schools accelerated by Tony Crossland, minister of education in (1965) by issuing circular 10/65 . Requesting all LEA to convert to comprehensive schools
-(1966) was funded by government
-(1970) 1145 comprehensive schools catering for 1/3 of all state educated secondary schools
Failures:
-difficulty adjusting or change of status
-middle class parents were unconvinced it was “grammar school”
-people went to direct grant school & independent schools instead( old endowed grammar schools,)
-(1970) 8 authorities failed to convert to comprehensive school
What are the success and failures of expansion of higher education? (1964-1970)
Success:
-polytechnics replaced colleges of technology. Which focused on applied education for work and on teaching
-non colleges of advanced technology became full universities
(Royal college of science , Scotland = strathclyde university)
-new universities founded (Sussex)
(1968) was: 30 polytechnics & 56 universities: expanded possibilities of taking degrees , and provide higher education for family’s who previously had not attended university
Failures:
-middle class children still dominated old universities (made opportunities harder)
What were the successes of the open university?
-offered high quality degree level learning in arts and science to people who weren’t previously able to attend universities
-provide equal opportunities
Was oversaw by Jennie Lee [from working class family]
-(1969) open university headquarters established in Milton Keynes
-(1971) first students began there studies
-increase recruitment of students with different social profiles
-allowed distance learning
-raised asteem to people who fought of themselves as failures
-(1980) open universities had 70,000 students & awarded more degrees than Oxford and Cambridge combined
