Paper 1 Theme 1

Question 1

Why did the Liberal party decline?

Answer 1

• Lloyd George split the Liberal party- argued with the PM, Asquith, that people were too controlled in WW1 (rations, censorship etc), Lloyd George joined the Conservatives and went against Asquith in the 1918 election, kicked out Asquith from being PM
• Lloyd George was unpopular: people thought he was too soft on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles
• wanted to go to war in 1922 over the ‘Chanak incident’ (Turkey and Britain fought over land)- people didn’t want another war
• he sold Lord and Lady titles for money, sold them to criminals too, bribed newspapers when they threatened to write about it- corrupt
• 1922 meeting of Conservatives- 187 to 87 said Lloyd George should resign as PM
• 1918 Representation of the people act- allowed more people to have the vote (1910- 7.7 million voters, 1918- 21.4 million), working class men voted for Labour, women over 30 didn’t like the Liberals because they denied them the vote

Question 2

Why did the Labour party rise?

Answer 2

• 1910- had 7.1% of the vote, 1929- 37.1%
• strong sense of consciousness among working class meant Labour could claim to speak for the masses more than Liberals could
• Labour leaders has unity on issues that affected the w.c - worked together on issues like prices and widow’s pensions unlike Liberals
• Labour showed they could govern- many feared they would introduce radical change and take money from the rich but they didn’t so this showed their responsibility
• WW1 led to huge increase in trade union membership- they funded the party so led them to success

Question 3

What are limitations to Labour party’s rise?

Answer 3

• didn’t actually win an election but got into govt because the Conservatives resigned- minority govt
• Zinoviev letter- published by the Daily Mail and said that Labour supported Communism and were going against the state- caused them to lose votes
• seen as extremists- people said they supported the USSR
• only in govt for a year
• Campbell case- Labour govt withdrew charges but people said it was being manipulated by left wingers

Question 4

Why did Conservative success continue?

Answer 4

• in govt until 1929
• Conservative ideas e.g patriotism, empire and monarchy were popular, attracted w.c voters too
• Stanley Baldwin’s appeal- he was ordinary, wealthy but not a Lord- people saw him as one of them so voted for him, he also took on Liberal ideas like protectionism
• benefited from Labour and Liberal problems- growth of Labour and w.c pushed Liberal middle class people to vote Conservative, Liberal division led to Conservative support, danger of Labour extremists pushed people to vote Conservative
• benefited from electoral system- University students had two votes and usually voted Conservative, 1921- Ireland gained independence- they usually supported Liberals so Liberals lost 80 MPs, Conservatives could rely on votes from people in rural areas

Question 5

Why was National Govt formed?

Answer 5

context: 1929 Wall Street crash meant unemployment rose in Britain and Britain could not afford to pay for welfare, Labour govt resigned in 1931- PM MacDonald was persuaded to form National govt with the Conservatives, it was overwhelmingly Conservative with a Labour PM
- MacDonald believed Labour was the party for all, not just working classes- influence of Conservatives would help appeal to middle class
- Conservatives were happy to back MacDonald because he was popular with voters
- as MacDonald headed the govt, he was blamed for all the expenditure cuts (10% cut in unemployment benefits) , Conservatives avoided this criticism and their reputation remained intact

MacDonald resigned in 1935 due to ill health, he was replaced by Baldwin, who was replaced by Chamberlain, who was replaced by Churchill

Question 6

Challenges to National Govt: why were they in power for so long? (1931-45)

Answer 6

• King Edward VIII abdicated- Baldwin dealt with the potential crisis in a dignified way
• Hitler was becoming a threat in Europe- Chamberlain attempted to find peace and signed an agreement that Hitler wouldn’t invade Britain
• British Union of Fascists was formed, they were racist and anti-semetic and started a march in Cable Street, a predominantly Jewish area of London- very unpopular and were eventually banned
• a war cabinet was set up to make quick decisions about war during WW2- govt wasn’t really needed

Question 7

Give reasons for Labour’s landslide victory in 1945

Answer 7

• the depression 1930s- people didn’t want it back, Conservatives failed to solve the depression so people voted for a new party
• in WW2 soldiers were fighting for a ‘better Britain’- wanted full employment, free healthcare and the welfare state so they could have better lives after the war- aligned with Labour policies so they gained votes partially due to the war
• collectivism in WW2 meant that people were more equal, less of a class divide, the same rations were given- Labour success due to the war
• Labour party were in govt before- shows they were good at their job and were able to govern
• Beveridge report outlined Labour govt ideas and policies e.g universal healthcare- made them popular
• Churchill’s poor election campaign turned people away from Conservatives

Question 8

What were economic challenges in 1918?

Answer 8

• loss of trade- 20% of British ships sank in WW1, economic rivals like USA and Japan filled the gap in production, British goods were used in the war
• debt- Britain forced to borrow £850 million to fight the last 2 years of WW1, money was lent to Russia who refused to pay it back
• end of the Gold Standard- before the war all of Britain’s money was linked to gold, in WW1 all the gold was spent to pay for the war, money was no longer linked to the Gold Standard so the value of the pound could fluctuate
• inflation after WW1- prices rose and people couldn’t afford it

Question 9

Why was there economic boom 1918-20?

Answer 9

• modernisation- industries were restocking, railways were electricised
• consumer demand was high
• Britain played a leading role in Europe’s recovery of the devastation of war
• little unemployment in 1920, only 2.6% of workers without a job

Question 10

Why was there economic bust 1920-23?

Answer 10

• production exceeded consumption and there was a brief depression
• unemployment more than doubled
• during the war there was urgent demand for Britain’s goods which led to massive investment- by 1921 it was clear that there had been substantial over-investment
• Britain’s capacity to produce steel expanded by 50% but by the end of the war, no one needed such large quantities so it was not useful
• other competitors e.g USA and Japan took over industries which cheaper goods so more people bought them- caused mass unemployment in 1921-22 in staple industries e.g ship building, coal mining, steel and iron

Question 11

How was Britain wealthy in the 1930s?

Answer 11

• between 1932 and 1937 industrial production rose by 46%
• 325,000 people worked in electricity industry and by 1939, 2 in 3 homes had electricity
• motor industry boomed- 500k vehicles produced in 1937, 400k people in the industry in 1939
• aircraft industry expanded- new factories built gave new jobs
• building industry expanded by 1/3- gave new jobs, 2.7 million houses built

Question 12

How was Britain in poverty in the 1930s?

Answer 12

• high levels of unemployment- 1 million people in 1929, 3 million by 1931
• in the worst months, around 8 million people were on the dole
• staple industries fell and they suffered huge unemployment- 62% of shipbuilders were out of work in 1932, production of cotton fell by 50%, Britain imported more ships than exported
• concentration of staple industries in certain areas meant unemployment was regional, led to ‘depressed areas’
• India, who was once a market for British textiles, now exported cotton goods to Britain

Question 13

How did the Labour govt (1929-31) challenge economic change?

Answer 13

• the Treasury and Bank of England believed the depression would improve itself so the government didn’t do anything
• Colonial development act tried to solve the depression- made £1 million a year but the sum was too small and didn’t have a lot of impact
• doubled expenditure to try and stop the problem- not enough to end unemployment
• overall very limited impact

Question 14

How did the National govt (1929-31) challenge economic change?

Answer 14

• cut salaries of government employees to try and get more money for govt
• suspended the gold standard- rapid inflation and the pound fell from $4.86 to $3.40
• structural unemployment remained at high levels, staple industries remained depressed in the 1930s
• 1934 Special Areas Act made £2 million available in aid, 30,000 workers found places on training courses but nothing substantial was achieved
• 1937 amendment to Special Areas Act- encouraged firms to establish factories in depressed areas, also helped businesses but nothing substantial achieved
• attempt at helping but limited impact

Question 15

How was economy controlled (1939-51)?

Answer 15

• new ministries- ministry of supply, clothing, cars- economy was planned and controlled
• ministry of food ensured correct amount of food was distributed through rations
• ministry of war handled ammunition, war, uniforms etc
• jobs were controlled- 1941 conscription led to 8.5 million essential work orders
• army was controlled- 1945- 5.5 million people in armed services, 7.2 million in munitions and war work
• collective effort in 1945 resulted in victory, Labour govt had nationalisation of industries and state

Question 16

What were responses to economic challenge (1951-79)?

Answer 16

every govt agreed on planned economy:

• there was commitment to nationalised industries
• wage controls- National Incomes Commission by Conservatives in 1950s and National Board on Prices and Incomes by Labour in 1970s

stop go economics:
- government use it for short-term political gain- leading up to an election, govt cut taxes and increase wages- causes people to vote for them, after the election, taxes are raised, wages increased and there is inflation - damages the economy, value of the pound fell in 1967

break with consensus:

• Denis Healey, Labour chancellor of the Exchequer, tried to stop ‘stop go’ budgets because they caused inflation, introduced £3 billion cuts in public expenditure which was met with hostility so he was unsuccessful
• 1970 Conservative PM Edward Heath wasn’t committed to nationalisation- he gave money to Rolls Royce when they had a problem

Question 17

What were changing employment opportunities and why did they change?

Answer 17

what:

• blue collar jobs fell, rise of white collar
• industries like agriculture + fishing, domestic service and mining declined most (blue collar), jobs in science industry rose the most (white collar)

why:

• mining was in decline due to cheaper coal from elsewhere, people stopped using coal because they had gas and electricity
• domestic service was in decline due to more labour-saving devices and domestic technology, better standard of living meant people could afford this technology
• delivery work increased due to more transport being available
• scientific jobs increased due to change in education meaning more people could become teachers or doctors

Question 18

How did work opportunities change 1939-79?

Answer 18

• government nationalised industries which created more jobs
• industries needed more managers- more white collar work created
• NHS was created in 1948 and needed lots of workers- more white collar work and doctors needed
• changes in education produced a better educated workforce- went into more white collar jobs
• better technology meant blue collar jobs could be done by machines- decline in blue collar industries
• improved economy led to demand of more cars, tourism, consumer goods and services- this created more jobs

Question 19

How DID Britain experience economic progress 1918-39?

Answer 19

• large amounts of modernisation, railways were electrised which led to 325,000 jobs being created
• Britain played a leading role in Europe’s recovery of war, there was little unemployment in 1920- 2.6% of workers without a job
• motor industry boomed in areas like Oxford and Dagenham, 400,000 people employed in the industry by 1939, output rose from 95,000 vehicles in 1923 to over half a million by 1937- more jobs created and high employment
• aircraft industry expanded in Coventry and Bristol
• 80% of new factories built in Greater London
• building industry increased by 1/3 which created new jobs
• Britain left the Gold Standard and interest rates were cut
• rate on long-term govt debt repayment was cut from 5% to 3.5%- slashed costs of debt and allowed for increased spending
• GDP increased by 40%, production increased by 1/3, production was 80% compared to 1922

Question 20

How DIDN’T Britain experience economic progress 1918-39?

Answer 20

• decline of staple industries e.g coal, iron and steel, shipbuilding
• 1932- 35% of coal miners out of work, 46% of iron and steel workers, 62% of shipbuilders
• there were distressed areas e.g Merthyr Tydfil and Jarrow, 1934- 62% of workers unemployed in Merthyr Tydfil, 73% of workers out of work in Jarrow due to Palmer’s shipyard closing down
• orders for British ships dropped in the 1930s, 1936 Britain imported more ships than exported- led to further unemployment
• cotton industry declined- production fell by 50% I the 1930s, exports fell from 3,800 million square yards 1929 to 2,000 million in 1937
• around 1 million people unemployed at all times in 1920s and 30s, these people were focused in the North
• leaving Gold Standard caused a decline in trade- further unemployment

Question 21

How were Conservative and Labour govt social and economic policies very similar 1945-64?

Answer 21

• Butskellism- idea that Conservative and Labour governments were very similar, little difference in policies

Nationalisation: very little difference, Conservatives kept nationalisation started by the Labour govt e.g 1946 Bank of England, 1948 electricity, 1947 TV

Welfare state: Conservatives did not remove the NHS after it was introduced by Labour in 1948, they did not removed unemployment benefits also introduced by Labour

Full employment: there was a commitment to it from both governments, 1947 Industrial Charter was the Conservative commitment to full employment- created more jobs, agreed with Labour govt’s ideas

Question 22

How were Conservative and Labour govt social and economic policies DIFFERENT 1945-64?

Answer 22

Nationalisation: Conservatives privatised some industries such as iron and steel, disagreement with Labour

Welfare State: Conservatives didn’t introduce any more welfare changes to help people, shows they didn’t have as much commitment to welfare state as Labour did- charged were brought in for certain prescriptions e.g glasses
HOWEVER most charges were actually brought in by the Labour govt in 1951

• 1949 Labour govt wanted to devalue the pound, Conservatives refused- fundamental difference

Question 23

How did govt respond to economic challenges 1951-79?

Answer 23

problems with stop go economics:

• inflation- if prices began to rise, effort was taken to ‘stop’ the economy e.g raising tax- worked short term but didn’t prevent inflation overall
• unemployment- Conservatives pledged to maintain full employment, accused of using ‘go’ tactics e.g cutting tax before elections
• slow growth- British economy grew at a slower rate compared to competitors e.g UK 2.3% a year compared to Italy 5.6%- due to lack of investment in research and development in areas other than defence
• failure to cope with stagflation- 1960s Labour govts failed to improve on the Conservatives’ work, deputy leader George Brown devised a ‘National Plan’ to stimulate the economy but this was never started due to lack of resources so Labour govt continued with stop go economics, Wilson wanted to prevent another devaluation of the pound but in 1967 the value was dropped from $2.80 to $2.40
• more Conservatives called for free market solutions to problems such as inflation and unemployment- this inflamed already tense relationships between workers and employers, Conservatives felt trade unions were too strong, 1970s Conservative PM Edward Heath tried to stop political consensus but failed, 1960s Labour PMs Harold Wilson and James Callaghan were too reliant on trade union support to effectively tackle growing problems
• 1973 Oil Crisis and rising oil prices also created mass inflation and unemployment, by 1974 oil prices increased by 400%- Labour govt tried to help by capping wages and cutting spending, unemployment doubled between 1974 and 1976 to around 1.4 million, led to Miners’ strike and Winter of Discontent

Question 24

How and why did industrial relations change 1918-79?

Answer 24

• unemployment rose to almost 3 million in 1932 and 1933 mainly due to decline of staple industries- more efficient and cheaper American and German steel undercut British sales and exports
• long term extent of unemployment in 1920s and 30s- in 1929, 5% of those in need of relief had been jobless for over a year by 1932 this rose to 16.4%
• changes in types of jobs: rise of white collar and decline of staple industries e.g mining had around 1.3 million workers in 1921 and around 350,000 by 1981, domestic service had around 1.4 million workers in 1921 and almost none by 1981, banking had around 300,000 workers in 1921 and around 1.3 million by 1981, there went from being almost no workers in services in 1921 to over 2.5 million in 1981
• higher disposable income meant increased demand for services and goods e.g fast food and restaurants- created more jobs
• increased govt spending on healthcare and education led to more public sector jobs and rise in white collar jobs e.g professional scientific jobs rose from 868,000 in 1921 to over 3.6 million in 1981
• structures in white collar jobs (e.g managers, bosses) were much closer and led to more understanding and better communication, a lot of white collar jobs weren’t unionised so they were far less likely to strike than blue collar jobs

Question 25

What were work opportunities like for women 1918-79?

Answer 25

what it was like before: women had some more work opportunities in WW1 but returned to domestic work after

• marriage bar meant that most women stopped work to look after their house and children when they got married
• until 1980s, most jobs were in traditionally male, blue collar areas of industry
• until 1972 most w.c girls left school at 15
• only 15% of doctors and 5% of lawyers in 1960s were women
• 1960s- 1/3 of all women were still teenagers when they got married, 9 times more women were married than men by the age of 19
• most women gave birth to their first child in the first 3 years of marriage

Question 26

How did work opportunities for women CHANGE 1939-79?

Answer 26

• WW2 fuelled female desire to work- many women made new friends and found a new sense of fulfilment outside of the home
• changes in education provided a more level playing field for girls e.g 1944 Butler Act introduced tripartite system- some grammar schools just for girls gave more education opportunities, 1965 Crosland Circular created comprehensive education meant that boys and girls had more similar education and had more equality in schools
• number of white collar jobs which were deemed ‘more suitable for women’ increased throughout the century- percentage of women in the workforce went from 31% in 1951 to 40% in 1981, percentage of married women in the workforce went from 26% in 1951 to 62% in 1981
• social changes led to women demanding more change in the 1960s and 1970s, example is the 1968 Ford Dagenham strikes where female sewing machinists demanded equal pay for the same work as men, the factory was closed for 3 weeks and gained a lot of popular support- women won a pay deal of 90% what men earned for similar work
• 1970 Equal Pay act meant employers could not pay women less for the same work as men, however it was voluntary until 1975 so some women still did not have equal pay, some employers claimed the work men and women did was different so the law did not apply, some women still weren’t getting equal pay despite legislation- this loophole was removed in 1983 by replacing ‘equal work’ with ‘work of comparable value’
• 1975 Sex Discrimination act made it illegal to discriminate workers based on their sex- helped in theory but it was difficult and expensive for women to bring discrimination cases to court
• 1975 Employment act made it illegal to sack women because they were pregnant- gave women the right to maternity pay and return to jobs if they wanted

Question 27

How and why did the 1926 General Strike cause breakdown of industrial relations?

Answer 27

• started by miners because mining was dangerous (between 1922 and 1924 3,603 miners died and 597,158 injured) and because they had low pay due to low exports and the rise of German coal, mine owners increased miners’ days by one hour to 8 hours, govt subsided miners’ pay for 9 months with £23 million to avoid strike but it didn’t work
• miners called for TUC support of a strike and the TUC (Trade Union Congress) said they would negotiate with govt
• 3 million workers went on strike in 1926- sympathetic strike as other workers also went on strike to help the miners’ cause

HOWEVER
- 9 days later miners were left to strike by themselves for 6 months

• govt had been preparing for a strike since 1925 and had volunteers to step in for essential jobs people on strike weren’t doing, such as delivering food
• the British Gazette newspaper turned public opinion against the strike with propaganda- showed TUC that govt would not back down to strike action
• TUC tried to deliberately limit violence in the strike- made it easier for govt to control it
• strike was costly for the TUC- spent £4 million of its £12.5 million strike fund
• Liberal politician Herbert Samuel offered a compromise to the TUC- no pay cuts and wage subsidies, TUC called of the strike 9 days after it started and miners were left to themselves
• 1927- Conservatives passed Trade Disputes Act which made sympathetic strikes illegal

Question 28

How and why did the 1972 and 1974 Miners’ Strikes cause breakdown of industrial relations?

Answer 28

• 1971, NUM (National Union of Miners) demanded a 43% pay increase, govt offered an 8% increase in order to try and stop inflation
• NUM called for 280,000 miners to strike in January 1972- as a result govt was forced to call a state of emergency and a ‘3 day week’ because there was no coal being mined to get electricity
• Flying pickets (workers travelling to other places of work and formed lines to stop anyone getting in) were used to shut down coal distribution depots and power stations
• strike was called off in February 1972 after govt offered a 27% pay rise
• miners’ victory encouraged other unions to demand pay rises, despite a Price Commission which limited price increases for some companies, some workers went on strike for pay rises e.g Ford car workers, teachers and hospital staff

Question 29

How and why did the 1973 Oil crisis cause breakdown of industrial relations?

Answer 29

• due to dispute between Arab countries and Britain, oil prices were risen and eventually rose to 400%
• led to higher wage demands- NUM demanded a further 35% pay increase
• a further 3 day week was introduced on 1st January 1974, in February 81% of miners voted to go on strike
• Heath’s attempt to use a general election with the slogan “Who governs Britain?” to defeat the miners failed
• 1979- oil tanker and lorry drivers went on strike, tanker drivers quickly won a pay rise and went back to work, lorry drivers held out for 6 weeks- goods weren’t delivered, people began to panic-buy in case shops ran out of food

Question 30

How and why did the 1978-79 Winter of Discontent cause breakdown of industrial relations?

Answer 30

• Callaghan was determined to stick to a 5% limit to pay increases in 1978 yet only has a vague, ‘Social Contract’ of agreement with unions to enforce this
• November 1978, a strike at Ford car factories led to a 17% pay rise and embarrassment for the govt
• January 1979- 1.5 million public sector workers went on strike- almost all schools shut, as did museums, libraries and other public buildings, hospitals were only able to treat emergencies
• binmen went on strike which caused huge piles of rubbish to build up in towns and cities
• in Liverpool the gravediggers went on strike, by the end of January there were 225 corpses stored in a factory awaiting burial
• govt accepted defeat on 14th February and allowed pay increases of 10-15%- by mid-March those who had been on strike went back to work
• public had been frightened and disgusted by the impact of strikes, vast majority believed unions were too strong and that something had to be done to limit their power- led to the rise of Margaret Thatcher who promised to limit power of trade unions, won election in May 1979