Political

Question 1

Successes of the Liberal Government

Answer 1

1918 RPA - triple size of the electorate, women over 30 who met the property requirements and all men over 21

National Hero - DLG won the war

Question 2

Failures of the Liberal Government

Answer 2

1918 RPA Act - a large portion of newly enfranchised supported Labour in 1924 election and the women Conseratives

Split Party - infighting within the party with Asquith and DLG

Conservatives had a secret meeting to abandon coalition - impact in 1922 as they lost 74 seats

1922 Peerage Scandal - 1,500 sold, criminal convictions

Question 3

Successes of the 1924 Labour Government

Answer 3

1924 Housing Act

Question 4

Failures of the 1924 Labour Government

Answer 4

Strained relationships with the National executive Committee - forced to make harsh economic choices that affected the poorest and had to manage the threat of industrial action

Compromise - party was critical of him for not being more radical - MacDonald was accused have communist sympathy when John Campbell told soldier to turn their weapons on their oppressors after charges dismissed - forced to resign and call an election

Minority gov - needed Liberal support - any attempt at a more radical programme introduction would have resulted in a withdrawal of this support

Question 5

Successes - 1924-29 Conservative Government

Answer 5

Conservatives won Labour votes who were disappointed and Liberals who lost faith – Liberals lost 118 seats in 1924

Moderate –the talk of class war was damaging – discouraged the party attacking labour as secret agents of the USSR

Yielded to pressure to introduce laws reducing Labour’s funding from TUs - 1927 Trade Disputes Act amendment – political levy on members became an opt in or out – over 1/3 opted out Labour’s finances fell by 35%

1924 manifesto - appealed to women - legalise adoption improve their rights - had a stronghold

Until 1948 plural voting and in 1918 constituency boundaries were redrawn

Question 6

Successes - 1929-31 Labour Government

Answer 6

1930 Housing Act

Amendment to unemployment Insurance Act gave the government powers to create public work schemes, alleviateing unemployment – funded with £25 million of government money

Question 7

Failures - 1929-31 Labour Government

Answer 7

Coal Mines Act 1930 - ensure better pay and more efficient pits but weakness was that it could be ignored by coal mine owners

1931 American Banks

Creation of the National gov – Ramsey and the chancellor were expelled from Labour as traitors – new National Labour Committee for those who supported the national Government

Question 8

Successes - 1931-39 National Government

Answer 8

Left Gold Standard in 1931 - allowed quicker economic recovery compared to other nations after the great depression

Question 9

Failures - 1931-39 National Government

Answer 9

Public sector spending cuts of 10% - harsh and led to mutiny in the Royal Navy at Invergordon

Extremism - Britain Union of Fascists 1934 had 50,000 members – Oswald Mosley – set up his party because of his frustration at the NG. 1936 Battle of Cable Street – violent clash between fascists and the locals – BUF banned in 1940

Communist Party of GB had 9,000 CPGB tried to infiltrate Labour – banned from joining in 1920 – created the National Unemployed Worker’s Movement – protested means testing – 1936 Tyneside hunger marches – north-east felt forgotten

Question 10

Successes of the Atlee Government

Answer 10

Majority of 145 seats
Education Act 1944
NHS 1946
NAtional Insurance Act 1946
NAtional Assistance Act 1948

Question 11

Failures of the Attlee Government 1945-51

Answer 11

Rationing continued - bread 1946-48

Tax - 45% standard rate and 90% for top earners - high tax was usually disliked by all classes

1950 Korean War - pay for dentist and glasses

Question 12

Successes - Tory 13 golden years (1951-64)

Answer 12

1955 - Britain had the lowest unemployment figures with only 215,000 out of work which accounts for about 1% of the workforce

1959 election - Conservatives increased their majority by 21 seats

Rationing ends completely 1954

Question 13

Failures - Tory 13 golden years (1951-64)

Answer 13

Suez Crisis 1956-7

Night of the Long Knives 1962 - sacked 7 ministers from cabinet and replaced them with younger men - seen as ruthless briefly but proved popular with the public showing he was capable to take action and update his cabinet

Dissent on the Right - 1959 the Chancellor, Treasury Minister and the Secretary to the Treasury all resigned because fears of inflation and that Macmillan was postponing the inevitable crash

Question 14

Successes of the first Wilson Government

Answer 14

Ministry of Technology in 1964

Prices and Income Act 1966 - forced a statutory 6 month wage freeze to curb inflation, Act 1967 allowed rises in companies who output and productivity rose

Question 15

Failures of the first Wilson Government

Answer 15

Devalue the £ in 1967 - led Callaghan to resign in protest

Department of Economic affairs 1964

Question 16

Successes of the Heath Government

Answer 16

Result of U-Turn - invested £2.5 billion into the economy, increased pensions, benefits and tax reductions

1974 - brought down unemployment for 550,000

Returned to increasing government control in prices and incomes and interferences in industrial relations

Question 17

Failures of the Heath Government

Answer 17

Budget from Chancellor Anthony Barber featured tax cuts and gov spending cuts – failed to cure Britain’s growing economic problems and fuelled inflation. Forced into a U-turn increasing intervention in the economy

1974 – 2 miners’ strikes

Tories – saw Heath as betraying the promises made in 1970 – MPs, including Keith Joseph formed the ‘Selsdon Group – dedicated to introducing free market policies and reducing state intervention.

Question 18

Successes of the 2nd Wilson Government

Answer 18

Short term, Wilson’s gov ended the miners’ strike

Question 19

Failures of the 2nd Wilson Government

Answer 19

Hung Parliament - needed to call election in 1974 - slender majority of 3 seats

Social contract did nothing to deal with the underlying cause of the strikes, which was inflation.

Attempted to present his gov as conciliatory towards the unions, as opposed to Heath, who Wilson claimed was confrontational.

Question 20

Successes of the Callaghan Government

Answer 20

Callaghan believed Britain had used borrowing to live beyond its means for decades and this had resulted in a loss of confidence in Britain and the pound on the international currency markets.

Question 21

Failure of the Callaghan Government

Answer 21

Abandoned key aspects of the post-war economic consensus. Pragmatist - did not follow policies out of ideological reasons - party tension

Winter of Discontent 1976-7 – caused Callaghan’s poll rating to slump. 1979 – a poll found 69% were dissatisfied with the gov’s performance