Politics and Economics 1950s- Flashcards
Who invented Keynesian
John Maynard Keynes
What was keynesian
when the government interviened in the economy
Keynes- what would the government do if a boom
ppl spending too much - raise taxes, high interest rates
Keynes - what would the government do if a bust
ppl spending too little- lower taxes, decrease interest rates
keynes- do the government do the same as the ppl
no - if ppl saving government spend etc
what was thatchers economy approch
Laissex Faire - let it be
did labour prefer tax or interest
tax - they can tax who is rich
did conservative prefer tax of interest
interest- dont believe in government owning so dont need money to run things
what is privatisation
a conservative belief-companies and industries privately owned not owned by the government which is nationalisation
who won the election in 1951
conservatives - churchill
What voting system was used in 1951
First past the post - conservatives got less votes but still won
who was PM 1951-55
churchill
who was PM 1955-57
Antony Eden
who was PM 1957-63
Harold Macmillan
who was PM 1963-64
Alex Douglas-Home
What three key labour issues in Britain 1951
not wanting to return to the Great Depression
Not want a terrible war
establishment of a welfare state
what were the post war consensus terms
a mixed economy on nationalisation and privatisation
command economy
sharing responsibility between parties (non partisan approach)
a ‘big government’
maintaining full employment
cooperative relationshio with trade unions
welfare state
Conservative party 1951-55
rationing ended steel denationalised 300,000 homes a year keynesian nuclear bomb in 1952
what year was rationing ended
1951-55
when did uk detonate a nuclear bomb
1952
when did the korean war end
1953
What was the age of affluence
ownership of ocnsumer goods grew mens wages grew rationing ended trade improved 1955, britain produced 21% more industrial goods then in 1951
when was the age of affluence
1951-64
when and by how much did mens wages rise by
1951-1961 from £8.30-£15.35
who was Butler
Butler was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer
What were Butlers policies
keynesian
full employment
Butlers 1955 give away budget…
set the rate of tax so all middle class were given £134 million tax cuts
this brought votes from the middle class
still had enourmous debts so this led to a payment defecit- more leaving then coming in
critiseized for over stretching the economy
critisized for being too similar to labour
What is Butskellism
A mash of Butler and Gaitskell as Butlers ideas were very Labour and Gaitskell was quite Conservative so they often met in the middle
When did churchill reture
1955
who succeeded Churchill, good election or not?
Eden, not a landslide but still good
Tell about Anthony Eden
handsome man who had the tories ladies hearts
considered the rightful heir as was Churchill deputy
little interest in domestic affairs and many in foreign politics which acc turned out to be his downfall so quite ironic
Eden’s Downfall
Suez Crisis
was foreign affairs
his decision to launch military action against Eygption coronal Nasser in 1956 was a disaster and national humiliasation
had to be called off when USA threaterned to stop helping them economically
turning point for Britains illusion of imperial power
eden seemed weak
he denied his collusion with France and Israel and lied to the HoC
shone how vunerable Britin was as a country with no money or power
Politics during the Suez
he never r40 conservatives even the chief whip rebelled and opposed Eden
caused a run on the pound
this forced MM to lead the campeign to abort the Suez invasion
Edens resign
he never recovered
resigned on signes of ill health
conservatives reovered quickly wiht MM and had no lasting aplits
MM named ‘supermac’ leading the party to another victory
when did Eden resign
1957
what was MMs nickname
supermac
Harold Macmillan gaining power
suprising he got a strong grip so quicky
he continued affluecne making voters very happy
labour party was having problems under Gaitskell so less likely to vote
make conservatives look strong
Why Macmillan not Butler
Butler was seen as most likely but had no interest in fighting for the position
he stood in for eden during the suez crisi and had not impressed fellow MPs
MM had a much sharper political sense he was an attack dog
he initialy supported eden at suez then changed his mind and opposed when things first started to turn sour
he made a speech in cabinet admitting suez had landed britain in £564 million in dept which showed he was honest
Supermac, governemtn under him
5 years all good
labour in dissoray
one of the two most left sided conservative PMs
consensus continued
how much debt did suez land britain in
£564 million
MMs first cabinet events
made butler home secretary even though they were rivals
liberal approach to lehal and social issues - homicide act of 1957
Balance of payment issues MM
economic pictur not positive
growth on wages outstripped production
MM appealed to people and industries to lower wages but refused
government had no option but to interviene and put taxes high
this event led to the balance of payments defecit of 1064
when was the balance of payment defecit?
1964
What are stop and go economics
letting the economy does rapid changes unlike keynesian where it slows smoothly
1957 - what were the troubles in the cabinet
financial
run on the pound
this was a result of stop and go economics
how did they deal with the 1957-58 financial situaion
the stearling regained its value to the extent that in 1959 the government did another give away budget
when and how much was the second give away bidget
1957 and £370 million
who won the 1959 election
conservatives won
why did the conservatives win the 1959 election
labour were in disoray
how many moths afer MM took power did he hold an election and why. was it a good win or not?
18 months the economic situation was very favourable at this moment. it was the most comortable post war win, they had majority,
Who were the bevanites
the bevannites were people who supported Aneurin Bevan. They were left wing
who was Bevan
Bevan was considered a hero , he was the architect of the NHS, hated the conservatives, resigned after the introduction of prescription charges in 1951
who were the Gaitskellites
Gaitskellites were people who supported Gaitskells ideas
who was gaitskell
he was the leader of the labout party after attlee lost in 1951, right wing of labout.
1959 elections Labour
had gaitskell as their leader. genuine supprise when they lost, thought suez would make them win
what is unilateral disarmament
this is the policy of renouncing use and possesion of nuclear weapons without waiting for any international consultation or agreement.
what is CND
CND is an organisation that was formed in 1958 one year after BR tested the hydrogen bomb and 6 after they tested their first A bomb, people were very conserned especially because of the tensions at suez
who backed CND
Many left wing intellectuals, many middle class protestors. March 1958 8000 people took part in a march supporting CND in Aldermaston
