Problems Facing Labour Government 1945-51 Flashcards
1
Q
What media was limited/suspended?
A
- Radio Broadcasts were limited, television services were suspended, some magazines were ordered to a stop being published and newspapers were cut in size.
2
Q
What stations ran out of fuel and what happened as a result?
A
Power stations ran out of coal, resulting in many power-cuts to both businesses and homes and Shin-well, the Minister of Fuel and Power was blamed for this.
3
Q
What were there fears of and why?
A
- Towards the end of February 1947, there were also fears of a food shortage as supplies were cut off and vegetables were frozen to the ground.
4
Q
What was cut drastically?
A
- Domestic spending on social services was cut drastically and in 1948 the government introduced a wage freeze.
5
Q
What happened in mid-march?
A
- In mid-march, more warmer air was brought which melted the snow on the ground.
- As a result of this, the snowmelt ran into rivers and caused wide-spread flooding, which affected more than 100,000 properties led to three army and foreign aid services forced to provide humanitarian aid.
6
Q
Who agreed to the wage freeze, and who was becoming more influential?
A
- The TUC agreed to this wage freeze but in doing so they recognised there was strong opposition from the left - in particular from the Communist party which membership grew rapidly and was becoming more influential.
7
Q
What was a factor in the devaluation of the pound?
A
- The winter was a factor in the devaluation of the pound from $4.08 to $2.08 in September 1949.
8
Q
What did sheep farmers lose?
A
- Sheep farmers lost one quarter of their livestock due to the winter.
9
Q
How did the winter have effects on British industries?
A
- The winter had severe effects on British industries, castling the loss of 10% of the year’s industrial production and 10-20% of real and potato crops.
10
Q
What does Corelli Barnett argue?
A
- They criticised the Labour Government for failing to intervene to modernise the economy.
11
Q
What does Robert Pearce argue?
A
- That Attlee acknowledged that economics was not his field and did not take initiative in economics or financial affairs.
12
Q
What does Sidney Pollard argue?
A
- Critical of Labour’s nationalisation programme and argues that nationalised industries were ‘anomalies in a private enterprise economy’.