Section 4 facts Flashcards
When was Greenwood’s Housing Act passed?
1930 - Increased housing subsidies and introduced new slum clearance schemes
When was the Coal Mines Act passed?
1930 - Reduced miners’ working hours from 8 to 7 and a half hours
When was the Land Utilisation Act and Agricultural Marketing 1931 passed?
1931 - Established marketing boards for fixing prices and arranging supplies efficiently
When was the London Transport Bill passed?
1931 - Created a public corporation responsible for providing cheap and efficient public transport for London
Between 1929 and 1931 how much had the value of British exports fallen?
By half
How high was unemployment by 1931/1932?
2.5 million in 1931 and 3 million in 1932
When did MacDonald set up the Economic Advisory Council?
1930 - Composed of industrialists and economists to provide advise
What did MacDonald traditionally believe in?
A Balanced Budget
When was the banking crisis?
1931
When was the May Committee’s report published?
31st July 1931
What did the May Committee predict?
Budget deficit of £120 million by 1932 unless severe cuts made
What were the recommended cuts according to the May Committee’s report?
Cuts amounting to £96.5 million and a 20% cut in unemployment benefit
When did the cabinet vote for/against the cuts agreed?
23rd August 1931, 11 to 9 votes
When did MacDonald resign?
24th August 1931
What was MacDonald asked to do when he visited the King?
Form a National Government
Which 3 Labour cabinet members followed MacDonald?
Snowden, Sankey and Thomas
How many seats did the National Government win in the 1931 election?
554 seats
Out of the National Government seats won how many of these were Conservative seats?
473 seats
How many seats did the National Government win in 1935?
432 seats
What did the National Government do in financial policy in 1931?
Come off the Gold Standard
What cut did the National Government make to unemployment benefits?
10%
By how much did the National Government lower interest rates in 1932?
2%
When was the Import Duties Act passed?
1932 - Imposed tariffs on British goods with exemptions for the British Empire
When was the Special Areas Act passed?
1934 - Provided government aid to the most depressed areas
When was the Holidays with pay act passed?
1938 - Gave workers right to one week’s paid holiday
When did Baldwin take over as prime minister?
1935
When did Baldwin retire?
1937
Who succeeded Baldwin as prime minister?
Chamberlain
When was the Wall Street Crash?
October 1929
In July 1931 at what rate were foreign investors withdrawing money from British banks?
£2.5 million a day
By what percent was the pound devalued?
30%
How many houses were built as a result of the private house-building boom?
2 million
How many council houses were built between 1931 and 1940?
700,000
What duty did the Import Duties Act impose on imports in 1932?
10%
When was the Ottawa Conference?
July-August 1932
What did the Ottawa Conference result in?
Agreements with dominions to give British/Dominions goods preference against other countries
Did tariff and imperial preference have a significant impact on economic recovery?
No
Did devaluing the pound prove to be successful?
It made British exports cheaper and easier to sell, however many other currencies did the same thing making it less effective
Did Cheap Money help economic recovery?
Yes it made easier for industries to borrow money and invest in modern machinery and consumers to borrow money for mortgages to buy new houses
In Jarrow how much did unemployment rise?
By 70%
By how much did the output of motor vehicles increase between 1929 and 1939?
It doubled
By how much did the electricity output increase between 1925 and 1939?
It quadrupled
By 1939, how many workers did the motor industry employ?
400,000
How much was coal production in 1938?
Nearly the same as 1928, 227 million tonnes
How much was steep production in 1938?
More than in 1928
What was the main reason behind recovery in industry?
Increased spending not government policy
What value was international trade in 1933?
A third of its value in 1929
How much did the price of wheat decrease by during the depression?
50%
By 1939, how many marketing boards were there in agriculture?
17
How much were rural wages compared to urban wages?
Rural wages were 1/3 of an urban wage
What was the orthodox view on dealing with the economic crisis?
Keep traditional economic policies such as free trade, balanced budgets and the gold standard
Maintain international confidence by cutting government spending
Keep the value of the pound based on gold
What was Keynes’ view on dealing with the economic crisis?
The government should borrow money to spend on projects which would increase employment
This would increase wages and therefore demand
Thus the money invested would be used over and over again, the multiplier effect
What was Mosley’s view on dealing with the economic crisis?
The government should borrow money to spend on roads, services, schools etc, this would reduce unemployment
Introduce tariffs to protect jobs
Increase pensions and benefits to increase consumer spending
What was the Conservative view on dealing with the economic crisis?
They believed in the orthodox view except they argued for protection not free trade
What did extreme left-wing socialists believe in terms of dealing with the economic crisis?
They believed capitalism was collapsing and the government shouldn’t try to save it but allow for a socialist economy by taking state control of main industries
What happened to real wages?
Increased in value
What percentage of the council houses built in the interwar years were built on suburban estates?
90%
How much had the percentage of people living in poverty in York fallen according to Rowntree’s study in 1936?
It had fallen from 28% to 18%
How many people received paid holidays by 1939?
Over 11 million
How much did the Special Areas Act provide?
£2 million
When was the Jarrow march?
1936 - 200 unemployed men marched 300 miles to London in protest
How much did the sale of books increase by?
From 7.2 million in 1928 to 26.8 million in 1939
In 1932 what proportion of households owned a radio?
Half
By 1939 what proportion of households owned a radio?
3/4
How many households still couldn’t afford the license fee of radios?
3.5 million
By 1939 how many cinemas were there in Britain?
5000
By 1938 how many tickets were sold for the cinema per week?
20 million
What percentage of the unemployed went to the cinema more than once a week?
80%
By 1936 what percentage of films released had to be British?
20%
The rise of what was causing an international crisis?
Fascism and Communism
When was the Spanish Civil War?
1936
When was the Left Book Club started?
1936 - Exposed the wrongs of fascist dictatorships
How many members did the Left Book Club have?
50,000
When was the Right Book Club started?
1937 - Offered counter communism and left-wing views
How many subscribers did the Right Book Club have by 1939?
25,000
When did Edward VIII become king?
January 1936
Who did Edward VIII want to marry?
Wallis Simpson an American divorcee
Why was Edward’s position as Head of the Church of England incompatible with marrying Wallis Simpson?
The Church of England did not recognise divorce
What was Baldwin’s position on Edward marrying Wallis Simpson?
It was unconstitutional
When did Edward VIII resign?
11 December 1936
When did Oswald Mosley found the British Union of Fascists?
October 1932
Which influential figure supported the BUF?
Lord Rothermere of the Daily Mail
How many members did the BUF have in 1934?
50,000
Where was BUF support strongest?
London and northern cities
By 1953 what had BUF numbers declined to?
5000
When was the the rally at Olympia Hall?
1934 - Resulted in violence
When was the Battle of Cable Street?
1936 - Another exhibition of violence by the BUF
When was the Communist Party of Great Britain established?
1920
By how much did membership of the CPGB increase in the 1930’s?
It doubled
How much was the circulation of the Communist Party newspaper the Daily Worker?
80,000 copies
Which book club included prominent Communist party members?
The Left Book Club
Did the CPBG get elected?
Yes a handful of MPs were elected
Did the BUF get elected?
No MPs were ever elected
What was the most members in the CPGB?
1800
When was the Incitement to Disaffection Act passed?
1934 - Could be used to prosecute those who advocated revolution or violence of any kind
When was the Public Order Act passed?
1936 - Forbade the wearing of political uniforms and gave the police the power to control/ban political meetings and demonstrations
Did the communists have a good leader?
No
