Social Changes Flashcards
What did the 1911 Parliament act do?
Reduce the power of the Lords - no longer allowed to block legislation
What percentage of MP landowners were there by 1945?
Fall from 40% to 5%
When did tax rise for the upper class?
1925
What did taxes rise from and to?
57% from 2%
What did the gentry begin to do?
Selling off land - only the largest land owners could afford to keep land
How much were estates worth £2 million taxed?
40%
What events became more accessible to the lower classes?
Henley Regatta and Ascot
When were death duties increased?
1929, 1946 and 1949
When and why was the Debutantes Ball cancelled?
1958 - Margaret didn’t like that middle class women were being presented.
How much land did 0.6% of the population own?
98.5%
How many members of the gentry were landless in 1937?
1/3 of the 4,000 gentry
How many families owned over 10,000 acres in 1910?
124
How many had over 1,000 acres in 1979?
65%
How much land was owned by just 1,200 landowners in 1979?
1/4 of all farmland - six million acres
What happened to the definition of upper class?
Changed to be less about ancestry and more on wealth
What meant that not all lords were hereditary?
1958 Life Peers Act
How many of the Lord Lieutenants were aristocrats by 1970?
15/46
How many Etonians were in MacMillans government 1957-63?
40
What undermined deference?
Rise of satire and greater social mobility after WWII
What made social mobility possible?
Rise in the number of middle-class jobs and educational opportunities - Education Act 1944
Who bought the country houses which became too expensive?
National Trust from 1918
What scheme allowed families to live in their statetly homes for two generations?
1937 Country Houses Scheme - required them to be transferred to the NT and open for 60 days a year
What did the 1937 Country Houses Scheme allow the owners to avoid?
Death Duties
What TV shows helped preserve the landed elite?
Brideshead Revisited 1981 and Upstairs Downstairs 1971
What influence do country estates allow the upper class to upkeep?
Cultural influence
What did the lower middle class do?
Worked hard to differentiate themselves from the working class
What was the fear?
Working class wages were rising while middle class incomes remained stagnated
What did the middle class residents of Bromley do?
Erected a 2m high wall to prevent working class residents of the Downham council estate passing through the wealthier area
How much did commercial and financial jobs grow in 1911 and 1921?
34%
How many people worked in management and administration in 1931?
700,000
How many people worked in management and administration in 1951?
1.25 million
What job expanded for women?
Clerking
How many workers in clerking in 1911?
170,000
How many clerk workers in 1951?
1.4 million
How many middle class people owned a home in 1939?
60%
How many working class people owned a home in 1939?
20%
Where were “spec built estates”?
Commuter belt around London
What also differentiated the middle and working class cultures?
Suburbs vs city living
What kind of workers are working class people?
Varied - skilled construction workers or engineers or working-class aristocracy - unskilled labours.
Also the underclass - criminal or destitute
What helped to absorb the residuum?
Full employment after the wars
How much did trade union membership rise between 1914 and 1918?
90%
When did trade union membership fall and why?
1920-22 by 40% - recession and the General strike
What areas tended to not be unionised?
Car production
What percentage of the working class voted for the Tories between the wars?
50%
What helped to reduce the social stigma of state assistance?
Welfare reforms introduced by the pre-1914 liberal government - built on by later governments
Why did a small proportion of the working class fight in WWI?
Took up reserved occupations - mining etc.
What % of urban working-class men were rejected from service in 1918?
10.3% - 31.3% were too sickly for combat
What helped to promote working class health?
Rationing
What did life expectancy rise to and from in 1911 and 1921?
49 to 56 for men, 53 to 60 for women
When did Slum clearances start properly?
1950s
Who took advantage of tenants?
Exploitative Landlords
What did the 1940s housing programme focus on?
Blocks of flats
What was the impact of blocks of flats?
Isolation - lack of local amenities and day to day interactions with neighbours
Examples of Housing Schemes?
Pollok Glasgow and Quarry Flats in Leeds
What percentage of wealth did the top 0.1% own?
33%
How much did the bottom 75% have?
Less than £100 each
Why did all men get the vote in 1918?
Lack of men due to conscription
Why were women over 30 given the vote in 1918?
More likely to be married, more likely to have a man influence the vote.
How many women gained the vote in 1918?
8 million
Who won the 1919 Plymouth by-election?
Nancy Astor
What party did Eleanor Rathbone represent?
Independent
How were women presented by the media?
Women MPs were portrayed as MPs for women - figureheads for female development in society
Who worked on equalising the franchise?
Ellen Wilkinson and Nnancy Astor
What was still in place?
Marriage bars
What made it easier for feminists to campaign?
Receiving the right to vote in 1928
What happened to feminism?
Became more diverse - no longer united on one issue
What saw great success in the interwar period?
Welfare feminism
What did welfare feminism focus on?
Divorce, guardianship and maternal welfare
What act was passed in 1919?
Sex Disqualification Removal Act
What did the Sex Disqualification Removal Act do?
More equality in employment for women - all public offices were opened to woemn
What % of councillors in London were women by the late 1930s?
16%
What was the highest employer of women?
Domestic services
What did the National Union of Women Suffrage Societies change its name to?
National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship to reflect their new focus
What happened on 3rd July 1936?
3,500 women gathered for an equal rights procession in hyde Park
How many women stood as a parliamentary candidate in 1918?
17
How many women gained a seat in 1918?
One - Countess Constance Markievicz - didn’t take her seat
What did the NUSEC lack?
Expertise and local party machinery to help launch a “Women’s Party” - split on issues in 1928
What happened to the membership of organisations?
Fell in the 1930s
Who reflected that the HoC was like a boys school?
Edith Summerskill
What act did women make significant contributions to?
1922 Criminal Law Amendment Act - raise the age of consent to 16
What else did women help influence?
1923 Bastardy Act - allowed children born before marriage be legitimate after marriage
What did female politicians tend to focus on?
Local politics
What did Nancy Astor set up in 1940?
Women Power Committee to investigate and promote female specific issues
How did female MPs operate?
More cross party co-operation
What did Bevin set up?
Women’s Consultative Committee to manage female participation in war economy - March 1941
What did Maud Tate do?
Debate about compensation for wartime injuries led to introduction of equal compensation for men and women in 1943
How much less compensation were women receiving?
35p a week less
What happened by 1945?
Male MPs were growing used to considering female issues more seriously
How many female MPs were there in 1945 and 1955?
24
How many female MPs were there in 1974?
23
How many of Wilson’s 1964 government were women?
7/18
What were the post war female MPs seen as?
Well rounded politicians rather than just advocates for women’s issues