T2 Political Flashcards
1
Q
A Public Mood for Change
A
- The culture of the swinging 1960s resulted in a restless public who after 13 years of Conservative rule, were tired of the same old upper-class, Eton and Oxbridge educated, men from a small elite who represented traditional ‘establishment’ rule.
- Home’s aristocratic background as a peer made him an easy target for Labour and satirists, with him being characterised as a “huntin’, shootin’, fishin’ aristocrat,” who much like Macmillan was out of touch with ordinary people.
- Wilson said the years of Conservative rule were ’13 wasted years’.
2
Q
The George Blake Spy Scandal (1961)
A
- George Blake was a spy with Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and worked as a double agent for the Soviet Union.
- He became a communist and decided to work for Soviet intelligence while a prisoner during the Korean War. Discovered in 1961 and sentenced to 42 years in prison.
- But he escaped from Wormwood Scrubs prison in west London in 1966 and fled to the Soviet Union.
3
Q
The John Vassall Spy Scandal (1962)
A
- John Vassall was a homosexual clerk who worked at the Admiralty. He had been photographed in Moscow by the KGB at a gay sex party and was uncovered as a spy.
- Vassall was a conspicuous consumer, living far beyond his means, yet no one had asked the obvious question about where his money was coming from.
- There was much speculation about a wider homosexual and traitorous network, this time involving ministers too.
4
Q
The Night of the Long Knives (1962)
A
- Macmillan reorganised his cabinet, sacking seven ministers, in an event that became known as the Night of the Long Knives. It was the most brutal cabinet reshuffle in British political history.
- But the effect of the reshuffle was to make Macmillan’s own position more precarious.
- A third of the government was sacked including the Chancellor, Selwyn Lloyd.
- It is generally accepted by political observers, including Macmillan himself, that this reshuffle was mishandled and did serious damage to both Macmillan and the Conservative Party.
5
Q
The Profumo Affair (1963)
A
- The Profumo Affair of 1963 was a sex scandal involving sex, lies and spies.
- It caused the resignation of the Defence Secretary, John Profundo. Profumo was having an affair with an escort called Christine Keeler. Keeler was also involved with a Soviet military attaché (who was a spy) called Sergei Ivanov.
- Profumo lied in the House of Commons about the relationship.
- The fact that Macmillan believed Profumo’s original denial of impropriety suggested that Macmillan was losing his political grip.
6
Q
Britain’s First EEC Rejection (1963)
A
- Macmillan acknowledged that Britain’s future lay with Europe.
- The Conservative splits over Europe and constant arguing over Britain’s relations with Europe discredited the government.
- But his plans for entry into the new European Economic Community (EEC) were set back when the French President General Charles De Gaulle said no to Britain’s application in January 1963.
- Devastated, Macmillan wrote in his diary that ‘all our policies at home and abroad are in ruins.’
7
Q
Britain’s Long-Term Economic Problems
A
- In Bedford in July 1957 Macmillan made a famous speech: ‘Let’s be frank about it; most of our people have never had it so good’.
- Britain’s long term economic problems included slow economic growth, low productivity, inflation, and negative balance of payment problems.
- It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep the economy stable with ‘stop-go’ economic policies.
- In 1961 the government needed to apply to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan and was forced to introduce a ‘pay pause’ [the freezing of wages] to try and keep inflation low.
- By 1961 the government realised it had to rethink its attitude to Europe and made an application to join the EEC.
- The failure to be accepted in 1963 following de Gaulle’s veto, was a big blow.
- At the time of the general election in 1964 there was a deficit of £800 million.
8
Q
The Beeching Report (1963)
A
- The Beeching Report was published in the Autumn of 1963.
- It recommended massive cuts in Britain’s rail network, including 30% of all the rail network, causing massive public outrage.
- Hundreds of branch lines and thousands of stations were closed.
- The Conservative government was no longer surfing on a wave of prosperity and economic success.
9
Q
The Rise of Political Satire
A
- There was a growing lack of difference to authority throughout the 1950s and early 1960s.
- There was a sense of growing impatience with the old ‘Establishment’ and desire for generational change shown through Private Eye and That Was The Week That Was.
10
Q
The 1960s Youthful Image of Harold Wilson
A
- The Labour campaign was based around Harold Wilson, who was plugged as a man of the people. “If the past belongs to the Tories”, Wilson declared, “the future belongs to us, all of us.”
- Wilson came across well on TV – seemingly more natural than many of his political contemporaries, including the Conservative leader Sir Alec Douglas Home.
- Wilson carefully cultivated a public image that emphasised the idea he was a normal person – eg. Gannex raincoat, a pipe instead of a cigar, a beer instead of wine or champagne.
11
Q
Wilson Unified the Labour Party
A
- Labour could exploit the powerful public mood that it was ‘time for a change’.
- Labour’s election slogan “Thirteen years of Tory misrule’ proved very effective.
- Harold Wilson was a strong campaigner, confident in dealing with media and more focused that Gaitskell.
- The split between Bevanites and Gaitskellites was over, both key personalities dead.
- Wilson had acted as a great uniter of party.
12
Q
The White Heat of Technology
A
- In 1963, Harold Wilson gave a speech at the Labour Party Conference, telling his audience that if the country were to prosper, a “new Britain” would need to be forged in the “white heat” of a scientific revolution.
- ‘We are redefining our socialism in terms of the scientific revolution. The Britain that is going to be forged in the white heat of this revolution will be no place for restrictive practices or outdated methods on either side of industry.’
- Labour believed the White Heat of Technology; the full use of science and engineering would solve Britain’s long term economic problems and be a suitable solution to tired stop-go economic problems.
- A Labour campaign poster argued: ‘Firstly, we must produce more scientists. Secondly, having produced them we must be a great deal more successful in keeping them in this country. Thirdly, having trained them and kept them here, we must make more intelligent use of them when they are trained than we do with those we have got. Fourthly, we must reorganise more purposively to our national production effort.’
- The speech also sent a warning to the trade unions with the phrase that there, ‘’will be no place for restrictive practices or outdated methods.’
13
Q
The 1964 Liberal Party Revival
A
- The Liberals seemed a dead party with only 2.5% vote through post-war era.
- However, in 1960 there were signs of life under Grimond’s guidance.
- The Liberals won 11.2% of the vote & 9 seats in 1964. It is possible that votes taken by the Liberals
from the Conservative candidates had just tipped the balance in such a close election race.
14
Q
Labour’s Strengths
A
- Wilson shrewdly called an election after 18 months in government to try to extend his majority.
- Prior to the 1966 general election, Labour had performed poorly in local elections and had lost a by-election, which cut Wilson’s parliamentary majority to just two MPs.
- Wilson decided to call a snap election since his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964, had an unworkably small majority of only two MPs.
- Wilson knew he was more in tune with popular culture and society in 1960s Britain than his Conservative opponents.
- He had kept his 1964 manifesto commitments to create a Department of Technology and to invest in ‘The White Heat of Technology’.
- The Labour commitment to modernity was evidenced by the strengthening of science and the expansion of education.
- Labour ran its campaign with the slogan “You know Labour government works”.
- The Labour government was returned following this snap election with a much larger majority of 66 seats.
- This he was able to do – gaining a majority of 110 seats over the Conservative.
15
Q
Conservative Weaknesses
A
- In 1965, the Conservative Party had replaced Alec Douglas-Home with Edward Heath as their party leader.
- At this time Heath was no match for Wilson who was an experienced campaigner.
- Moreover, Heath was unable to connect with voters and seemed uncomfortable during TV.
- The Conservatives had not had much time to prepare their campaign, although it was more professional than previously.
- There had been little time for Heath to become well known among the British public, having led the party for just eight months before the election.
16
Q
1966 General Election
A
- Wilson’s decision to call a snap general election worked with Labour gaining a majority of 110 seats over the Conservative.
- This was the last general election in which the voting age was 21 years of age.
- Wilson’s government would later pass an amendment to The Representation of the People’s Act in 1969 to lower age eligibility to vote at 18 years old, which was in place for the 1970 general election.
17
Q
The White Heat of Technology
A
- One of Wilson’s immediate aims was to modernise Britain in terms of technology and science.
- Wilson promised to overcome the ‘thirteen wasted years’, escape the stop-go economic cycle and solve Britain’s balance of payments, productivity and economic growth problems by investing in the ‘White Heat of Technology’.
18
Q
The Ministry of Technology
A
- Wilson created the Ministry of Technology to demonstrate his commitment to modernising Britain with the ‘White Heat of Technology’.
- However, Frank Cousins, the first Minister of Technology between 1964 to 1966 had little interest in technological advancement.
- Tony Benn took over as minister, between 1966 to 1970 the Department of Technology performed better.
- The pledge to create the new Ministry was included in Labour’s 1964 election manifesto where it promised: “A Labour Government will .. [set] up a Ministry of Technology to guide and stimulate a major national effort to bring advanced technology and new processes into industry.”
- However, research and development were costly and Heath’s Conservative government (1970 - 1974) would later merge the Ministry of Technology and the Board of Trade together, to create a new Department of Trade and Industry.
19
Q
Concorde
A
- Britain tried to pursue some projects such as the supersonic plane Concorde, which it developed in partnership with the French government.
- It was arguably the most elitist form of public transport ever conceived.
- Harold Wilson’s 1964 - 1970 administration, seduced by the ‘white heat of technology’, created a rich person’s toy for bankers, celebrities, and royalty.
- At more than £4,000 one way in its last days, Concorde was beyond the reach of most.
- Air France and British Airways were the only airlines to purchase and fly Concorde.
- The aircraft was used mainly by wealthy passengers who could afford to pay a high price in exchange for Concorde’s speed and luxury service.
- For example, the round-trip ticket price from New York to London was £7,995, more than 30 times the cost of the cheapest option to fly this route.
- The original program was expected to cost £70 million, but was met with huge overruns and delays and it eventually cost £1.3 billion.
- It was this extreme cost that became the main factor in the production-run [manufacturing of Concorde] being much smaller than anticipated and hoped for.
- Having first flown in 1976, both British Airways and Air France, would abandon their expensive Concorde fleet in 2003.
20
Q
The Significance of Education
A
- Education held special significance for a socialist of Wilson’s generation, in view of its role in both opening up opportunities for children from working-class backgrounds and enabling Britain to seize the potential benefits of scientific advances.
- Under the first Wilson government, for the first time in British history, more money was allocated to education than to defence.
- Within a year of taking office, the government awarded teachers a 13% pay increase, expenditure on school buildings was increased, together with the number of teachers in teacher training.
- Campaigns were also launched by the government to encourage people to take up benefits to which they were entitled to.
- For instance, a publicity campaign launched by the government increased the fraction of children eligible to get free school meals.
21
Q
Comprehensive Schools (Circular 10/65)
A
- The 1944 Butler Act had introduced the tripartite education system.
- This put schools into three types: grammar, secondary modern and technical schools.
- This system introduced the Eleven-Plus tests for the academic selection of which students would gain admission to grammar schools.
- Tony Crosland (Wilson’s Labour Minister of Education) issued Circular 10/65 to all Local Education Authorities (LEAs) requesting them to convert to comprehensive schools.
- Those that became comprehensive schools would get a new school building. By 1970 only 9 Local Education Authorities (LEAs) had failed to do so.
- Many middle-class parents remained unconvinced by comprehensive schools, and some turned to direct grant schools (old grammar schools) and independent schools.
22
Q
The Robbins Report (1963) Expansion of Universities
A
- The Robbins Report of 1963 found that Britain lagged behind France, Germany, and the US in terms of the provision [number] of university places.
- The Labour government responded by creating Polytechnics. Polytechnics were brand-new places of higher education which were set up to provide STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics] oriented courses that were not fully provided by universities.
- By 1968 there were 30 new polytechnics 56 new universities.
- One notable effect of the expansion of the number of universities, was the increased entry of women into university education in significant numbers for the first time.
- More generally, the number of students entering higher education increased from 5% to 10%.
23
Q
The Open University
A
- Wilson also deserves credit for the creation of the Open University.
- This gave adults who had missed out on higher education, a second chance to attend, through part-time study and distance learning.
- The Open University worked through summer schools, postal tuition, and television programmes. In September 1969, the Open University’s HQs was established, and the first students began their studies in 1971.
- It was a rapid success and offered high-quality degree-level learning to people who never had the opportunity to attend campus universities.
- It attracted mature students, women, and the disadvantaged. By 1980, the Open University had 70,000 students and was awarding more degrees than Oxford and Cambridge combined.
