the affluent society (1951-64) | Small Answers

Question 1

Average weekly earnings in ‘50 and ‘64

Answer 1

£7.50, £18.00

Question 2

Unemployment rates between ‘48-70

Answer 2

Under 2%

Question 3

Consumer expenditure increase between ‘52-64 (total money spent for personal use and pleasure)

Answer 3

Up 45%

Question 4

How many private cars were in the UK in ‘52 and ‘59?

Answer 4

2.5M, 5M

Question 5

When was Macmillan’s ‘Never had it so good’ speech?

Answer 5

July ‘57

Question 6

When did food rationing end?

Answer 6

‘54

Question 7

Home ownership in ‘64

Answer 7

44%

Question 8

How many new houses built between ‘51-46?

Answer 8

1.7M

Question 9

How many miles of road was built or upgraded between ‘57-63?

Answer 9

1,200 miles

Question 10

Labour policies which the Tories adopted

Answer 10

• Welfare state
• Full employment (prioritising/promising very high employment rates)
• Mixed economy (keeping some things nationalised, some things private)

Question 11

Labour party divisions ‘51-64

Answer 11

• CND (Gaitskill: against, Unilateralists: for)
• Bevan (created the NHS) resigned in ‘51 after Labour accepted some privatisation of the NHS.
• Bevanites were also pro CND, and voted for it against party orders in ‘52

Question 12

Tory economic policies ‘51-64

Answer 12

• Abolished war time controls ‘53-54
• STOP - GO Economics
• Overall increase in National Income and Imports

Question 13

Briefly explain STOP - GO economics

Answer 13

Before elections, the economy was let loose more to generate a feel-good factor, then some time after, the economy would be strained again to avoid hyperinflation and other negative consequences.

Question 14

POLITICAL factors that lead to the Tories’ downfall in ‘64

Answer 14

• CND (large protest Sept ‘61 - Polaris in Holy Loch)
• France vetoes Britain’s application to EEC (‘61)
• Night of the Long Knives (July ‘62)
• Labour revival begins ‘58
• Many scandals, e.g. Profumo scandal

Question 15

SOCIAL factors that lead to the Tories’ downfall in ‘64

Answer 15

• ‘57 Rent Act (allowed landlords to raise rents; benefited middle class)
• Racial tensions (‘58 Nottinghill Race Riots, ‘62 Commonwealth Immigration Act)
• Educational inequality
• Satire from the arts

Question 16

ECONOMIC factors that lead to the Tories’ downfall in ‘64

Answer 16

• The poorly handled economy under Maudling (too much gov. borrowing) and Lloyd (froze public sector employees’ pay)
• Tories leave office Oct ‘64, leaving a government deficit of £750M

Question 17

Describe Labour resurgence that lead to the Tory downfall in ‘64

Answer 17

• Decline of the Bevanites from ‘55
• Gaitskill begins to reunify the party ‘55-‘63
• Harold Wilson - leader from ‘63 - ‘64 - had popular appeal
• ‘61 ‘Signposts for the Sixties’
• ‘64 Labour election campaign

Question 18

Describe the ‘61 ‘Signposts for the Sixties’

Answer 18

Labour policy document outlines clearly goals for:
- the role of economic planning
- the need to connect scientists and technicians
- the link between planning, technological development and growth
Major part of the ‘64 election campaign

Question 19

Describe the ‘64 labour election campaign

Answer 19

• ‘The New Britain’
• Economic planning for growth
• State support for Science and Technology,
  Comprehensive Schools and the expansion of higher education

Question 20

Economy under RAB ‘51-55

wa R, A pril, stay in B ritain

Answer 20

STOP:
- Cuts on importing and travel
GO:
- War time rations removed ‘54-55
- $134M tax cuts Apr ‘55

Question 21

Economy under Macmillan ‘55-57

public, 5.5/’55, his wife let someone else Come In

Answer 21

STOP:
- Reduced public investment
- Bank rate increased to 5.5%
GO:
-Reduced income tax

Question 22

Economy under Thorneycroft ‘57-58

We STOPped using þ 500 years ago (th letter/thorn)

Answer 22

STOP:
- Cuts to public spending, wanted to cut more and resigned over it
- Bank rate increases from 5.5%-7%
- Fairly successful, but didn’t stop the economy
- Cracks in Macm.’s cabinet started to show

Question 23

Describe Nicky and Neddy (economic)

Answer 23

• N.ational I.ncomes C.ommission
• A voluntary method of wage restraint
• Boycotted
• N.ational E.conomic D.evelopment C.ouncil
• Meant to start cooperation between gov., unions and corporations
• Failed

Question 24

Evidence of change to Affluence and Living Standards

Answer 24

• Economy ‘51-64 grew 2-3% a year
• Unemployment below 2%
• Pre-war slums cleared and replaced by new towns (e.g Kirby and Harlow)

Question 25

Evidence of no change of Affluence and Living Standards

Answer 25

• ‘13 wasted years’
• Little encouragement of scientific, technical or managerial education
• School system virtually ignored (tripartite & 11+)
• Wealth creation and economic efficiency given low priority
• Little done to modernise industry

Question 26

Change to Social Class

Answer 26

• Upper class began to include those in finance, commerce and manufacturing
• Middle class began to include managers, scientists, advertisers and salesmen

Question 27

Change in Deference to the Establishment

Answer 27

• Press coverage of Profumo affair showed decline in deference
• Suez Crisis ‘56 exposed lying and manipulation in the government
• The rise of the CND from ‘58
• ‘60’s satire boom
• Criticism in the arts

Question 28

Continuity of Social Class and the Establishment

Answer 28

• Surveys throughout the 50’s and 60’s, consistently found that 2/3rds of the British public self-identified as working class
• The upper class was still very focused on tradition
• Upper-class and government still dominated by old public-school boys
• Class system remained very established

Question 29

Examples of Change to Culture and Criticism

Answer 29

‘60’s satire boom:
- ‘60 - Beyond the Fringe (play)
- ‘61 - Private Eye (magazine)
- ‘62 - The Week That Was (TV)

All were still criticised heavily