The Sixties (1964 - 1970) Flashcards
1
Q
Describe the economy in 1964
A
- Inherited budget deficit of £750 million
- Balance of payments deficit of £373 million
- 1964 Sterling Crisis
2
Q
List the measures taken to resolve the 1964 Sterling Crisis
A
- Bank rate raised to 7.5%
- Surcharge on imports
- Income tax rise
- Loans from US and IMF
3
Q
Describe the economy in 1965
A
- 30% Capital Gains Tax and Corporation Tax
- Unemployment 1.5%
- Market recovers and pound strengthens
4
Q
Describe the economy in 1966
A
- Balance of Payments Surplus £127 million
- Wages 11% higher than in 1964
- Selective Employment Tax boosts manufacturing
Negatives:
- Seaman Strike damages exports
- 1966 Sterling Crisis
5
Q
Describe the economy in 1967
A
- Cuts to defence budget
- Dockers strike
- Trade deficit = £107 million
- Run on the pound, cost = £500 million
- Pound devalued, $2.80 to $2.40
6
Q
Describe the economy in 1968
A
- Jenkins replaces Callaghan as Chancellor
- £932 million of cuts
- Taxes rise on petrol, alcohol, tobacco and high earners
7
Q
Describe the economy in 1969
A
- £340 million tax rises
- Balance of Payments surplus = £500 million
8
Q
Describe the economy in 1970
A
- Inflation at 12%
- Balance of Payments surplus = £800 million
9
Q
What were the causes of the 1964 Sterling Crisis?
A
- Callaghan’s autumn budget kept election promises to increase pensions and abolish prescription charges
- Gold reserves dwindling
- Resisting devaluation
10
Q
What were the causes of the 1966 Sterling Crisis?
A
- Seamen’s strike (damaged exports, caused run on the pound and damaged the exchange rate)
- Monthly trade deficit doubled
- Cousins resigned in protest over governments income policy
11
Q
How was the 1966 Sterling Crisis resolved?
A
July Package:
- Bank rate at 7%
- Cuts in government spending
- Higher purchase restrictions
- Complete freeze on wage and price increases
Short term success, long term failure
12
Q
What was the DEA?
A
Department for Economic Affairs
The National Plan:
- Published September 1965
- Goal of 4% economic growth per annum
- Ignored by government
DEA collapses and Brown is moved to the Foreign Office
13
Q
Describe the effects of the Seamen’s Strike
A
- 1966
- Damaged exports
- Major cause of 1966 Sterling Crisis
- By June, monthly trade deficit doubled and Cousins resigned over the governments income policy
14
Q
Describe the effects of the Unofficial Dock Strikes
A
- September 1967
- Damaged exports at a critical time
- October monthly trade deficit = £107 million
- A cause of devaluation
15
Q
Describe Mad Friday
A
- 6th December 1968
- Run on the pound (loss of $100 million)
- Rumours (Wilson’s resignation, Queen’s abdication, further devaluation)
16
Q
Describe the Trade Dispute Act
A
- 1965
- Closed a loophole in 1906 Act
- Liked by the trade unions
17
Q
Describe In Place of Strife
A
- 1969
- White paper by Barbara Castle
- Divided cabinet and infuriated unions
- TUC voted it down 8 million votes to 846,000
- Bill humiliatingly withdrawn
3 penal provisions:
- 28 day conciliation pause
- Imposed settlements in inter-union disputes
- Enforcement of strike ballots
18
Q
List some rivals of Wilson
A
- Brown (lost leadership to Wilson, did not make foreign secretary in 1966)
- Jenkins (Gaitskellite, tried to get cabinet to support devaluation)
- Callaghan
19
Q
What was the kitchen cabinet?
A
- Wilson’s close friends and personal advisers forming an unofficial cabinet
- Enemies and rivals in actual cabinet in order to maintain party unity
20
Q
Describe the Donnelly-Wyatt Revolt
A
- 1965
- 2 right wing backbenchers (Wyatt & Donnelly)
- Refused to support the renationalisation of the steel industry
- These 2 votes were sufficient to block the nationalisation Bill
- Forced Wilson to delay steel nationalisation until after 1966 election
21
Q
What were Labour’s campaign points in the 1966 election?
A
- They were better at handling the economy
- They would join EEC
- Conservatives were divided over oil sanctions in Rhodesia
22
Q
What was the effect of the second 1966 election results?
A
Gave Labour a big enough majority to secure a full parliamentary term without third party support
23
Q
Describe Wilson’s attempted reform of the House of Lords
A
- Attempted restructure in 1968
- Hereditary peerage would be replaced by a 2 tier system of appointments
- All peers entitled to vote would be appointed by the PM
- Opposed by both right and left
- 1969, bill withdrawn
24
Q
Describe Wilson’s attempted reform of local government
A
- Reedcliffe-Maud Report 1969, suggested country should be divided into 8 provinces with 3 metropolitan authorities
- Met with much resistance and nothing came of it
25
Describe the relationship of Wilson with nuclear power
- Ignored election pledge of unilateral disarmament
- Continued with Polaris project and went ahead with 4 of 5 projected submarines
- Promised there would be no solo British nuclear war against the Soviet Union
26
Describe the relationship of Wilson and the nationalist movement
- Emergence of Scottish and Welsh nationalism
- Support for Scottish Nationalists and Plaid Cymru
27
Describe discrimination against Catholics in Northern Ireland
- Discrimination in jobs and housing
- Political gerrymandering
- RUC failed to protect catholics
28
What role did the Eire play in unrest in Northern Ireland?
- Articles 2 and 3 of Constitution of Republic of Ireland
- Stated that the Republic had claim to Ulster
- Offered a legal justification for a united Ireland
29
Evaluate cultural change in the sixties
Permissive:
- **1968 Theatre Act** (ended theatre censorship)
- Expansion of mass media
- Arts and music became more radical
- Screen violence and sex
- Lady Chatterley's lover unbanned
- **Arts council given £3 million funding**
Limited:
- Mary Whitehouse helped create **National Viewers and Listeners Association** in 1965 (100,000 members but little impact)
30
Evaluate attitudes to heterosexual sex in the sixties
Permissive:
- Pill became available on the NHS in 1969
- Legalisation of abortion in 1967
- Sex became prevelant in the media
- % of people who believed premarital sex was wrong decreased from 66% in 1963 to 10% in 1970
Limited:
- Pill only prescribed to married women
- Michael Schofield 1970 interview, only 17% of 25 year old men had had sex with more than one person in the last year
- 1970, only 9% single women on the pill
- 1969, of 500 schools, only 10% gave direct information on contraception
31
Evaluate attitudes to capital punishment in the sixties
Permissive:
- Abolished in 1967
Limited:
- Calls for stricter laws against 'malicious damage'
- Across 60's, 61% to 82% of population in favour of tougher sentencing
32
Evaluate youth culture and drugs in the sixties
Permissive:
- Rise of LSD
- Alternative social groups emerging (skinheads & hippies)
Limited:
- 1967, 2,500 prosecutions for possession of marijuana
- Dangerous Drug Act 1967
- Concentrated liberal attitudes but widespread conservative attitudes in rural areas
33
Evaluate attitudes to homosexual sex in the sixties
Permissive:
- **Sexual Offences Act 1967**, legalised homosexuality
- Supported by almost all party members
- Jenkins ensured there was enough parliamentary time for the Bill to become law
Limited:
- Age of consent was **21** (vs 16 for heterosexual sex)
- Goer questioned the public on their attitudes to homosexuality (**tolerance = 12%, pity = 22%, revulsion = 28%**)
34
Describe the expansion if television in the sixties
- 1961, 75% of population have a TV
- **1971, 91% of population have a TV**
- **Hugh Greene became Director-General of BBC in 1960 and brought it into a new era**
- ITV launched 1955
- BBC 2 launched April 1964
- **July 1967, BBC 2 became first channel to broadcast regular colour programmes**
35
Describe the expansion of radio in the sixties
- Development of portable radios, car radios, long life batteries and headphones
- Rise of pop music station Radio Luxemborg
- Pirate stations started with Radio Caroline in 1964 but were shut down by Marine Broadcasting Act 1967
- BBC Radio One started playing pop music and utilising former pirate DJ's
36
Describe the expansion of print media in the sixties
- The Sun, launched 1964, aimed at the working class
- Media became more relaxed and permissive
37
Describe the expansion of holiday's in the sixties
- 1961, **34 million holidays**, 4 million abroad
- 1971, **41 million holidays**, 7 million abroad
- **British Airways founded 1964**
- Package holidays rose from **4%** of total holidays in 1966 to **8.4%** in 1971
- Holidays abroad still reserved mostly for the middle class
38
Describe sport in the sixties
- **1966, England won the World Cup in football**
- Rise in popularity of football
- Rise in football based violence
- Traditional, low payed footballers were replaced with high flying stars with agents and highly publicised sex lives
- **Restrictions on footballers pay were removed**
39
Describe scientific development in the sixties
- Labour government made scientific development a key aim
- 1969, Concorde's first flight (made by an Anglo-French partnership)
- Post Office Tower, the tallest building in Britain, opened 1965
40
Describe reduction in theatre censorship in the sixties
- 1968 Theatre Act abolished Lord Chamberlain's right to censor stage plays
- Rise of nudity and swearing on stage
41
Describe reduction in film censorship in the sixties
- British Board of Film Censorship became more relaxed
- Rise of satirical programs and films mocking the royal family and politicians
42
Describe reduction in art censorship in the sixties
- Rise of pop art and David Hockney
- Architecture modernised with post-Bauhaus office blocks
43
Describe reduction in literary censorship in the sixties
- Acquittal of Penguin Books in 1960 for obscenity in publishing Lady Chatterley's Lover
44
Describe the role of female equality and politics in the sixties
Wilson was much more progressive with regards to women's issues:
- Several women in the cabinet (Castle, Hart, Williams and Herbison)
- 1970 Equal Pay Act
- 1975 Sex Discrimination Act
Organised women's movement dwindled in the 50's:
- 1945 = 24 female MP's
- 1974 = 27 female MP's
45
Describe the role of female marriage and babies in the sixties
- NHS Family Planning Act of 1967 (allowed local authorities to provide contraceptives and contraceptive advice)
- Number of illegitimate births rose from 5.8% in 1960 to 8.2% in 1970
- Number of divorces rose
46
Describe the role of female equality, education and jobs in the sixties
- Second wave feminism spreading from the US
- 1970, women were **only 28% of students in higher education**
- 1970, **only 5% of women ever reached managerial positions**
- Most jobs for women were clerical and low pay
- Working mothers portrayed as unnatural and selfish
47
Describe the feminist movement in the sixties
- Publication of the Female Eunuch in 1970
- Women's Lib groups sprang up around the UK
- **Women's National Coordination Committee established 1969**
**National Women's Liberation Conference, 1970** Five demands:
- Equal pay
- Free contraception
- Abortion on request
- Equal education and employment opportunities
- Free 24 hour childcare
Progress made:
- 1970 Matrimonial Property Act (work of the wife should be taken into account in divorce settlement)
- 1970 Equal Pay Act
48
Describe the sixties sexual revolution
- Pill available on NHS from 1969
- Antibiotics reduced danger of STD's
- Sex prevalent in media
- Large majorities in favour of abortion reform
- Decriminalisation of homosexuality
- 1966, 66% believed pre-marital sex to be wrong, 1970's only 10% considered it wrong
49
Describe attitudes towards criminal punishment in the sixties
- Death penalty abolished 1967
- Decline in law and order seen in riots and organised fighting between Mods and Rockers e.g 1964 summer, Clacton
50
Describe attitudes to divorce in the sixties
- Divorce rate rising
- 30-40% of the population in favour of making divorce easier
- Yearly average of divorces went from 38,000 to 57,000
51
Describe the rise of the drugs in the sixties
- Songs about drugs
- **1968 LEMAR (legalise marijuana) rally in Hyde Park**
- 1967, 2,500 drug possession prosecutions
- Rise of LSD
- **Cocaine and heroin addiction became 10x more prevalent in the first half of the 60's**
52
Describe opposition to drugs in the sixties
- Dangerous Drugs Act 1967 (made it illegal to possess drugs such as cannabis and cocaine)
- **1970, maximum sentence for supplying drugs increased to 14 years**
- 1967, **88%** of public believed dealing soft drugs should be illegal
- 1967, **77%** believed taking soft drugs should be illegal
- Late 60's, drug taking considered to be the most serious social problem in modern Britain
53
Describe the development of subcultures in the sixties
- Mods, Rockers, Skinheads and Hippies
- Increase in free time for young people
- Rioting between Mods and Rockers
54
Describe the main incident of rioting between Mods and Rockers during the sixties
- Summer 1964, Clacton
- 1,000 Mods fighting Rockers and police
55
Describe anti-vietnam protests in the sixties
- 1965, tech-ins at Oxford Uni
- Vietnam Solidarity Campaign founded 1966
1968:
- Pro-Vietnam War speaker covered in red paint
- Two Conservative MPs physically attacked
- Labour Secretary of State for Education and Science shouted down in Manchester
- Labour Defence Secretary almost had his car overturned by Cambridge students
- March 1968, 2 incidences of protests turning violent in London
- October 1968, 30,000 people took part in anti-vietnam demonstration
56
Give an overview of race relations in the sixties
Ethnic minority population, 1951-1961, 60,000 to 336,000
Survey, North London, 1965:
- Object to working with a black or Asian person = 20%
- Refuse to live next door to a black person = 50%
- Disapprove of mixed race marriages = 90%
57
Explain what happened to Kenyan Asians during the sixties
- Kenyan independence, December 1963
- British government agree to offer British passports to Kenyan Asians
- December 1967-February 1968 = 7,000 entered Britain
- Met with a lot of racism
- Sandys and Powell called for immigration restrictions
58
Describe the 1965 Race Relations Act
Made it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of race in public places
Two new bodies set-up:
- Race Relations Board (to handle complaints arising from the Act)
- National Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants (to promote contact between races)
Limitations:
- Did not include discrimination in housing and employment
- Discrimination was made a 'civil misdemenour' rather than a criminal offence
59
Describe the Commonwealth Immigrant Bill
- Feb 1968
- Only passport holders with 'substantial connections' with Britain (via their father or grandfather's birth) were admitted to Britain
60
Describe some examples of racial discrimination in the sixties
- 1964-1965, British version of the KKK made a brief but violent reappearance
- 1966, a colour bar still in operation among workers at Paddington and St Pancras station
- Conservative campaign, 'If you want a n***** for a neighbor, vote labour'
- 1965, Racial Preservation Society set up (concerned with maintaining racial purity)
- Emergence of Powellism, based on Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech
- 1960, Yorkshire Campaign to Stop Immigration formed
61
What were the reasons for Britain's 1967 EEC application?
- Placate Brown and the pro-marketeers
- Please President Johnson, who spoke in favour of a united Europe in NATO
- Secure British economy and technological developments
- Ensure Britain could continue to play an international role
- Gain an influence of EEC policies
- Work with De Gaulle to weaken supranationalism
- Wanted to outflank Heath and other Conservatives who advocated for EEC entry
62
Why did Britain's 1967 EEC application fail?
- May 1967, de Gaulle declared British membership would upset the EEC
- De Gaulle concerned over British commitment to US
- Other states favoured British entry but did not want to upset France (remembering the empty chair crisis)
- Devaluation gave de Gaulle another reason to deny entry
- EEC had more to lose than gain by admitting EFTA states
63
What were the consequences of Britain's 1967 EEC application fail?
- Wilson humiliated
- Anger from the left and the right
- Britain's economy continued to struggle
64
What problems in Rhodesia arose in the sixties?
- Unilateral Declaration of Rhodesian Independence in November 1965
- White supremacist minority government
- Wilson felt morally committed to peacefully restoring a democratic black government
65
Describe the approach taken to resolve problems in Rhodesia
- Wilson believed economic sanctions would cripple Rhodesia
- Instead it took years
66
Why did economic sanctions fail to cripple Rhodesia?
- South Africa kept traiding with Rhodesia
- Evasion of sanctions through Mozambique, West Germany and Switzerland
67
Explain the consequences for Britain of the failure of economic sanctions on Rhodesia
- Internationally humiliating
- Critics blamed Wilson for publicly declaring there would be no use of military force and for not handing responsibility over to the UN
68
Describe British decline in imperialism even before the official withdrawal East of Suez
- Deliberate reduction in over seas commitments
- 1940's = withdrawal from India, Burma and Palestine
- 1950's = troop reductions in Suez, second wave of decolonisation started with Sudan
- Still 57,000 troops and 14,000 naval personnel deployed East of Suez
69
Describe devaluation
* 18th Nov 1967
* $2.80 -> $2.40
70
Describe the effects of devaluation
* Standby credit of $1,400 million with the IMF
* Callaghan resigns
* 'The pound in your pocket has not been devalued', Wilson (irresponsible and untrue)
* Government loosing by-elections by swings of up to 18%
* Previous economic sacrifice to avoid devaluation was pointless
71
Describe the 'two years of hard slog', Jenkins
* £932 million taken out of the economy by the gov
* Postponed raising of school leaving age
* Abandoned target of 500,000 new houses
* Taxes increased to £1,240 million
* Moved the balance of payments into surplus of £800 million by 1970 but was unpopular
72
Describe Northern Ireland in 1968
* Violence in Bogside, Derry and Falls Road, Belfast
* Civil rights marches were attacked by loyalists and RUC failed to defend
* Ten people killed, including a 9 year old boy who was asleep at the time
73
Describe Northern Ireland in 1969
* Apprentice Boys annual march was attacked by nationalists in Bogside
* RUC tried to storm Bogside
* 2 days of rioting
74
Describe Callaghan's response to Northern Ireland (Home secretary)
* Visited NI twice in quick succession
* Sent British troops to abolish the B-Specials and disarm the RUC
* Downing Street Declaration led to a new non-party commission for housing and initiatives to combat unemployment
* Calm returned
75
Describe the PEP report
* Political and Economic Planning report, investigating racial discrimination
* 'discrimination against coloured members of the population operates in many fields not covered by the existing legislation'
76
Describe the 1968 Race Relations Act
Outlawed discrimination in housing, employment and provisions of goods and services
77
Describe the announcement of withdrawal East of Suez
* Jan 1968
* All British military forces would be withdrawn from East of Suez by 1971
78
Describe the withdrawal East of Suez
* Dec 1967, British forces withdraw from Aden
* June 1970, British HQ Far Eastern Command closed
* Dec 1971, British forces in Persian Gulf withdrawn (apart from one garrison in Oman)
* 1972, agreed that UK would cease to have forces in SEATO
79
Why did Britain withdraw east of Suez?
* The cost
* Decolonisation and trade shifts meant some areas were no longer strategically necessary
* Allies such as Australia and New Zealand took over defence east of Suez
* No longer cold war threat of leaving power vacuum for the soviets
