theme 1 Flashcards
1
Q
Post War 2:
what led to a drop in union member ship
A
post war economic slump
2
Q
when was the general strike
A
1926
3
Q
What industry did Victorian Britain focus on
A
Heavy Industry- coal steel and iron
4
Q
When was the first Labour Gov.
A
1924- Ramsey McDonald
5
Q
What did the gov. do in reaction to the miners strike in 1921
A
Used the Emergency Powers Act to send troops in to carry out the work
6
Q
Who came to power in 1937
A
Neville Chamberlain
7
Q
What can be seen to be pre war gov. biggest mistake
A
Appeasement Of Hitler
8
Q
What caused the decline of Callaghan’s (1976) poll ratings
A
Winter of strikes and trade union Unrest
9
Q
How did wilson (1974) end union unrest
A
Getting rid of the industrial relations act
10
Q
What economic catastrophe happened under McDonalds 1st reign. 1931
A
Summer 1931 rumours were spread that the budget would be unbalanced.
- -this led to an increase in spending and the decrease of the value of the pound due to mass selling by americans
- This led to spending cuts and tax hikes which affected the poor the most
11
Q
What had Mcdonald done to the labour party 30s
A
Split the party
12
Q
What did the spending cuts implemented by the National gov. 1931 cause the navy to do
A
Mutiny
13
Q
What Parties grew in membership in the 30’s
A
Facist and Communism
-many people started to visit the USSR and beliving communism may be the way to fix the
14
Q
When did Britain start to re-arm
A
1934
15
Q
What major social issues did Baldwin deal with in his premiership 1935-37
A
- Edwards abdication crisis 1936
- Hitler breaking the treaty versallis
16
Q
What were the main issues Chamberlain’s gov faced 37
A
- The Breakdown of International Order
- The anti-war movement
- -got in the way of re-arming
17
Q
When was Churchill’s first premiership
A
1940-45
-Churchill took over the day Germany invaded france
18
Q
what is consensus politics
A
a term used to describe an agreement on certain issues between the both the main Parties Up until the 70s both parties agreed -full employment -welfare - CO-OP between gov. industry and unions
19
Q
Why did labour fall out of popularity before the 1951 election
A
they fell out with the middle class and due to prosperity the working class was decreasing
- rationing continued after the war
- high taxation
- couldnt revive the economy
20
Q
When was the suez canal crisis
A
1956
21
Q
what caused Eden to act hostile towards Nasser- president of egypt 1956
A
He had close ties to the USSR and he took occupancy of the British area of the suez canal
22
Q
When was the secret Invasion of the suez Canal
A
5th of November 1956
23
Q
What was the fallout after the secret Invasion of the suez canal
A
Eisenhower felt deceived by Eden
- threatened to sell America’s share of British currency and collapse the value of the pound
- Britain was forced to withdraw and Eden had resigned
- Britain had been reduced as a world power and now appeared to have to consult the US before taking any action
24
Q
Why was Macmillian popular 1957
A
- a mixed economy
- rising living standards
- low unemployment
- decline in social equality
25
What led to Macmillians downfall 2nd term 1959-63
- conservatives were falling in popularity
- upper class cabinet led people to believe they were out of touch
- spy scandals damaged the gov. rep
26
Why was sir Alec-home not very successful 1963
he suff`ered from an image problem
| -this dented the conservatives chance of winning the next election
27
How did wilson present the labour party (1964)
as a mertiocratic and classless gov.
28
Why couldn't wilson carry out his promises
failing budget
| - had to devaluate the pound
29
what were the reforms wilson implemented in his second term-1966
- built new unis and polytechnic colleges
- open university
- laws on abortion, homosexuality and the death penalty were liberalised
30
When did Heath come to power
1970
| -conservitives dominance restored
31
Why was Heath forced to make U-turns-70
to preserve the economy
32
What led to Heaths downfall
1974 - heath faced 2 miner strikes and critisism from basically everybody
was seen as a traitor
- winter of discontent
33
How did wilson(1974-2nd term) wanted to end union unrest
by getting rid of Industrial relations Act
- -- by presenting himself as considerate towards the trade unions
- he ended the strikes but didn't stop the cause of the strikes
34
What caused Callaghan's poll ratings to drop --1976-79
winter of strikes
35
Why was Britain economically damaged after the war (1st)
- no one thought the war would last that long
- owed a lot to wall st
- ----wall st crash 1929
- Exports had been intercepted by the Germans
- Industries had switched to war production instead of supplying export markets
- By 1918 the country had lost 3/4 of a million men
- the war cost £3.25 billion
36
How much debt was Britain in by 1920
£8 billion
37
When were the two recessions during the inter-war period
1920-21
| 1929-34
38
when was the post war boom
1919-20
| caused by the consumer demand for previously banned goods that had been rationed
39
What were the effects of deflation (1918-20)
gov. cut spending by 75%
caused more debt
under investment into heavy industry impacted the economy
40
how did Lloyd George prevent a general strike in 1919
giving workers in main industries more pay- resulted in a 13% reduce in working hours
41
What is Geddes Axe
- a lot of spending cuts basically implemented by sir eric geddes
- recommended £87 million in cuts in 1922
- ---mainly from military health and welfare
42
What are the advantages of free trade
- means that domestic industries have to compete with foreign competitors
- no import taxes on foreign goods
- British businesses can trade in other countries
43
Disadvantages of free market trade
-more foreign businesses to compete with British ones
44
Advantages of tariffs
helps protect domestic businesses by making goods more expensive
----increase profits
45
Disadvantages of tariffs
-prevents consumers from having access to cheaper goods
46
What key industries were effected by the wall st crash
- coal
- dock work
- cotton
- iron and steel
- ship building
47
What happened in December 1940
Britain's gold and cash reserves were spent
48
What was the lend lease agreement
America would supply Britain with the resources it needed
| - the bill would be paid after after the war 2
49
What were the effects on the economy after the war 2
£4 billion in debt to USA
---- £70 million interest everyday
Britain lost control of trade
---- USA manufacturers dominated post-war markets
50
When was rationing re-introduced
Winter 1947
-faced a lot of backlash
Remained in austerity
51
When did national service end
1965
| -after participating in Greece Korea Malaya and Kenya
52
All the nationalisation acts
```
The coal industry act 1946
The Bank of England act 1946
The transport act 1947
The gas act 1948
The iron and steel act 1949
```
53
What did Britain spend the majority of their £2.7 billion Marshall on
- paying off debts
- nationalisation
- -should of invested in heavy industry and modernisation
54
What were the problems that resulted from the fact britain was spending way more than it was earning between 1951- 1979
- devaluation of the pound
- inflation
- union disputes
- unemployment 1970s
55
What was NEDDY
The national development council and office
- unions could discuss the economy
- unable to enforce any legal control
56
What was NICKY
The National Incomes Commission
- an advisory council
- gave guidance to employers on pay increases
- most unions ignored NICKY
57
What were the NBPI
The National Board on Prices an Incomes
58
What did the Prices and Incomes act 1966 do
forced a wage freeze for 6months to curb inflation
59
What did the Prices and Incomes act 1967 act do
allowed wage increases in companies that could prove they were increasing output
60
What was the IRC
industrial reorganisation corporation
- offered loans to companies who wanted to implement new efficency measures
- most ended in failure
- ----AXED in 1970 by Heath
61
What were the Cuts to state spending that Heaths gov -1970- implemented
- cuts to subsides to council houses
- cuts to free school milk for children
- raising charges on prescriptions
- ---- first budget made a total of 330 million pounds of cuts
62
What was the inflation rate by 1975
30%
63
What was Tony Benns alternative economic strategy(70s lab)
'siege economy"
- using trade barriers to keep out foreign imports
- making Britain economically self-sufficient by gov. investment in industries
- withdraw from the EU
64
What effects did the Post ww1 boom have on the unions
- led to an increase in labour disputes
- followed by an economic slump
- hit hardship on the working class
- ---weakened union memberships
65
What were the two englands
the supposedly 'newer industry'
66
who was Ernest Bevin
- Minister for Labour and National service under churchill's wartime gov
- had almost complete control over British workforce thanks to Emergency Powers act of 1939
- He had strong ties with unions as he had been the leader of the Transport and General Workers union (TGWU)
- Strived for efficiency and offered bonuses for more efficient workers
67
What was the status of Government-union relationships during 1939-45?
- Skilled workers and union shop stewards became powerful during war because of Labour shortages and high demand for quality work
- War created many problems such as long antisocial hours that led to unrest. In 1940 they introduced a law banning strikes and lockouts
- 1942 at Betteshanger in Kent, miners went on strike illegally. Originally Gov prosecuted them but miners in other pits joined in so gov increased wages instead
- Younger miners 'Bevin boys' were angry that they were payed less than older miners
- Spring 1944 100k Welsh miners went on strike and won therefore wages increased
68
What were industrial relations like between 1945-51?
- Throughout war union leaders had been appointed to numerous government bodies on wages, industry and social policy. This continued post war
- Union leaders had more access to decision making
- 1939 union leaders sat on 12 government committees but in 1949 they sat on 60
- Labour and TUC relationships grew as Labour repealed the 1927 TDA therefore restoring the union movement much of its power
69
What were industrial relations like between 1929-39?
- Unions were weakened by GS and Great Depression caused Union funding to decrease
- Union membership in 1932 had halved since 1922
- Communist party, National Unemployed Workers Movement (NUWM) grew in strength
- By 1939 heavy industry areas were in terminal decline and unions were too weak to help
70
Impact of 1926 General strike?
- Labour distanced themselves from TUC
- 1927 TDA prevented sympathetic strikes and mass picketing
- Mining industry lost 30% of its jobs
71
How were industrial relations improving between 1951-64?
- High employment and high Union membership
| - 1950 9200 members, 1965 10300 members
72
How were unions being divided?
- Prosperous union leadership emerged whose lifestyles ere often far removed from their poorest members
- Many young union members were keen to participate in the consumer boom of the 1950's and wanted wage rises that would enable this to happen. This meant they saw themselves having more in common with militant shop stewards
- Stewards were able to build power bases within certain factories and called strikes long before a decision had been made by union management (They had no right to do so)
73
What was the miners strike of 1921?
- DLG had reduced strikes during WW1 (still 48 in 1917)
- Government and TUC relationships worsened
- Strikes decreased after War as factories took on large number of men with good pay. Until 1921....
- 1921 depression hit, unemployment rose and strikes increased (84 million days lost) as people despised the lack of food and price rises
74
How did industrial relationships deteriorate between 1951-64?
- 1751 strikes per year between 1945-54 involving over half a million workers but from 1955-64 there were 2521 strikes involving over 1.1 million workers
- Middle class press blamed unions for Britain's weak economic performance during 1960's boom
- British public saw unions as lazy, obstructive and too powerful
75
What were wildcat strikes? Impact?
Strikes that were not officially sanctioned by unions or TUC
- Increased during 1960's
- Wilson was refusing to intervene but public image of shop steward as a Napoleon esc figure was becoming more popular
- Public disliked labour gov for shared history with unions
- 90% of all strike action was unofficial showing that unions could not control their members
- 1960's 3 million days lost to strikes each year but in 1968 this left to 4.7 million
76
What caused an increase of union militancy during the 1960's?
- Creeping inflation meant that the growth in affluence throughout the decade only benefitted the professions that were rewarded with above inflation pay increases
- Most union workers were exempt from this and so the pay increases they received during the decade were cancelled out by inflation
- The prosperity of the 1950's and earl 1960's seemed to be sliding into reverse
77
What was the impact of "in place of strife"?
- Public supported it but unions hated it.
- Labour Party was divided and when Wilson's Home Secretary Callaghan opposed it Wilson feared for his job and scrapped the plans
78
What lead to the 1970's miners strikes?
- Miners had been underpaid and undervalued during the 1960's with wages 3% lower than manufacturing workers by end of decade
- Miners felt they had been excluded from nations prosperity (mass consumerism and rising LS to name a few things)
- British coal industry shrank during 1960's with NCB closing 400 pits. Only way the NUM was able to stop further closures was by accepting lower wages
79
What was the 1972 miners strike?
- Arthur Scargill developed new tactic of flying pickets. Using 100 miners to quickly blockade power stations and coal depots
- Reduced electricity output by 25% in 1972
- Scargill had 40k miners picketing 500 separate sites across the country
- Heath failed to intervene as he feared wide spread violence and loss of life. He had not planned for the strike and had no available resources to beat it
80
What was the second miners strike in 1973-74?
- NUM realised that the 1973 oil crisis had left the country coal dependent. Saw it as opportunity to gain pay increases
- Coal power stations began to run short on supplies of coal and electricity production declined
- Power cuts increased and a 3 day working week was created between January and march of 1974. Business were only supplied with power for 3 days in the week
81
What was the winter of discontent?
-Callaghan's chancellor Denis Healey was forced to limit pay rises to 5% in 1978 for low paid workers as inflation soared. Strike action followed as unions were fed up
82
Examples of strikes during winter of discontent
Ford attempted to implemented 5% pay policy and as a result 15k auto workers went on strike on 22nd September. Rose to 57k when TGWU endorsed strike on October 5th. Ford offered 17% pay rise, breaching social contract
-Public sector workers went on strike in Jan 1979. Wanted same pay rise as employees in private sector. Unions lost control over members with 999 operators going on strike. Some cancer patients used tube to get to appointments. Rubbish collected in city centres as collectors went on strike
83
Impact of winter of discontent?
- Dramatic shift in public attitudes against trade unions
- 1969 60% of people had + views on unions, 1979 only 20% did
- Some within Union movement were not pleased with unions and 1 out of 3 trade unionists voted for thatcher
84
What was the social contract? How effective was it?
- Created by Wilson in 1974 as a voluntary code to prevent the need for formal incomes policy with specified limits for pay raises
- Rested on assumption that union bosses could persuade their members to accept pay restraints
- Union bosses were less influential compared to shop stewards and it was hard to convince members to stick to single 6% pay rises during period of 27% inflation meaning the contract was not effective
