Topic 1: Politics (1951-64) Flashcards
1
Q
9
Describe the premiership of Winston Churchill
A
- 77 when he became PM for 2nd time, suffered stroke in 1953
- Industrial Charter (1947) - accepted post-war consensus
- Shifted to centre ground of British Politics
- ‘This is the Road’ manifesto (1951)
- Shifted party appeal to young
- Won 1951 elec despite Lab claiming 48.8% of vote
- Aimed to create govt of broad appeal (sim to war cabinet coalition) - offered cabinet post to Clement Davies, Liberal leader, though he refused
- Pledge to build 300k houses a year reached in 1953
- PLP wanted him out by 1954 (after 1953 stroke)
2
Q
7
Describe the Industrial Charter (1947)
A
- Statement of Conservative Industrial Policy
- Accepted post-war consensus
- welfare state e.g. NHS
- mixed economy
- commitment to full employment
- Keynesian economics + Beveridge philosophy - though maintained belief in market ability to achieve econ growth
- beat Lab at its own game
3
Q
2
How did Churchill shift the party to appeal to the young?
A
- young Conservative movement started in 1946 and quickly grew - acted more as social club rather than political party
- young reformers e.g. Enoch Powell brought in
4
Q
5
What were the pledges in This is the Road (1951)?
A
- Conservative 1951 manifesto
- denationalise iron and steel + road haulage industry
- end rationing of foodstuffs like sugar - paid for my dividend from end of Korean War
- end of 1940s Lab austerity
- RAB main policy maker
5
Q
6
Describe the 1955 election
A
- popularity after RAB’s April 1955 budget inc £134m tax giveaways + sixpence income tax cut, expansion of social services (esp housing) and end of rationing
- ran on campaign of ‘Conservative Freedom Works’
- media savvy vs outdated Atlee (who wanted to expand nationalism and faced internal Bevan divisions)
- outcome predictable - novelty of first elec on TV
- Govt majority of 60, low turnout of 77.7%, 4% swing against Lab (esp in South of England)
- first time in 90 years a govt had inc its majority - feat repeated 4 years later
6
Q
4
Describe the premiership of Eden
A
- Foreign Sec (1951-55), prospective PM since 30s
- Cont paternalistic labour and welfare policies of Churchill
- 1955 electoral success
- Premiership marked by disastrous Suez Crisis (1956) - led to resignation in early Jan 1957
7
Q
9
Describe the premiership of Harold Macmillan
A
- Isolated from 1930s due to anti-appeasement stance
- Published ‘Middle Way’ - advcoated broadly centrist political phil
- Posterboy of Tory committment to welfare state (300k houses as Housing Minister)
- nicknamed ‘SuperMac’ (Vicky’s cartoon)
- ‘Never had it so good’ (1957) speech
- skilled debater vs Gaistkell
- Placed Butler at Home Sec - master of his cabinet
- 1959 electoral success
- End of tenure: spy scandals, Night of Long Knives
- Resigned from prostate problems
8
Q
7
Describe the 1959 election
A
- ‘SuperMac’
- ‘Life’s better under the Conservatives’
- Econ achievements: avg industrial pay had risen by 20% (1951-59)
- Macmillan and Eisenhower on TV together - emphasies great statesman (face of foreign affairs)
- Period of reflation before elec
- Macmillan promised to double standard of living within generation
- Inc majority from 60 (1955) to 100
9
Q
3
Describe Labour weaknesses in the 1959 election
A
- Gaistkell populist move - raise spending but not income tax
- Internal divisions: Bevan (SFS) and Wilson (SCX)
- Sociological changes (e.g. closing of pits) eroded trad support base
10
Q
4
Describe Douglas-Home’s premiership
A
- Controversy - HoL member
- FS under Macmillan and later Heath
- Premiership doomed by Profoumo Affair aftermath
- Lost Oct 1964 elec
11
Q
9
Describe Housing policy under the Conservatives (1951-64)
A
- 300k homes a year pledge
- Result of grassroots campaign
- achieved in 1953
- by 1964, 1.7m new houses built
- 0.5m houses destroyed or made unhabitable by war
- Scaled down building standards for council houses
- Churchill enabled Macmillan to achieve sufficient funding from tight-fisted treasury
- In 1945-54, 3/4 of new homes built by local authorities (1/4 in 1930s)
- home ownership inc to 44% by 1964 (25% pre-war)
12
Q
3
Describe Social Services policy under the Conservatives (1951-64)
A
- expenditure on social services as a proportion of all spending increased from 39% (1951) to 43% (1955) - higher than any other govt at any time
- from 1952, all primary school children given bottle of milk a day
- Lab accussations Cons were out to destroy welfare state clearly unfounded
includes housing, NHS, education
s = shilling
13
Q
4
Describe NHS policy under the Conservatives (1951-64)
A
- Ian Macleod - vigrous minister for Health
- Introduced 1s charge for perscriptions in 1952 (doubled to 2s in 1961)
- Macleod set up Guillebaud Committee in 1953 to review finances of NHS
- Shortage of proper hospital provision increasing apparent in 1950s
14
Q
6
Describe Capital Punishment policy under the Conservatives (1951-64)
A
- Ruth Ellis hanged in 1955
- Lab MP Sydney Silverman PMB to abolish capital punsihment - HoL rejected proposal
- Homicide Act 1957 - abolished death penalty with exceptions
- killed police officers
- killed using firearms
- killed during burglary
15
Q
2
Describe Education policy under the Conservatives (1951-64)
A
- Both Lab and Con govts committed to state edu
- Spending on edu doubled in real terms from 1947-58
16
Q
6
Describe Labour party divisions (1951-64)
A
- Bevan resignation in 1951 (pre-elec) triggered factionalism
- Bevanites were left-wing,, anti-American; supported nationlisation, defence cuts
- 57 Bevanites voted against Conservatives’ rearmament programme in 1952 (Lab had agreed to abstain)
- 57 MPs abstained in 1955 H-Bomb debate
- Bevan had whip removed in 1955 (though given back a month later due to popularity)
- Divisions over unilateralism
17
Q
4
Describe Labour divisions over CND
A
- CND had growing influence within party by late 50s
- Foot and Cousins (former trade union leader) supported movement
- Transport Network voted in favour of unilateral disarmament at Oct 1960 Party Conference in Scarborough
- During this debate, Gaitskell condemned the CND
CND = Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
18
Q
7
Describe Labour leadership under Gaitskell (1955-63)
A
- Succeeded outdated Atlee (had been leader since 30s)
- Chancellor under Atlee
- unyielding on principle - had little time for utopianism of left - expected electorate to follow his rationality
- lacked charismatic flair of Con leaders or Bevan
- reconcilliated with Bevan and unified party by 1959
- 1959 elec: struggled on TV vs quick-witted Macmillan
- died in 1963
19
Q
3
Describe the Labour nationalisation policy (1951-63)
A
- right-wing ‘revisionists’ of Jenkins/Crossland faced up to outdated socialism
- Crossland published ‘The Future of Socialism’ (1956)
- Gaistkell proposed to amend Clause IV but failed
20
Q
5
Describe ‘The Future of Socialism’ (1956)
A
- Written by Crossland
- aimed to rethink socialist thinking
- suggested nationalisation =/= equality
- ‘reformed capitalism’ - nationlisation one form of industrial ownership, not most efficient
- heavily influenced Gaistkell and Balckpool 1959 conference
21
Q
3
Describe Labour nuclear deterrent comprise under gaitskell (1951-63)
A
- Gaistkell adopted compromise on issue:
- unilateralism rejected
- party undecided on issues of nuclear testing
22
Q
3
Describe Labour’s European policy under Gaistkell
A
- Gaistkell scpetical of EEC trade benefits
- More concerned with maintainining American trade relations
- 1962 Brighton conference - rejected EEC and spoek passionately about national sovereignty
23
Q
3
Dscribe Labour party image (1951-63)
A
- in age of rising affluence, Lab appeared identified to decliing manual wc
- Conservatives appeared modern and liberal - Lab appeared only committed to further nationalisation
- dissiluioned voters of all classes
24
Q
3
Describe Lab election campaigns (1951-59)
A
- 1955 - Atlee appeared weak and outdated first televised elec
- 1959 - rising figures like former radio producer Tony Benn made party appear more professional on TV
- 1959 - Gaistkell made fatal populist pledge
25
Q
4
Describe the factors behind Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- Political factors - EEC, Liberal revival, Night of Long Knives, spies and scandals
- Social factors - housing, racial tensions/immigration, educational inequality
- Economic factors (inc industrial relations)
- Lab resurgence - party unification, policies, pop appeal of Wilson
26
Q
3
Describe how the EEC rejection led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- Key to join EEC from 1961 to repair special relationship and prosper
- Con divisions over CAP blamed
- EEC continued to thrive and exports outstripped British exports
add more context from other notes
27
Q
4
Describe how the liberal revival led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- Some tory voters turned to Liberals
- Seen as suitable alternative
- 1962 by-election: liberals took the blue seat of Orprington where the Conservatives experienced a 26% slump
- led to Night of Long Knives
28
Q
3
Describe the Knight of the Long Knives 1962
A
- Macmillan sacked ⅓ of his cabinet in July 1962 in an aim to rebuild his image
- inc Chancellor Selwyn Lloyd (CX)
- Brought in younger figures like Maudling (CX) and Keith Joseph (Housing)
29
Q
4
Describe how the Knight of the Long Knives led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- Criticism for ruthlessness towards loyal colleagues
- Move seemed to evoke panic rather than control
- Macmillan’s popularity continued to stoop into decline
- Later admitted he had made a ‘great mistake’ - resigned in Oct 1963
30
Q
8
Describe the Profoumo Affair 1963
A
- Minister of War, John Profumo, involved with Keeler who was also sleeping with the Soviet Military Attache Ivanov
- Major security risk
- Profumo had previously given assurances to PM and HoC
- Public inquiry - occupied front pages for weeks -> decline in deference
- Osteopath Stephen Ward blamed - overdosed 3 days after conviction
- Profumo eventually admitted he had lied and resigned in June 1963
- Carribean immigrant involved - contributed to rising racial tensions
- Final blow to Conservative govt - Macmillan resigned in Oct 1963
31
Q
3
Describe the Vassal Affair 1962
A
- John Vassal, a British civil servant
- was discovered to have been blackmailed, on the basis of homosexuality
- to pass information onto the Soviets (1962)
32
Q
5
Describe the Philby Affair
A
- Kim Philby - high-ranking official in MI6
- Revealed to be Soviet Double Spy and part of Cambridge Five
- Exonorated in 1955 - Macmillan had told the HoC there was no evidence Kim Philby was a spy
- March 1963 - Philby fled to Moscow to join Burgess and Maclean (other spies)
- Showed incompetence in high places
Cambridge Five - intelligence ring that passed British state secrets onto Soviets
33
Q
5
Describe how spies and scandals led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- Vassal Affair 1962
- Philby Affair 1963
- Profoumo Affair 1963
- Gallup poll put Lab 20 points ahead (after Profoumo)
- Macmillan resigned in Oct 1963 after mounting criticism
34
Q
3
Describe how housing issues led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- Proprotion of private housing rose due to relaxed liscencing rules - in 1954, 30% of houses were for private sale, over 50% by end of decade
- Helped better-off white mc - however benefitted Cons electorally in 1955 and 1959
- 1957 Rent Act denounced by Labour as ‘landlord’s charter’
35
Q
3
Describe how racial tensions led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- More imms in first 18 months of the 60s than the 5yrs prior
- 1962 Commonwealth Immigration Act - sparked debate
- Lab denounced bill as racist
36
Q
7
Describe how educational inequality led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- By 1960, 2/3 state-educated 12 year olds attended a secondary modern
- Those who attended secondary moderns encouraged to leave school at 14/15
- Regional variation - fewer than 10% of children in Gateshead and Sunderland attended their local grammar schools, compared to well over 40% in Westmoreland
- Grammar school students often went to university
- Those in rural areas unserved by triparite system - unlikely to attend grammar schools
- Grammar schools had 3x as resources as secondary moderns
- Lab 1964 manifesto called for comprehensive education
Inability to adapt in a way a reflection of conservative party by 1964
37
Q
4
Describe how problems in higher education led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- Higher edu still focussed on traditional arts degrees of Oxbridge rather than more useful sciences
- Not enough uni places in early 1960s for baby boomers
- Contrastingly, Wilson spoke of the need to ‘harness the white heat of the technological revolution’
- Student journalism, theatre or politics were still regarded as the most effective routes to a career on the Fleet Street, the BBC or the Commons.
38
Q
6
Describe how economic factors led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- Cycle of Stop-Go economics faultered
- Selwyn-Lloyd’s deflationary policies - unemployment at 800k by 1962
- Maulding’s policies amounted to criminal negligence - £750m deficit by 1964
- Con claim to be party of economic credibility had been shattered
- Contrastingly, Wilson’s ‘Signpost for Sixties’ showed transformative vision of economy, with greater role for economic planning through DEA
- Wilson’s policies proved popular next to Conservatives’ ‘13 wasted years’
39
Q
5
Describe the end of Labour party divisions (1958-64)
A
- Bevan had lost in 1955 leadership elec and died in 1960
- ‘Unity candidate’ Wilson had lost 1960 leadership challenge
- Gaitskell had overwhelming PLP support by 1961, defeating Anthony Greenwood in leadership challenge by taking 3/4 votes
- Triumph at 1961 Blackpool Conference - support for NATO supported by 3:1
- Contrasted 1960 conference were UDI was formally supported
- Divisions soothed by 1963
this is a factor behind conservative defeat
40
Q
1
Describe the switchover from Gaistkell to Labour
A
Gaitskell died of illness in Jan 1963 and Wilson took over the following month after a successful leadership election
41
Q
7
Describe how Wilson’s policies led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- Influenced by Balogh (one of his chief economic advisors)
- Greater economic planning through creation of DEA
- Supported education and skills development to achieve scientific revolution - rather than merely subsidising scientists
- Would integrate NICKY/NEDDY into economic planning machinery
- ‘Signpost for the Sixties’
- distanced himself from UDI - supported Western nuclear deterrent
- Left door open on common market policy
42
Q
3
What did the ‘Signpost for the Sixties’ 1961 state?
A
- Wilson instrumental in writing document
- constructed link between economic planning, technological development and growth
- bridged gap between right and left of party
43
Q
5
Describe how Wilson’s leader image led to Conservative defeat in 1964
A
- Brought Tony Benn, a former BBC Radio producer, into his inner circle to shape PR
- Wilson’s Feb 1963 party broadcast attracted highest tv audience ever
- Boosted by satirisation of Conservative politicians in TW3
- Wilson’s quick-wit, economic literacy and skillfulness
- in stark contrast to the aristocratic Douglas-Home who was largely ignorant of domestic affairs
44
Q
6
Describe the results of the 1964 election
A
- By Summer of 1964, Con were 1% higher than Lab - Lab had been 20% ahead year prior
- 3.5% swing to Lab
- Lab won 317 seats - unworkable majority of 4
- Con won 304 seats
- Lab vote remained the same as 1959
- Con vote went down 1.75m - this suggested that the conservatives lost the election rather than labour winning it
45
Q
4
Describe the 1964 election campaign
A
- Douglas-Home was determined to put off the election (within legal limits) for as long as he could
- Douglas-Home’s tv ineptitude led to focus on touring the country and addresses public meetings
- Wilson’s was skilled on tv, where he would criticise feudal PM
- WIlson campaign on modernisation - emanated through ‘New Britain’ manifesto
46
Q
4
What did the ‘New Britain’ manifesto include ? (Lab, 1964)
A
- economic planning for growth
- state support for science and technology
- comprehensive schools
- expansion of higher education
47
Q
3
Describe the Life Peerage Act 1958
A
- Allowed PM to nominate life peers to sit in HoL
- Previously membership had been restricted to hereditary peers
- Allowed for more professionels + women
