Topic 3: Labour (1974-79) Flashcards
4
Describe the October 1974 election
- Lab won 319 seats
- Majority of 3
- Lab pledged vote on EEC membership - Wlliams claimed she would leave party if Britain voted to leave EEC
- Liberal vote damaged by IRA Guildford Pub bombings as they were less tough on terrorism
8 - don’t need to know all!
Describe Wilson’s cabinet in 1974
- CX - Healey
- FO - Callaghan
- HS - Jenkins
- Env - Crossland
- Trade/industry - Benn
- Employment - Foot
- Record 2 women in cabinet (Williams and Castle)
- Balanced hard and soft left
3
Describe the Poulson Affair (in relation to labour)
- Had hit tories with Maulding resigning
- Two Lab figures, Cunningham and T Dan Smith sent to prison on corruption charges
- Wilson responded by setting up Royal Commission on standards of conduct in govt
4
Describe the emergency decisions made by Wilson in March 1974
- Opted for minority govt rather than Liberal support
- Repealed Industrial Relations Act
- Abolished Pay Board
- Intended to display frendly sentiment to unions
4
Describe the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
- Rees (NI Sec) allowed Sunningdale agreement to collapse in May 1974
- Set up consultative Constitutional Convention elected via STV
- direct executive/legislative powers to be eased once tensions decreased
- Failed in May 1976
3
Describe Northern Ireland under Wilson (1974-76)
- Sunningdale and Constitutional Convention fail
- Jenkins introduced the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1974 following IRA Birmingham Pub bombings
- Rees (NI Sec, 74-76) ended internment in December 1975
5
Describe the 1975 EEC referendum
- Wilson agreed to ref to placate hard left, esp Benn
- Cabinet permitted free vote: yes (Castle, Benn, Powell), no (Williams, Jenkins, Thatcher)
- Those who supported ‘no’ split between two camps of impact of british workers (e.g. Castle) and issues of sovereignty (e.g. Benn, Powell)
- Wilson posed as moderate who believed on balance UK should remain in EEC
- 67% no - decisive victory for Wilson who could end principle cabinet debate
5
Describe the May and July 1974 budgets
- Aftermath of 1973 Oil Price Crisis
- Keynesian feel
- Tax increases countered by higher pensions and food subsidies
- No serious cuts in public services and stability in balance of payments
- However inflation remained at 20% and manufacturing production stagnated
3
Describe the repeal of the Industrial Relations Act
- Agreed in ‘social contract’
- Alliance with Employment Sec Foot helped restore govt-major union relations
- Coal strike ended by buying off miners
4
Describe the impact of repealing the industrial relations act
- industrial earnings went up by 15% in 1973, 19% in 1974 and 23% in 1975
- Number of days lost to strikes dropped
- By the end of 1974, inflation was at 28% and the Unions demands were out of control (some even demanding 94% increases)
- rendered ‘social contract’ worthless
4
Describe Jack Jones’ voluntary wage restraint policy proposal
TGWU General Secretary
- Suggested flat rate rise of £6 a week for everyone (v socialist policy)
- TUC accepted this as policy in June 1975
- showed clear awareness from unions that excessive wages were crippling economy through inflation and unemployment
- enacted and brought inflation down by 1976
3
Describe the economic situation by the end of 1974
- Rising food prices under CAP and oil prices
- Inflation rate at 28%
- Public spending cuts needed to meet 5-7% inflation target by 1977
6
Describe Wilson/Healey’s attempts to curb inflation (1975-76)
- Department of the Environment, under Crossland, imposed spending controls on local authorities
- April 1975 budget reduced money supply by
- raising taxes to over £1bn a year
- imposing a 3% maximum for wage increase
- Inflation and strikes fell steadily in 1975 and 1976
- Massive price and income policy u-turn
2
Describe the resignation of Wilson 1976
- Resigned unexpectedly due to mental and physical exhaustion
- Callaghan had broad appeal and convincingly defeated Foot on leadership ballot
4
Describe Northern Ireland under Callaghan (1976-79)
- Rees succeeded by Roy Mason
- Focussed on trying to get direct rule to work
- Gave greater responsibility to RUC
- Used SAS for counter-insurgency operations against IRA
4
Describe Callaghan’s cabinet
- Little overall change
- Political rival Castle ejected from Cabinet
- Crossland became FS - died in 1977 and suceeded by youthful David Owens
- Partnership with Foot (DPM) kept left in line
DPM = Deputy PM
1
Describe Calaghan’s ideology
Did not display socialist dogma → 1976 Party Conf stated: ‘You cannot now, if you ever could, spend your way out of recession’
3
Describe the political impact of the 1976 economic crisis
- Labour lost series of by-elections
- Lost parliamentary majority
- Led to Lib-Lab pact
4
Describe the Lib-Lab Pact 1977-78
- 1976, David Steel had replaced Jeremy Thorpe as leader
- Liberals did not want to fight GE on back on Thorpe Affair
- Agreed to prop up govt and avoid vote of no-confidence
- Callaghan also relied on Scottish/Welsh nationalist parties who supported govt plans for devolution
7
Describe devolution under Callaghan
- Refs took place in March 1979
- Welsh devolution ref - 80% ‘no’ vote
- Scottish devolution ref
- 52% ‘yes’ vote
- ruled invalid as 40% of the electorate had not voted yes under terms of Scotland Act
- SNP withdrew support
- Triggered no-confidence vote
4
Describe the 1979 vote of no-confidence
- Brought by SNP
- Govt defeated 311 to 310
- Alfred Broughton (Lab MP) mortally ill in hospital and thus unable to vote
- Vote marked ‘last rites’ of Old Lab
3
Describe the 1978 election that never was
- Elec had been expected in 1978
- Gallup poll found Healey’s 1978 budget was regarded as ‘fair’ by 68%
- Callaghan had not employed govt prerogative - instead elec would take place at worst possible time
2
Describe the economy by 1976
- Signs of recovery but economy had shifted to overall lower level
- From 1960-73, economic growth had averaged 3% a year; from 1974-79, growth averaged 1.5% a year
5 - don’t need to know all!
Describe the 1976 Sterling Crisis
- By autumn 1976, economy had deteriorated
- Sterling down to $1.57
- Balance of payments deficit close to £1bn
- 1.25m unemloyed
- Annual inflation at 16.5%
3
Describe Healey’s response to the 1976 Sterling Crisis
- Sought £4bn standby loan from IMF
- Conditional spending cuts of £2bn - caused frictions within Labour party
- Accidentally embraced monetarism
6
Describe the effects of the 1976 IMF Crisis
- By April 1976, Healey had cut spending
- IMF Crisis meant he would be forced to introduce a further round of cuts in Dec 1976
- Surplus in balance of payments by 1977
- Major fall in expenditure on housing/edu by 1979
- IMF Crisis plummeted Lab to lowest standing since post-devaluation period 1968-69
- Labour lost several by-elections (notably Ashfield - a mining constituency safe seat) → only saved by Lib-Lab pact
3
Describe North Sea Oil
- 1974: UK imported over 100m tns of oil and exported less than 1m
- North Sea Oil deposits came on stream
- 1980: imports and exports were balanced
4
Describe industrial relations policy under Callaghan
- Foot worked to produce legislation to give unions powers over closed shops
- N of days lost to strikes inc in 1977
- Incomes policy of 3% had been success
- 1978, Callaghan limited wage settlements to 5%
4
Describe the reaction to Callaghan’s income policy
- 1978, Callaghan limited wage settlements to 5%
- Totally opposed by Moss Evans, new leader of TGWU
- Thrown of of TUC annual conference
- Govt remained firm
3
Describe the cause of the Winter of Discontent 1978-79
- Unofficial strike by Ford motor workers settled with 17% pay increase, well above 5% govt limit
- set precedent for private sector
- eroded govt plans to tame inflation
4
Describe the Winter of Discontent 1978-79
- Gravediggers in Liverpool, dustmen piled rubbish in street
- 29.5m working days lost to strike
- Gallup poll in Jan 1979 found 84% people felt unions held too much power
- The Sun: ‘Crisis? What Crisis?’
2
List the major social legislation passed under Wilson and Callaghan
- Wilson - 1975 Sex Discrimination Act
- Callaghan - 1976 Race Relations Act
Describe the prevention of terrorism Act 1974
Temporary measures to conduct checks on people crossing Irish Border
2
Describe economic positives under Callaghan
- 1977 budget surplus used to buy up dividends in North Sea Oil
- IMF loan not fully utilised - not needed due to Callgahan’s economic steadiness
3
Describe the 1973 Northern Ireland Boorder Poll
- 99% in favour of NI remaining constituent part of UK
- Turnout of 59%
- Nationalist boycott
4
List the reasons for the problems in NI in the 1970s
- Counter-insurgency policy (internment, prevention of terrorism act 1974, Callaghan - SAS)
- Hardline unionist attitudes
- Nationalists (e.g. border poll, paramilitary)
- Economic/political mainland issues detracted attention
