Why were the Conservatives able to dominate British politics for so long? Flashcards
What advantages did the Conservatives have?
Much of the period was one of economic growth, which led to a rise in living standards
Industrial growth was inevitable and stimulated by an increase in trade following Korea
What happened to Britain’s GDP growth and how did this compare to other nations?
Grew by 2.3%
Italy grew by 5.6%, Germany 5.1%, and Britain 2.3%
What happened to Britain’s share of the world trade and how did this compare to Germany?
Shrank from 25% to 15%
Germany’s grew from 7% to 20%
What can the decline in world trade be explained by?
Britain’s defence expenditure, which amounted to 10% of its GDP
What was the impact of defence costs?
34.5% of funds for research and development was spent on defence rather than providing funds for industrial growth
What was the government criticised for?
Failing to modernise staple industries and instead prioritising investment overseas and maintaining a strong sterling area
What is difficult to argue and what may be true?
The government aided industrial growth
That their policies may have limited it
How did the government defend its poor performance?
Argued that it was due to consumerism and industrial disruption
What was the situation with industrial action but what did the government have to do?
The number of hours lost to strikes was fewer than most countries
Give in to the Electricity Board workers
What was the period one of?
A continuous rise in living standards
What happened to wages?
Wages rose faster than prices so that people were able to buy more with the money they earned
In 1951 the average weekly wage was £8.30, but by 1964 it had risen to £18.35
What were chancellors able to do and what did they do in 1955 and 1959?
Cut income tax before elections
1955: reduced it by the equivalent of 2.5p
1959: reduced it by the equivalent of 3.75p
What was the impact of cutting taxes before the election?
Helped to increase the amount of money people had available to spend and improve the ‘feel-good’ factor
What happened to the purchase of goods and what was this a sign of?
500% rise in car ownership
Television ownership went up from 4% of the population to 91%
The purchase of labour-saving white goods also rose
That austerity was over
What was the impact of the rise in the purchase of goods?
Fewer reasons for the electorate to vote Labour as most were benefiting from rising living standards
How was the improvement of living standards also made possible?
The greater availability of credit
What began?🛫
A consumer boom and many were able to go on holidays abroad
How many houses did the party build by 1954 and while in office?
1954: 354,000
1.7 million
What declined?
Waiting lists for housing
What did the 1957 Rent Act do?
Abolished rent controls but led to rents rising
What happened to the number of people who owned their own property?
Rose from 25% pre WW2 to 44% by 1964
How had the housing boom been made possible?
Credit
Mortgage credit reached a rate of 17
What did Macmillan say in 1957?
‘most of our people have never had it so good’
How were the Conservatives able to dominate?
The middle classes and some of the upper working class, who had been major beneficiaries of these developments, had no reason to vote Labour
What did increased borrowing allow for?
Government expenditure, particularly on health, education, and housing, to rise
What happened to spending on the Welfare State?
The amount of GDP spent on it rose from 16.1% in 1951 to 19.3% in 1964
What did the government attempt to achieve?
Full employment while bringing about economic growth
What term was coined and why?
‘Butskellism’
Butler’s economic policies were similar to those of Labour
What did chancellors attempt to avoid?
High inflation or deflation
Using interest rates and import controls to manage the economy
What happened if spending or wages rose too rapidly or if there was a fall in demand for goods?
Rose: taxes and interest rates were increased and import controls prevented purchases from abroad
Fall: taxes and interest rates were lowered and import controls relaxed
What did many commentators suggest?
That Britain did not have an economic policy, but followed a ‘stop-go’ approach as governments simply responded to economic developments, rather than developing a strategy that created consistent growth
As a result, what was the period described as?
Stagflation, where industrial output declined, but inflation remained
How was the situation made worse (investment)?
A failure to direct enough investment into important industries such as textiles, where 2500 textile workers were displaced in Blackburn after 20/50 mills closed
What happened to aerospace exports?
1956: £95mn
1958: £105mn
1963: £105mn
What happened to investment?
Increased from 10.9% of GDP in 1950 to 16.1% in 1959
What was an underlying problem in the economy?
Unemployment
What was the overall trend and what were governments never able to do (employment)?
Upward
Get the figure below 250,000
What were the unemployment figures in 1951, 1955, 1959, and 1964?
1951: 367k
1955: 298k
1959: 621k
1964: 501k
What question was raised?
Whether it was a period of prosperity and rising living standards for all
What have critics argued that success was built on?
Heavy government borrowing and consumer credit which was dangerous
What can be argued?
The government’s policies hindered further growth and prevented the securing of a strong economic base
What had WW2 brought about?
Massive social changes to which the Conservatives needed to adapt
What had war done and how was this reinforced?
Blurred class distinctions
The creation of the Welfare State and the growing affluence of the 1950s and 1960s
What did Butler comment?
‘as in the days of Peel, the Conservatives must be seen to have accommodated themselves to a social revolution’
How were they able to commit to the social revolution?
Increasing spending on welfare
Building more houses
Introducing changes to the education system
What education policies were there?
Edward Boyle pushed for the abolition of the 11-plus
The first-purpose built comprehensive schools
What happened in 1963?
The Robbins Report which expanded universities and provided larger grants
How many schools and universities were built?
6000 schools and 11 universities
What liberal reform did Butler carry out as Home Secretary?
1957 Homicide Act which accelerated the process which ended the death penalty
What was the impact of policies?
Limited compared to the previous Labour governments
What happened to Purchase Tax?
Reduced to 50% in 1953 from 1966 in 1947
What happened to Bank Rate?
Rose to 7%, leading to interest rates rising
What happened to retail price index inflation?
1951: 9.2%
1955: 4.5%
1959: 0.6%
What happened to household income?
22% greater than it was in 1950
What was the situation with imports/exports?
Imports were 20% higher than exports
