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2S: THE MAKING OF MODERN BRITAIN > WILSON 1964-70 CHAPTER 5 > Flashcards

WILSON 1964-70 CHAPTER 5 Flashcards

1
Q

what happened in 1967 November

2 things

A

Devaluation crisis
Rejection of Britain’s application to join the EEC

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2
Q

1964 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS

seats - who had the sight majority

A

CONSERVATIVES 304
LABOUR 317

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3
Q

When Harold Wilson was elected PM in 1964 labour seemed more in touch with the social and cultural trends of the 1960s - one of Wilson’s most effective campaign speeches had promised Britain would

A

catch up with the technological change.

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4
Q

1966 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
seats and votes for
CONSERVATIVES
LABOUR
LIBERAL

A

CONSERVATIVES 253 41.9
LABOUR 363 47.9
LIBERAL 12 8.5

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5
Q

WILSON’S IDEOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP

  • Initially appeared on the left
    how?
A

resigned in 1950 over prescription charges (Bevanite).

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6
Q

WILSON’S IDEOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP

wilson * did not seemed to be of the left

why?

A

supported nuclear deterrents and attempted to reform trade unions.

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7
Q

WILSON’S IDEOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP

Seen as classless: image removed from the Old Etonian style of Eden, Macmillan & Douglas-Home

Wilson was the first PM toooo

A

educated at state secondary school, smoked a pipe, and spoke with a Yorkshire accent. He was a skilful performer on TV.

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8
Q

WILSON’S IDEOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP

  • However, in private he was anxious and insecure about his leadership - relied heavily on

think kitchen cabinet

A

a personal team of advisers from outside the government and civil service – many economic advisers and inner circle MPs also took part in the informal discussions in the kitchen at 10 Downing Street. Many people felt this ‘kitchen cabinet’ reinforced his suspicions of party rivalries and prevented ministers from having access to him.

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9
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

By 1964, it was widely accepted that Britain was lagging behind other countries such as West Germany and Japan - the affluence of the post-war boom had not been reflected in productivity or growth rates – Britain’s economy seemed to be trapped in

A

stop-go policies leading to inflation, runs on the pound and balance of payments crises.

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10
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • Devaluation

would make

A

imports more expensive and help exporters by making British goods cheaper in other countries, in turn helping balance of payments.
However, it would make Britain look weak in the world and it would have to scale back its activities around the globe. Wilson also feared that the Labour Party would gain the reputation as the party of devaluation (Attlee had devalued the pound in 1949).

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10
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • The two solutions for this problem were
A

deflation or devaluation, however Wilson and his Chancellor of the Exchequer, James Callaghan did not want to do eithe

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10
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • Labour had inherited a balance of payments deficit of
A

£800 million.

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11
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • Deflation

would lead to…

A

would support the value of pound and prevent inflation but it was the old stop-go approach. It would also stop Labour from meeting its manifesto commitments: extra spending on welfare and technology.

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12
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • Wilson believed that problems could be solved by careful management and planning
    george brown set up
A
  • Department of economic affairs (DEA) - set growth targets and devised a national system of economic planning councils.
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13
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

george brown also tried to establish voluntary agreement about wages and prices with industrialists, trade union leaders and civil servants to secure

A

the restraint needed to prevent inflation rising which the government would then need to stop with controls.

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14
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • Brown’s economic proposals came to nothing -
    why?
A

no united government support as the DEA was in competition with the Chancellor and the economists at the treasury.

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15
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

Some blamed Brown foe being inconsistent, and some blamed the old fashioned, anti-labour civil servants at the treasury and the bank of England who they felt,

A

undermined Brown’s efforts by refusing to pass papers.

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16
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • In 1966, Wilson moved brown to the ministry of foreign affairs and thus the DEA was
A

abandoned in 1967.

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17
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • Instead, a prices and incomes policy was established to keep down inflation, implemented by a Prices and Incomes board.

what was it?

A

government intervention that limits price rises and calls for wage restrictions

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18
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • The National Union of Seamen strike partly causes a sterling crisis in 1966

effect?

A

defeated by the government but many leftists shocked by Wilson’s critical attitude to the strikers.

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19
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

Frank Cousins’ resigns from the cabinet over the incomes policy - relationship between

A

the government and unions start to break down.

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20
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • Labour survived the sterling crises in 1965 and 1966, however in 1967,

2 things hgappened that affected the BOP

A

an outbreak of war in the middle east affected oil supplies, and a major national dock strike in August 1967 affected the balance of payments.

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21
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • The government decided devaluation could no longer be avoided - the pound dropped by
A

14%, there were defence cuts and hire purchase restrictions were introduced with higher interest rates.

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22
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • Labour had tried so hard to avoid devaluation that its crisis damaged labours credibility. A few weeks later, Britain’s
A

second application to join the EEC was rejected, making labour’s economic policies look futile.

23
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • Economic situation improved when Callaghan was replaced by Roy Jenkins, who used deflationary methods - .

which were

A

raised taxes and tightened up government speeding to improve the balance of payments even though it made the government unpopular

24
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • By 1969, jenkins achieved
A

a balance of payments surplus

25
Q

ECONOMIC POLICES AND PROBLEMS (INCLUDING DEVALUATION)

  • Inflation was still what in 1970?
A

12%

26
Q

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND THE TRADE UNIONS

  • 1964 - Wilson made Frank Cousins minister of
A

technology

27
Q

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND THE TRADE UNIONS

  • 1966-7 industrial relations with the unions began to deteriorate – strikes by the
A

seamen and dockers caused problems for the government.

28
Q

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND THE TRADE UNIONS

  • The strikes also showed union bosses were losing some control - a lot started with wildcat strikes

what were they

A

sudden, unofficial disputes begun without reference to the national leadership by local activists that would not take orders from the top.

29
Q

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND THE TRADE UNIONS

  • Wilson and his new employment minister, Barbara Castle started to use the law to limit unofficial strikes.

what did castle do?

A
  • 1969 - Castle produced her white paper (document that sets out a possible policy direction but makes no commitments), In Place of Strife, knowing it could be ‘political suicide’.
30
Q

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND THE TRADE UNIONS

  • In many ways, her policy would strengthen the unions in dealing with employers, but there were some key aspects that were difficult for unions to accept:

3

A
  • There was to be a 28-day cooling off period before a strike went ahead.
  • Strike ballots could be imposed.
  • An industrial relations court would be able to prosecute people who broke the rules
31
Q

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND THE TRADE UNIONS

  • Voters liked Castle’s proposals asn they were supported by
A

many Labour MPs

32
Q
  • The unions and the labour left hated castle’s proposals storm of protests by powerful union leaders, such as
A

Jack Jones of TGWU, supported by Callaghan and at least 50 Labour MPs who were ready to rebel. The row went on for months until Wilson gave in.

33
Q

OTHER DOMESTIC POLICIES

  • The government was hindered by a lack of experience in technology and science - the first minister of technology, Cousins, had
A

little interest in technological development.

34
Q

OTHER DOMESTIC POLICIES

  • 1966 - Tony Benn took over as minister of tech and the department performed better but was overshadowed by economic problems –

which were?

A

research and developments were costly, and although the supersonic plane Concorde was developed in partnership with the French government, it could not compete with the US.

35
Q

LABOUR DIVISIONS

when did bevan and gaitskell die?

rip :(

A
  • 1960  leader of the left, Bevan, dies.
  • 1963  Gaitskell, leader of the right, dies.
36
Q

LABOUR DIVISIONS

  • There were personal rivalries between Wilson and who he feared he might face a leadership challenge from

3 people

A

Brown, Callaghan, Jenkins.

37
Q

LABOUR DIVISIONS

  • Wilson’s concentration on technological modernisation united the left and right, minimising tensions over things like
A

Clause IV.

38
Q

LABOUR DIVISIONS

  • Brown hugely resentful he lost the leadership election to Wilson and further resented he was not made foreign secretary in 1964 – Wilson was rumoured to
A

have undermined Brown’s reputation by keeping a record of embarrassing incidents he was involved in.

39
Q

LABOUR DIVISIONS

  • This highlights Wilson’s paranoia as it was highly unlikely that Callaghan and Jenkins would work together - why?
A

Callaghan did not approve of Jenkins’ pro-European stance or his liberalising legislation, Jenkins was also critical of the failure to devalue when Callaghan was chancellor, and Jenkins was a supporter of the trade union legislation that Callaghan tried to block.

40
Q

LABOUR DIVISIONS

  • It is possible to criticise Wilson in some ways as too much of his attention and energy was devoted to
A

trying to keep the party united and in stopping any colleagues from being able to threaten his position.

40
Q

LABOUR DIVISIONS

  • When the seamen’s strike of 1966 caused a sterling crisis Jenkins tried to get the cabinet to support devaluation -

wilson was delulu - what did he think this was?

A

Wilson interpreted this as a plot to replace himself and Brown with Callaghan and Jenkins.

40
Q

LABOUR DIVISIONS

  • Wilson was suspicious of Jenkins – a Gaitskellite

what did he do to which showed this?

A

he did not support Jenkins’ liberalising legislation as home secretary.

41
Q

THE BEGINNING OF THE TROUBLES IN NORTHERN IRELAND.

NI had been created in 1922, after the Irish War of Independence 1919-21.
It was partitioned between 6 counties in the north of Ireland that would remain a part of the UK and the other 26 counties making up the Irish Free State (Republic of Ireland).

This partition led to??

A

civil var, with unionists supporting the union with Britain, and nationalists, supporting a united Ireland.

42
Q

LABOUR DIVISIONS

  • Wilson did not face any challenger from the left of the party but those who were more left wing in the unions, local government and young people were
A

frustrated by his government, making it likely that divisions would re-emerge in the 70s.

43
Q

THE BEGINNING OF THE TROUBLES IN NORTHERN IRELAND.

  • The majority of the people in Ireland were catholic but the majority in NI were protestant – meaning ?
A

the parliament and the whole socio-economic system was dominated by Protestant unionists.

44
Q

THE BEGINNING OF THE TROUBLES IN NORTHERN IRELAND.

  • By 1960s there was evidence thar Catholics in NI were discriminated against in

4 things

A

employment, housing and that electoral boundaries had been deliberately drawn to prevent Catholics from being elected.
* There were accusations that the NI police force was biased against Catholics.

45
Q

THE BEGINNING OF THE TROUBLES IN NORTHERN IRELAND

  • In 1964, the civil rights movements in NI started to challenge this – tensions rose as sone unionists feared that the

think ira

A

Irish Republic Army (IRA) would start a campaign (they were so-called loyalists that set up a paramilitary -non-state- organisations to defend the union).

46
Q

THE BEGINNING OF THE TROUBLES IN NORTHERN IRELAND

  • In 1969 the situation deteriorated further - the loyalist Apprentice Boys went ahead with their annual march (commemorating the closure of the city gates to catholic forces in 1688) in Derry and were
A

attacked by nationalists in the Catholic area of Bogside. The police tried to storm Bogside but were held back in 2 days of rioting. TV footage showed the officers beating Catholics.

47
Q

THE BEGINNING OF THE TROUBLES IN NORTHERN IRELAND

  • Riots spread to other towns and cities.
  • The Stormont government offered concessions on housing and electoral boundaries - sparked riots from loyalists.
  • In august 1969 Wilson sent
A

British army troops in an attempt to keep the peace.

48
Q

THE END OF THE POST-WAR CONSENSUS

  • By 1970 there were the first signs that the post-war consensus was breaking down:

4 signs

A
  • Britain’s economic problems did not seem to have been solved by consensus policies.
  • Trade unions were seemingly more uncooperative, forcing the labour party to try and reform industrial relations.
  • The left of the labour party was dissatisfied by moderate consensus labour policies.
  • Social problems and poverty had not been ended
49
Q

THE END OF THE POST-WAR CONSENSUS

  • Meanwhile, in the conservative party, Heath and his shadow cabinet were also starting to doubt the efficacy of key elements of the post war consensus, as well as identifying the need for trade union reform, they were also questioning ??
A

whether the state should take as great a role in planning the economy and in ensuring full employment.

50
Q

THE LOSS OF THE 1970 ELECTION

  • The victory of the conservatives in the 1970 election seemed to be a surprise.
  • The Wilson government had come through its difficult times  Jenkins achieved
A

economic and financial stability.

51
Q

THE LOSS OF THE 1970 ELECTION

  • Wilson was considered to be a master campaigner – far more

compare to heath

A

experienced and popular than Heath.

52
Q

THE LOSS OF THE 1970 ELECTION

  • But beneath the surface, Heath had greater strengths than he was given credit for – he was
A

hard working, conscientious and had an image of competence.

53
Q

THE LOSS OF THE 1970 ELECTION

  • In 1968 Enoch Powell made his famous ‘rivers of blood’ speech which warned against future immigration. Although Heath sacked Powell from the shadow cabinet and refused to let him take part in the election campaign, some people credited him for…

think votes

A

gaining 2.5 million votes for the conservatives, whereas other believed Heath’s actions made him appear strong and principled.

54
Q

THE LOSS OF THE 1970 ELECTION

  • The concern that the post-war consensus was not working meant that
A

conservative’s new ideas gained support

2S: THE MAKING OF MODERN BRITAIN (24 decks)

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