WILSON 1964-70 CHAPTER 6 Flashcards
liberal reforming legislation
Jenkins became home secretary in 1965 - a position to influence society.
Society had already undergone considerable change since the 1950s but changes in the
what were needed?
law were needed if personal freedom was allowed to develop further.
PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS
The labour government did not set out with a liberalising agenda - the manifesto
made no mention of moral issues.
(Wilson and Brown were conservative on moral issues and many working-class labour MPs remained suspicious of change.)
PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS
labour MPs remained suspicious of change.
Laws on moral questions are usually free votes – individual MPs vote according to their own conscience.
Although the vast majority of proposed legislation passing through government is through government bills, there is also provision for
who
backbench MPs to propose legislation through private members’ bills.
PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS
1960s saw backbench MPs bring forward a number of reforms through this mechanism.
They were successful because?
Jenkins was sympathetic and enabled enough parliamentary time to be available for the reforms to be passed.
THE END OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
what happened in 50s, 55 and 57 regarding this issue?
1950s - arguments against the abolition of the death penalty advanced although public opinion remained divided.
1955 - anti hanging campaign receives a boost from the case of Ruth Ellis, a young mother convicted of murdering her abusive boyfriend.
1957 - conservatives reduced the number of offences carrying the death penalty.
THE END OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
- The labour backbencher Silverman campaigned to win support for total abolition.
in 1965…
think hanging
hanging abolished for a trial period of 5 years on a free vote and made permanent in 1969.
THE END OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
- Jenkins refused to authorise the beating of prisoners which ceased after 1967 and brought in majority verdicts for English juries rather than unanimity - which made it so
instead of all 12 jurors having to agree on the verdict, majority allowed a decision could be reached if at least 10 agreed.
This helped convict many dangerous criminals.
THE END OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
the downside of the abolition of hanging was that it
did not significantly reduce the number of murders or violent crimes as its supporters had hoped.
DIVORCE REFORM
Until the 1960s, divorce law demanded evidence that one party had committed adultery.
Jenkins believed the laws were out of date and passed the Divorce Reform Act in
1969.
DIVORCE REFORM
This allowed couples to divorce if:
- They had lived apart for 2 years and both agreed to a divorce.
- They had lived apart for 5 years and one wanted a divorce.
However, not all MPs were in favour.
DIVORCE REFORM
Following the reform there was a huge increase in the number of divorces:
- In 1950 there had been fewer than 2 divorces per 1000 married couples.
- By mid 1970s nearly 10 in every 1000 marriages ended in divorce.
This could be explained by growing female independence, but the act did play a major role.
THE LEGALISATION OF ABORTION
- Until 1967 abortion, except strictly on medical grounds, was
illegal.
THE LEGALISATION OF ABORTION
- The only way was to find private clinics or search for a backstreet abortionist.
how many abortions were perfomed every year
- Between 100,000 – 200,000 illegal abortions were performed each year.
THE LEGALISATION OF ABORTION
- Around 35000 women were admitted to hospital with complications as a result.
how many women died?
- Between 1958-60, 82 women died after backstreet abortions.
THE LEGALISATION OF ABORTION
The abortion law reform association had campaigned for a reform from 1945, but it was the thalidomide disaster of 1959-62 that swayed public opinion:
what was it?
1960s - thalidomide was a drug prescribed to pregnant women to help with morning sickness. It was found to produce deformities in children when it was taken early in the pregnancy – children were commonly born without the long bones in the arms or legs. Because of this, opinion polls showed a majority in favour of allowing abortion when an abnormality had been detected in the fetus.
THE LEGALISATION OF ABORTION
- However, not everyone was convinced. The society for the protection of the child was set up in 1966 to
purpose?
oppose any liberalisation of the law, fearing this would lead to abortion on demand.
THE LEGALISATION OF ABORTION
- Roy Jenkins ensured an
what to pass the bill?
all-night Commons sitting in order to ensure the passing of the bill.
THE LEGALISATION OF ABORTION
- The abortion act permitted the legal termination of a pregnancy within the first
28 weeks, under medical supervision and with the written consent of 2 doctors.
- The only justification needed was the mental suffering of the woman, not just the physical condition.
THE LEGALISATION OF ABORTION
- The hopes that the availability of more effective contraceptives and better education would limit the need for education proved false: the number of abortions increased from
35,000 in 1968 to 141000 in 1975.
THE LEGISLATION OF HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONS
- Up until 1960s men could be imprisoned for
2 years for participating in homosexual acts
THE LEGISLATION OF HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONS
- The conservative government had rejected the Wolfenden recommendation to
decriminalise (the action can no longer be subjected to prosecution) homosexuality, and the labour government of 1964 was divided on the issue.
THE LEGISLATION OF HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONS
- Thanks to Jenkins’ support, Abse was able to get up enough parliamentary time for his private members’ bill to become law as the 1967 Sexual Offences Act.
Although this did not legalise homosexual acts, it decriminalised them where 3 conditions were met:
- Both partners had to consent
- Both had to be over 21.
- It had to be in private.
THE LEGISLATION OF HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONS
The Act was welcomed by men who previously had been afraid to declare their sexuality and forced to live double lives.
However. This did not mean
the complete end of prosecutions for homosexual practices since ‘in private’ was interpreted as no one else being in the same building.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS
By the 1960s the idea that the different types of secondary school in the tripartite system were equal in status had long since passed the secondary modern pupils were seen as
11+ failures and the whole system appeared socially divisive – the majority of grammar school places went to those from a middle-class background.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS
* Local Education Authorities were responsible for schools and in some labour-controlled areas, had established comprehensive schools
in these every child would
(provides education for all children in a given area – does not select its pupils). In these, every child would have the same opportunities to learn at their own pace and sit exams according to their own abilities in each subject.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS
- By 1964, 1 in 10 pupils were educated in a comprehensive school –
compare to 1951
10 times more than 1951 – but still a minority.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS
* 1965 - Crossland, supporter of the comprehensive system, became minister for education and accelerated this process.
* He requested all LEA to convert to
comprehensive schools and although it was not a requirement, many did, especially after 1966 when government made money for new comprehensives.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS
* By 1970, only 8 authorities had failed to respond and there were
how many?
1145 comprehensives catering for 1 in 3 of all state educated secondary pupils.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS
* Hard to say how successful it was - Wilson justified them by claiming all comprehensives meant a grammar school education for all, but many remained unconvinced. Some turned to
direct grant schools, some turned independent
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE EXPANSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE INAUGURATION OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
* Fears that Britain was slipping behind in science and technological education had already led to the establishment of
the Robbins committee in 1961.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE EXPANSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE INAUGURATION OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
* The Robbins report found that Britain lagged behind
France, Germany, and the US in the provision of university places and that too many students followed arts-related courses.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE EXPANSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE INAUGURATION OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
The labour government responded by expanding higher education:
3
- Polytechnics replaced colleges of technology and were focused on applied education for work and science, concentrating on teaching rather than research.
- 9 colleges of advanced technology became full universities.
- New universities were to be founded – Warwick 1965, Bath 1966.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE EXPANSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE INAUGURATION OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
By 1968, there were
number of polytechnis and universities?
30 polytechnics and 56 universities.
The new polytechnics and universities opened up higher education for many whose families had never attended university.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
* Harold Wilson said he most wanted to be remembered for the creation of the Open University.
* It attempted to offer
high quality, degree level learning in arts and sciences to people who never had the opportunity to attend campus universities.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
* In September 1969, the Open University headquarters was established in Milton Keynes and by the middle of 1970 there were enough applications for
the first-year students to begin their studies in 1971.
* It became a rapid success.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
Used radio and television in forms of distance learning, and recruited part-time students, especially the
mature, women and the disadvantaged, raising their self-esteem of those who had previously regarded themselves as educational failures.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
* By 1980, the Open University had
how many students
70,000 students and was awarding more degrees than Oxford and Cambridge combined.
