Years of Concensus 1964-79: 6 Social developments

Question 1

how did television develop in the 1960s?

Answer 1

international television transmission was made possible by the launch of Telstar by the US in 1962
British contribution was the Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in Cornwall - became largest satellite station in the world providing over 60 communications dishes

Question 2

how did aerospace develop in the 1960s?

Answer 2

• development of the jet engine to power commercial as well as military aircraft in the 1950s
• De Havilland Comet jetliner came into service in 1952 - sometimes plagued by technical difficulties it proved a pioneer in civil aviation and sold widely abroad
• resulted in low-cost, long-range jet travel revolutionising leisure opportunities for British people

Question 3

how did chemicals develop in the 1960s?

Answer 3

• Imperial Chemicals Industries (ICI) led the way for developments
• in 50s and 60s produced synthetic materials like Perspex, Crimplene and Lycra
• began developing pharmaceuticals which included breakthrough drugs in the treatment of malaria, heart disease and certain forms of cancer
• manufactured advanced forms of anaesthetics, disinfectants and pesticides

improved living standards in Britain and made contribution to fight against disease and ill-health in some poorer countries
3% of GDP on R&D

Question 4

how did atomic energy develop in the 1950/60s?

Answer 4

in 1947 Labour made Britain a nuclear power
1952 detonated first atomic bomb
1957 first hydrogen bomb

1954 - UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) was established - role to oversee policies for the civilian and defence use of atomic energy for development of research

by 1962 a nuclear reactor at Dounreay was producing electricity for domestic use

by 1958 over 20 nuclear weapons had been tested in the Pacific - raised great moral issues and led to protest, major voice was the CND

Question 5

how did transport develop in the 1960s?

Answer 5

• privately owned cars grew - 2.3 million in 1950 and 11.8 million in 1965
• first stretch of the M1 was opened in 1959
• an integrated transport plan was needed
• Beeching Report 1963 recommended sweeping cuts that were acted on in the late 1960s e.g. reduce total length of railway from 13,000 to 9,000
• however it was easier to close railways than to open roads so progress was halting
• increase in roads created some environmental debate

Question 6

what were the responses to new technology?

Answer 6

‘white heat’ of technological revolution - Wilson
- 1964 election - C.P. Snow was appointed as parliamentary secretary in the newly formed ministry of technology headed by Frank Cousins, leader of the TGWU
- 1956 Snow (a distinguished physicist and novelist) wrote a highly influential and diverse article in which he asserted that post war Britain was divided into two cultures - one was dated, self-regarding, coterie of intellectuals and writers from the humanities and arts who made up the Establishment who were ignorant to science. the other was progressive scientists who understood the need to adapt Britain to the modern world who were denied influence by the Establishment

Question 7

how did leisure develop in the 1960s?

Answer 7

• early 1960s 4/5 homes had a tv set
• huge increase in car ownership
• traditional activities such as large crowds at sporting events competed for audiences against tvs and cars
• most towns saw a flourish in amateur theatre groups and choral and dance societies
• 1955 - 90% of British workers took an annual 2 week paid holiday - e.g. Butlins
• earnings rose and disposable income grew - holidays abroad became possible
• more homes had domestic appliances such as fridges, tvs, washing machines, telephones e.g. 1956 20% owned a washing machine vs 1971 64%

Question 8

how did the media develop in the 1960s?

Answer 8

• despite growth in radio and tv broadcasts, newspapers remained a powerful medium for influencing opinion
• 2/3 of adult pop read a daily newspaper
• the BBC and ITV were legally required to provide a politically neutral and balanced digest of the news but no restrictions impacted newspapers
• newspaper dynasties e.g. Harmsworth Press: the times and daily mail and Beaverbrook Press: daily express, sunday express and London’s evening standard
• concerns in the 1930s over the power of the papers’ proprietors, a Press Council was set up in 1953 - proprietor’s purpose was to avoid being subjected to gov control - argument ran that there were political leanings of each paper
• argument less convincing when Rupert Murdoch bought the Sun which turned into a bestseller in 1966

Question 9

how did equality change in the 1960s?

Answer 9

• significant progress for women - development of feminism movement
• women in higher education in 1965 - 35%
• women in the UK workforce in 1970 - 35%
• demand for legal, social and economic equality - the book ‘The Female Eunuch’ by Germaine Greer provided a powerful and intellectual argument for women
• groundwork laid for changes in the 1970s
• ‘sexual revolution’ development of advanced female emancipation through the pill gave women control over their fertility

Question 10

what laws were passed in the 1970s to advance equality for women?

Answer 10

• Equal Pay Act 1970 - same rates of pay as men for equal value work
• Finance Act 1971 - husband and wife’s earnings to be taxed separately
• Employment Protection Act 1975 - denied employers the right to dismiss pregnant employees and required to offer them paid maternity leave
• Sex Discrimination Act 1975 - outlawed discrimination on the grounds of sex
• Social Security Act 1975 - provided special maternity allowance fund
• Social Security Pensions Act 1975 - required pension schemes to be open equally to women engaged in the same work as men

Question 11

what act was introduced in 1967?

Answer 11

Abortion Act
greater freedom gained from contraception was complemented by the abortion act permitting legal termination of pregnancy where 2 doctors certified that there was serious risk to the physical or mental health of the mother or the child was to be born with serious abnormalities

by 2007 over 5 million abortions had taken place.

Question 12

what nickname did the 60s gain due to social changes?

Answer 12

the permissive society

Question 13

what was the Lady Chatterley Case of 1960?

Answer 13

1959 gov introduced the Obscene Publications Act which contained a clause that supposedly obscene works which were published ‘in the interest of science, literature, art or learning’ was permitted
Penguin published D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover
Penguin were trialled for publishing an ‘obscene’ text. The verdict was that they were not guilty. marked beginning of permissive age in literature.

Question 14

what was the Theatres Act of 1968?

Answer 14

ended theatre censorship by removing the outdated system by which plays had to be submitted to the Lord Chamberlain for approval before they were performed
however cinema censorship remained in place

Question 15

how was television censorship developed in the 1960s?

Answer 15

both the BBC and ITV became more relaxed in what they broadcast following the theatre act

Mary Whitehouse led a spirited attack on what she regarded as the debased standards of immorality
Lord Langford, a Labour peer, campaigned in the 60s and 70s against the open sale and availability of pornography

Question 16

what was the Sexual Offences Act of 1967?

Answer 16

was based on recommendations of the Wolfenden Committee report of 1958
legalised male homosexual acts in private between ‘consenting adults’
female homosexuality was not mentioned in the act as it had never been illegal
it was introduced through a private member’s bill, Leo Abse.

Question 17

what special parliamentary officer was introduced in 1967?

Answer 17

Ombudsman (from the Swedish for a ‘public advocate’
whom citizens could appeal if they felt they had suffered from an abuse of authority by a gov department

Question 18

what was the Abolition of the death penalty in 1969?

Answer 18

the act ending death sentences made permanent following an experimental four years since 1965

most of the population were pro the retention of the death penalty so it was an example of the govs decision in a free vote to lead rather than follow public opinion

Question 19

what did the Divorce Reform Act of 1969 do?

Answer 19

allowed couples to divorce on the grounds of the ‘irretrievable breakdown’ of their relationship

Question 20

what was the Open University?

Answer 20

opened in 1969
new higher education institution enabled previously unqualified students to read for degrees by studying courses broadcast on radio and television. Wilson claimed this was his greatest achievement as PM

Question 21

what were the Race Relations Acts of 1965 and 1968?

Answer 21

• prohibition of racial discrimination in public places and in areas such as employment and housing
• making incitement to racial hatred a criminal offence
• setting up a Race Relations Board with the power to investigate complaints of racial discrimination
• creating the Community Relations Commission to promote inter-racial understanding

Question 22

what did the Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1968 do?

Answer 22

prohibited new immigrants from settling in Britain unless they had family connections already established
built upon previous Conservative gov measures so showed that both govs agreed there needed to be limitations on entry into Britain in the interest of peaceful community relations

Question 23

what was the ‘Rivers of blood’ speech in 1968?

Answer 23

Enoch Powell
speech highlighting the race issue
Powell was a maverick Conservative politician
he regarded unlimited immigration as a threat to the character of the UK

the speech was condemned by all political sides and Heath felt obliged to dismiss him from the shadow cabinet

Question 24

how did drugs affect society, particularly youth, in the 1960s?

Answer 24

• experimentation with psychedelic drugs - popular with young middle class
• increased hippy and counter-culture
• cannabis use increased

Question 25

what was different about youth in the 60s than previously?

Answer 25

had lots of disposable income as well as leisure time
young people were spending over 60% of their disposable income on clothes

Question 26

how did sex develop and affect society in the 1960s?

Answer 26

• great increase in premarital sex and the rejection of monogamous marriage appeared outdated
• practice of couples living together rather than marrying
• right of woman to choose to become single mothers became more accepted
• homosexual relationships regarded as normal and legitimate
• divorce rates increased from 1 in 100 pre-1939 to 1 in 10 marriages in the 60s to 1 in 7 in the 70s

Question 27

what were the ‘swinging sixties’?

Answer 27

• explosion of popular music led to commercial boo of recording companies eager to sign new talent e.g. the Beatles
• Carnaby street became centre of fashion for young it shops and boutiques selling ‘mod’ and ‘hippy’ fashion created by designers such as Mary Quant
• continuation of fights between mods and rockers
• felt as through through clothes and music youth were protesting against the Establishment

Question 28

protests were common - what does that tell us about society?

Answer 28

movement towards social change
people were losing faith in the traditional political parties
press presented these as part of the youth movement however many movements such as those pressing for women’s rights were led by older members of society
CND’s spokesperson was Michael Foot

Question 29

what did the CND do yearly?

Answer 29

CND - campaign for nuclear disarmament
1958 CND embarked on what became an annual Easter march which followed a 50 mile route from central London to the nuclear missile site at Aldermaston
average number of marchers from 58-63 was 100,000
led by middle-aged people however over half of those who attended marches were under 20

Question 30

what were the university protests?

Answer 30

growth in number of unis
- concerns usually localised
- one at LSE in 1967 saw a ten day occupation in protest against the appointment of Walter Adams as director

Question 31

what key charities were prominent in the 1960s?

Answer 31

• Action on Child Poverty - group concerned with helping children whose families had fallen through the social services network
• Shelter - committed to finding accommodation for homeless individuals
• release - a body that provided assistance for young people on drug charges