The Changing Economic Landscape 1918-1945

Question 1

Why was there a boom post WW1?

Answer 1

•people spent their savings on things that had been rationed during the war e.g coffee, soap, clothes and cigarettes
• investors invested in old British industries like cotton mills and coal mines

Question 2

What were the effects of WW1 on British economy?

Answer 2

•debt - all cash and gold reserves were spent so the government had to loan 850 million
• Britain were forced to leave the gold standard during the war and printed more money, leading to 25% inflation and the value of the pound fell
• there was a loss of international trade as 20% of merchant ships had been sunk during the war

Question 3

What government policy was introduced in 1922 to help the British economy recover?

Answer 3

• In an unsuccessful attempt to pay off war debt and reduced inflation, the Geddes Axe 1922 reduced government spending on education, health, housing and unemployment benefits and raised taxes
• however this caused increased unemployment and resentment towards Lloyd George

Question 4

Why did the return to the Gold Standard in 1925 cause the British economy to take longer to recover?

Answer 4

• interest rates were increased by 7% to reduce inflation - however this led to businesses borrowing less money
• high interest rates increase the value of the pound to make British economy look stronger, however this reduced international trade as exchange rates were high

Question 5

How did the the introduction of protectionism cause the British economy to take longer to recover after the war?

Answer 5

• tariffs made foreign goods more expensive - however this resulted in other countries introducing tariffs, making it more difficult for Britain to sell their goods abroad
•was introduced to try and protect old struggling British industries - however in the long term they no longer were competitive
• therefore as Britain hadn’t invested in newer industries and technologies like chemicals and car manufacturing, Japan and Germany overtook Britain

Question 6

how did unemployment cause the British economy to take longer to recover after the war?

Answer 6

•older heavy industries like coal mining and shipbuilding were shutting down
• this affected industrial cities in the North like Tyneside and South Wales
• unemployment could be as high as 60% - this led to increased government spending on unemployment benefits

Question 7

what were the factors leading to the 1920-21 recession?

Answer 7

• 25% inflation - interest rates increased by 7%
• loss of export trade - Britain no longer main market leader, overtaken by Japan and Germany
• underinvestment in new industries
• industrial relations - Lloyd George reduced working hours and increased pay for workers after strikes by no increased productivity - lost profit

Question 8

How was Britain’s economy affected by the Wall Street Crash?

Answer 8

• led to the collapse of banks and international trade
• European nations like Germany couldn’t pay back war debt to Britain - bankers began to panic
• therefore banks wouldn’t loan the government money - government forced to cut spending
• Invergorden protest about pay cuts forced government to change their approach and once again leave the Gold Standard

Question 9

What were the problems of the Great Depression?

Answer 9

• from 1929 - 1934 global trade contracted by 66%
• Britain’s exports declined by 50%
•collapse in trade was catastrophic especially for Britain’s struggling old industries - therefore unemployment rose from 1m in 1929 to 2.5m in 1930

Question 10

How and why did the economy begin to recover after the wall street crash?

Answer 10

• Britain left the gold standard therefore the value of the pound fell - price of British exports decreased by 25%, encouraging foreign trade
• interest rates cut from 6% to 2% - led to increased government spending, more business investments aswell as a housing boom which created jobs
• 1935 - rearmament for ww2 created jobs in the steel, shipbuilding and iron industries

Question 11

How and why did the government’s role in the economy change during ww2?

Answer 11

• total war economy- all efforts focused on the war
• rationing and conscription reintroduced - 5 million into the armed forces
• 8.5 million essential work orders issued, forcing workers to do required jobs
• due to the war and economist John Maynard Keynes, government more willing to help manage the economy in order to keep unemployment low

Question 12

why did the miners want coal mines to be nationalised?

Answer 12

the miners had received better pay and wages during the war.

Question 13

What was the Sankey Comission?

Answer 13

It was set up to represent the miners and owners equally. It recommended nationalisation to Lloyd George, but he rejected this.

Question 14

When did the coal mines return to private ownership and what did this mean for the miners?

Answer 14

•1921
• The coal industry was already struggling post war, therefore miners wages were cut and their working hours were extended to 8 hours so that the miners could still make profit

Question 15

What did the miners propose to the government instead of wage cuts from the owners and what was it?

Answer 15

• proposed a national pool
• fixed a levy on every ton of coal to raise funds to support the poorest colleries
• was rejected by Lloyd George

Question 16

who was meant to strike on Friday 13th April 1921 and why did it fail?

Answer 16

• the triple alliance of miners, shipbuilders and railway men were going to strike in sympathy for the miners and to stop wage cuts
• however the strike failed as it was considered unfair to the railway men and shipbuilders workers to be striking in a period of unemployment
• therefore the miners’ appeal failed and they received further wage reductions, government stopped their appeal by giving subsidies to mine owners

Question 17

Why did the government know to prepare for the general strike in 1926?

Answer 17

they had provided mine owners with subsidies to maintain miners pay until 1925. After 1925 they knew that the wages would have to be cut, leading to a strike.

Question 18

How did the government prepare for the General Strike?

Answer 18

• published their own propganda paper the British Gazetteand used BBC to broadcast propaganda messages
• The Labour Party distanced themselves from the strikers - didn’t want to lose electoral support by being viewed as radical
• Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies set up - middle class people did strikers jobs
• stockpiled coal
• put Britain into a state of emergency - the strike was deemed a political threat
• army leave cancelled

Question 19

Why did the General Strike end?

Answer 19

• the TUC had spent £4m of their £12.5m strike fund - not sustainable, would go bankrupt
• the unions found out they could be sued for the money companies lost during the strike - couldn’t risk losing more money, trade union would have collapsed entirely - Trade Disputes Act 1927, Conservatives were pleased that Baldwin introduced this
• the strikers returned to work with reduced wages and the mining industry lost 30% of its jobs

Question 20

Why did the TUC have to strike, despite not really wanting to?

Answer 20

They had to support the workers and their needs - the coal industry provided jobs to 1m of workers. The TUC had to strike in order to maintain support for the unions and the upcoming Labour Party.
• demonstrated that the strike wasn’t the result of revolutionary planning

Question 21

Why did the Labour Party gain more support after the General Strike?

Answer 21

the workers wanted change through Parliament, rather than direct action through the trade unions

Question 22

Why did the coal miners propose lockouts?

Answer 22

to make the miners accept wage reductions or not let them into work

Question 23

how did the agriculture industry change between 1841 and now?

Answer 23

In 1841, around 20% of workers were involved in the agriculture industry. By 1901 fewer than 9% of workers were involved. Now less than 1% of workers are involved in the agriculture industry, contributing only 0.7% of Britain’s economic output

Question 24

Why did the agriculture industry decline?

Answer 24

• the introduction of steam train in 1901 encouraged the industrialisation of Britain, encouraging more workers to move from the countryside to the city
• introduction of herbicides and pesticides reduced the need for workers on farms

Question 25

how has the percentage of people working in the manufacturing and services industries changed since 1841?

Answer 25

• 1841 - 70% of workers involved in these industries
• now - 90% of workers involved in these industries

Question 26

why did involvement of the services industry begin to take off in the 1960s?

Answer 26

• advanced technologies e.g development of computers led to more white collar jobs
• more people could access white collar jobs due as people started to become more educated
• introduction of the NHS and welfare state in 1948 created more jobs
• as old heavy industries began to decline, more people moved into the services sector

Question 27

Why did the number of workers involved in manufacturing in the 1800s increase?

Answer 27

the Industrial Revolution

Question 28

In the last 50 years, why have jobs in the manufacturing industry started to decline?

Answer 28

globalisation - businesses started to operate on a global scale

Question 29

What jobs were available to women post WW1?

Answer 29

• jobs in domestic services doing housework - 25% of women returned to this role post WW1
• a few more opportunities to become teachers, nurses and sometimes doctors as women became more educated through the 1918 Education Act and more were able to go to uni through the 1919 Sex Disqualification Act

Question 30

What jobs were considered to be ‘women’s work’?

Answer 30

•assembly work in engineering, electrical, food and drink industries
• clerical work, typing and counter sales
• domestic services

Question 31

How were women discouraged from working?

Answer 31

•their wage was half the male wage
•they had to work long hours
•they had to do shifts
• there was a marriage bar - women had to quit work when they got married and had children, without household appliances it was considered too much to work and keep the house in order

Question 32

Why were trade unions and the Labour party opposed to women in the workplace?

Answer 32

• represent the working class man - if women were allowed to work the same jobs as men, there would be even higher unemployment and lower wages
• this would mean the trade unions would have to intervene more
• therefore the Labour party didn’t support women working either

Question 33

What was the Jarrow March and when did it occur?

Answer 33

• 1936
• the march of unemployed men from Jarrow, Newcastle to London

Question 34

Why did the Jarrow March occur and what was it’s aim?

Answer 34

• In 1931 Palmer’s shipyard was closed, leaving 400 men unemployed in Jarrow
• Therefore a petition was signed with 12000 signatures and taken to London to try and get the government to introduce industry in Newcastle to provide work for unemployed men

Question 35

What was the government’s response to the Jarrow march?

Answer 35

• the response in the House of Commons was minimal and the workers were forced to return home
• however in the future the government started to introduce new industries to struggling areas, and Jarrow was one of the first to receive support

Question 36

How did the number of women working in transport change in 1918 compared to before WW1?

Answer 36

• before - 18,000 women employed
• after - 117,000 women employed

women had to step up and do men’s jobs

Question 37

What did the Mond Turner talks 1928-29 demonstrate about indrustrial relations?

Answer 37

• TUC after the general strike wrote to employer’s organisations proposing joint talks on worker’s conditions, wanting to resolve disputes without striking
• showed improved industrial relations

Question 38

After the general strike how many working days were lost?

Answer 38

• 1918-25 average working days lost were 28 million compared to 3 million in the years 1927-39
• demonstrates better industrial relations

Question 39

How were industrial relations impacted between unions and workers after the general strike?

Answer 39

• 500,000 over affiliated members left unions between 1925-27
• bitterness between the miners and TUC
• workers place their trust in Labour party after failure of strike action

Question 40

What did the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act of 1927 do?

Answer 40

• changed industrial relations through restrictions on picketing, sympathy strikes and changes to the political levy

Question 41

How did Britain leaving the Gold Standard in 1931 impact industrial relations?

Answer 41

• made British exports 25% cheaper, helping with balance of payments crisis - economy doing better, cost of living less, less disputes
• interest rates cut from 6 to 2 %, meant mortgages were cheaper, created 1 in 3 jobs in construction between 1931 and 1934

Question 42

Why did staple industries decline post WW1?

Answer 42

• more efficient German and American steel production undercut British domestic sales due to the continuation of free trade until 1932
• 80% of coal mined in Britain using pickaxes rather than machinery, more dangerous and less productive
• Britain joined the Gold Standard, exports dropped - miners get paid per ton of coal, wages therefore drop

Question 43

Why did high unemployment in the 1920s and 1930s act as a deterrent to potential strike action?

Answer 43

• 1929 - long term unemployment 5%
• 1932 - 16.4%
TUC therefore want to maintain as many jobs as possible

Question 44

How did rearmament in 1935 make industrial relations better?

Answer 44

• 15% of unemployed people found work in older industries such as steel, iron and shipbuilding
• therefore less disputes about jobs

Question 45

How was government policy significant in impacting industrial relations?

Answer 45

• provided £23 m of subsidies for 9 months to the employers of coal miners to maintain their wages, however removed it before the general strike
• stimulated dilute due to wages dropping

Question 46

How were trade union mergers significant in industrial relations?

Answer 46

• reduced the power of shop unions in favour of full time officials, replacing union militancy with a more Conservative approach
• trying to improve industrial relations