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Breadth History > politics 1939-1964 > Flashcards

politics 1939-1964 Flashcards

1
Q

arguments that churchill was a great military leader

A

defiant and stubborn in standing up to Hitler
gained respect for not doing appeasement
Dunkirk
used speeches to encourage patriotism and unification with Britain and morale, enhanced by the growth of radio
withstood pressures from Halifax
“dunkirk spirit”
emergency powers
D-Day
El Alemein - secured Egypt and suez canal
convoy system

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2
Q

arguments that Churchill wasn’t a great wartime leader

A

lost at Norway
Churchill got lucky with military strategy at Dunkirk
‘Drunken defiance’
Left weapons at Dunkirk
only won Battle of Britain die to Hitler’s mistakes
idea to intervene in Greece led to the death of 36,000 British troops
carpet bombing of German cities seen as immoral

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3
Q

Churchill’s success in domestic leadership

A

Emergency Powers Act
war cabinet, managed to delegate between all 3 parties

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4
Q

Churchill failures in domestic leadership

A

wasn’t first choice- Halifax refused to be PM
interfered
unpopular with out of touch Shakesperian language in speeches
1945, Labour won the election
likened Labour party to Gestapo after he had just been working with Atlee
unpopular with Ulster, offered to trade them off for Irish support in the war
some speeches were only said to House of Commons but later published to the public

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5
Q

John Charmly’s opinion on Churchill

A

“great men can committ great mistakes and Churchill’s are on the same gargantuan scale as his achievements”

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6
Q

what new post was created by churchill to deal with the problems created in the battle of britain?

A

Ministry of Aircraft Production
production rose by 50%

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7
Q

was Churchill popular among other politicians?

A

many didn’t trust him after his support for Edward VIII and his attack on Chamberlain’s appeasement policy
gained a reputation as a serial floor crosser
Lord Woolton wanted him to be replaced in 1942

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8
Q

what was the labour slogan in the 1945 election?

A

lets build the houses quick

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9
Q

what was the conservative slogan in the 1945 election?

A

confirm your confidence in Churchill

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10
Q

what was the support for Chruchill in opinion polls like?

A

never below 78%

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11
Q

which system did Labour benefit from in the 1945 election?

A

first past the post

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12
Q

how did policy development contribute to the labour win in the 1945 election?

A

Cons policy development declined through the war and they failed to develop welfare policies which responded to the public mood
split between anti and pro welfare reformers
manifesto - 220,000 homes in 2 years

Labour party adopted the welfare reforms outlined in the Beveridge report - 86% of the population were in favour of the report
produced ‘Labour’s Immediate Programme’ in 1937 and many points reinforced in manifesto
home for every family promised in manifesto

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13
Q

how did the war contribute to the labour win in the 1945 election?

A

Con party organisation had declined during the war - area officers and constituency Associations were closed down as staff enlisted or were drafted in the forces
Macmillan’s appeasement policies criticised
electorally damaged by wartime electoral truce - Guilty men pamphlet
associated with failure to rearm

Labour’s Bevin Minister of Labour responsible for domestic matters

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14
Q

how did the election campaign to the labour win in the 1945 election?

A

Cons only spent £3000 on campaign, compared to £30,000 in 1935
local conservative party activism was non-existent until a few months before the election - performative

Labour manifesto looked toward future “Lets face the future”

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15
Q

how did the different leaders contribute to the labour win in the 1945 election?

A

Churchill remembered for his role in the general strike - shouted down by workers at Walthamstow
didn’t think that working class deserved demands of their own
seemed outdated enemy of working class

Atlee seemed calm and statesmenlike
drove around in car with wife

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16
Q

proof than Churchill was unpopular with electorate

A

in his own consituency , Alexander Hancock, independent, eccentric candidate received 10,000 votes and Churchill

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17
Q

what did the labour government of 1945 think that the benefits of nationalisation were?

A

restore trade that had been disrupted during WW2
revive declining industries
improve exports
restore prosperity
fairer treatment of workers
improvements in working conditions
full employment
profits used to fund the growth of the welfare state

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18
Q

what was clause IV for the Labour party?

A

committment to state control of the means of production, distribution and exchange 2.3 million workers moving from privately to publicly owned industries

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19
Q

which areas of the economy were nationalised?

A

Bank of England
Air transport - 3 companies
mining brought under national coal board
public transport - British transport commission
electricity
gas
iron and steel

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20
Q

Representation of People Acts 1948 and 1949

A

abolished plural voting
abolished separate university seats
redrew constituency boundaries to take account of changing populations
abolished two member constituencies
introduced postal voting

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21
Q

how did the representation of the people act 1948 and 1949 benefit the conservatives?

A

postal votes 10:1 in favour of conservatives

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22
Q

1950 general election statistics

A

CONS
increased by 40%
gained 85 seats

LAB
declined by 1.7%

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23
Q

how were conservative policies more attractive than labour in 1951?

A

promised to build 300,000
accepted labour reforms - welfare state and mixed economy in manifesto
adopted industrial charter claiming not to be a capitalist party
promised more red meat

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24
Q

how well organised were the conservatives by 1951?

A

Lord Woolton revitalised conservative grassroots
1950, membership was nearly 3 million
Woolton said that no candidate should contribute more than £25/year to constituency party - wouldn’t just choose wealthy candidates
young conservative movement grew from 1946
attracted large donations from wealthy business men, especially those who feared nationalism

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25
Q

compare the key leaders of conservative and labour in 1950?

A

Churchill was 76 in 1950 and had suffered a strike
cons contained men of political weight- Macmillan, Butler

Avg age of Labour was 60 in 1949
many had health problems
party less united by 1950

26
Q

why were there elections in 1950 and 1951?

A

Labour called a snap election in 1951 because they wanted to increase their majority

27
Q

how did the liberals effect the 1950+1951 elections?

A

1950 made a great effort, fielding 475 candidates but only getting 9 seats
in 1951 they had exhausted their funds and could only put up 109 candidates
1951 they got almost 2 million fewer votes

28
Q

how did the voting system contribute to labour’s ill fortune in the 1951 election?

A

constituency is won by the candidate with the most votes

in 1950-1951 many labour votes were wasted in safe constituencies

29
Q

what were the main labour weaknesses that contributed to the loss of the 1951 elections?

A

ideological and policy disagreements
Morrisson called for consolidation whereas Bevan wanted further bold reforms and more nationalism
nationalisation of the Abadan po; refinery in Iran was humiliating
Under labour, Britain was still in an age of austerity and many grew tired of this approach
taxations caused disatisfaction - 1949, 9 shillings
housing shortage - 50,000 people squatting

30
Q

how did international situation cause labour loss in 1951?

A

Korean war
people wanted war leader - Churchill

30
Q

what is meant by political consensus?

A

when political parties happily agree and everyone within the party agrees

31
Q

arguments suggesting that there was a political consensus?

A

both parties committed to implement things from Beveridge report
industrial charter of 1947 showed conservatives committment to mixed economy
conservatives were committed to the NHS
cons accepted nationalisation of coal railways and banks
cons changes attitudes to trade unions by 1951
cons white paper showed committment to full employment less than 3%
butskellism
gov kept nationalisation until 1972

32
Q

what are the argument against consensus?

A

voters wanted social change in 1945 and associated conservatives with the 1930s
cons de nationalised some industrial industries
cons opposed details of NHS
many members of cons were public school educated
was some strong conservative opposition to NHS
consensus broke down after 1964 as nation wanted change
labs called cons “lower than vermin” cons called them “gestapo”
cons still against homosexuality, divorce, abortion… labs thought it was ok (eventually legalised but lab)

33
Q

what was butskellism?

A

policies of Butler as economic chancellor were so simalar to Gaitskell’s Labour’s economic chancellor
no difference in economic policies

34
Q

what was the conservative white paper 1944?

A

accepted to try and achieve full employment

35
Q

how did the conservatives relationship with trade unions change?

A

allowed trade unions to have representation on NEDC which shaped economic policy

36
Q

how did relationships with trade unions worsen?

A

number of working days lost to industrial action rose from 1.7 million in 1951 to 5.7 in 1962
TUC opposition to wage restraint clashed with government attempts to control inflation

37
Q

what plays demonstrated anger at Tory Britain?

A

“a taste of honey”
“the entertainer”
discontent with how the working class had been cut off
1960 - coronation street aired and was popular

38
Q

which british industries were booming in the 1950s?

A

Rolls Royce
ICI - chemical

39
Q

what became an apparent problem for british industry in 1950?

A

complacency - 2nd rate manufactury
not making any money - sold for £350
not innovative

40
Q

how did the development of political consensus cause conservative dominance after 1951?

A

few major issues that labour could seriously challenge the conservatives on
cons accepted key labour principle
butskellism - middle ground

41
Q

how did the improvements in living standards contribute to conservative dominance after 1951?

A

Macmillan “never had it so good”
wages rose ahead of prices
average weekly wage rose from £8.30 in 1951 to £18.35 in 1964
4% rise in real wages 1960-1964
increased access to credit - consumers could buy an unprecedented amount of manufactures goods
consumer boom - sales of cars quadruples
foreign holidays, clothing… within reach of ordeinary people
Macmillan reached target of building 300,000 houses / year
by 1964, cons had built 1.7 million homes
Rent Act abolsihed rent - 6 million houses came on the market

42
Q

how did labour division contribute to conservative dominance from 1951?

A

divided
Bevanites wanted more state control and nationalisation
CND movement
Gaitskell couldnt bring different wings of the party together enough

43
Q

what was the profumo affair?

A

Christine keeler was sleeping with russian spy Ivanov and War Minister Profumo

44
Q

what was the impact of the profumo affair?

A

shows vulberability of government
flaws of aristocracy and establishment
tipped balance of 1964 election

45
Q

when was the profumo affair?

A

1962

46
Q

which secrets did ivanov claim to have stolen from Profumo?

A

UK were weak and unprepared for war
X-15 experiment abour nuclear weapons
plan M-70

47
Q

what labour strengths contributed to the labour win in the 1964 election?

A

swinging sixties - labour represented younger, chaning image
Wilson presented himslef as leading technological age

48
Q

what conservative weaknesses contributed to the labour win in the 1964 election?

A

Macmillan seemed out of touch with affluent age
establishment issue - promoted Douglas - Home - circle of etonians
scandals such as profumo affair
produced Douglas Home as Prime Minister- not a modern image
increased western indians and asian immigration

49
Q

how did the economy countribute to the conservative loss in the 1964 election?

A

affluence of 1950s ended with some problems in the 1960s
humiliating failure - application to join the EEC rejected
unemployment reached 800,000 in 1963

50
Q

what were the internal disputes in the labour party about?

A

many of the left of the party were unilaterialists who were anti nuclear weapons as they thought that the money could be used elsewhere
there were others who did not want to see the USSR to far behind the west in the arms race
CND Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

51
Q

was there consensus?

A

broadly agreed on policies
not everyone happily agreed

52
Q

when did consensus begin?

A

during the war
national government
Atlee deputy PM

53
Q

what did butler and gaitskell agree on in economy?

A

mixed economy
Keynes ideas
stop go policies

54
Q

how did the conservative excel labour in housing?

A

said theyd build 300,000/year
lab said 200,000

55
Q

why did labour struggle to build houses?

A

shortage of labour and materials
austerity

56
Q

how was there consensus over nuclear weapons?

A

most of labour against nuclear weapons - CND movement
Gaitskell more aligned with conservatives who thought that they were needed for security

57
Q

why was appointing douglas home unpopular?

A

public school educated

58
Q

how did cons and lab agree/disagree on immigration?

A

initially agreed to open door policy as they thought that they wouldnt stay for long
cons began to bring in restrictions

59
Q

how did cons and lab agree/disagree on education?

A

lab against tripartheid system
perpetuated class divisions
lab wanted comprehensive schools

Breadth History (20 decks)

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