1964-70 key events, policies and acts Flashcards
(35 cards)
why did Labour win the 1964 election
5 reasons
- Wilson cleverly played on the contrast between himself as the ‘plain, straight speaking Yorkshire man’ and Home as the ‘huntin’, shootin’, fishin’ aristocrat’
- Wilson tapped into the mood of the day with his famous quote about Britain needing to respond to the ‘white heat of teh technological revoltion’ - seen as modern and fit the mood of sixties Britain
- weariness and lack of spirit undermined the Conservative’s government after 13 years in government
- series of scandals had tainted the Conservative party
- Conservative’s poor economic policy
the National Plan 1964
the newly created department of economic affairs under George Brown established the plan: a programme for modernisation that aimed to increase industrial production and exports by encouragin cooperation between government, employers and trade unions
problems with the national plan
3 problems
- few of the expansive targets were ever met
- by 1967, the plan had been quietely abandoned
- it was reminiscent of Stalin’s five year plans - not ideal in the cold war where Britain didn’t want to be associated with communist Russia.
the one success of the national plan
the electorate was impressed by the government’s modernising attitude and this lead to an increase in Labour’s majority in the snap 1966 election
why did Britain struggle economically in this time period
the country was transitioning from an industrial to a post-industrial one. national and local governments had only a marginal influence over shaping this transition and it was more a case of responding to developments rather than directing them.
what did Wilson believe was the major threat to economic progress
inflation and Britain’s balance of payments deficit
what did Wilson believe was necessary to bring down inflation and the balance of payments deficit
controlling wage and salary increases and cutting government spending
what board was set up with the power to regulate settlements
the Price and Incomes Board
problems with the Price and Incomes Board
- alienated the left of the party and trade unions who though a labour government would bring benefits and not lectures
- the leader of the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU), Frank Cousins resigned as minister of technology, a position he had held since 1964
what strengthened Wilson to bring the unions into line
rejection over Europe
‘in place of strife’
a white paper that set proposals aimed at preventing future strikes with the central proposal being the introduction of a series of legal restrictions on the right to strike and requiring a union majority for a legal strike. employers also had to keep to agreements and consult the unions where major decisions were being made.
consequences of ‘in place of strife’
- when it was put before cabinet by Barbara Castle (minister of labour), it created immediate and deep divisions
- opposition from the left of the party as they felt it undermined the principles the party was built on - protecting the unions
- treasurer James Callaghan was the one to end the possibility of it being implemented when he stressed the dangers of alienating the unions to party and government, as they provided the bulk of their party funding.
what convinced Wilson he had a mandate to put forwards his restrictive trade union legislation
the 1966 election success
devaluation in 1967
after Wilson hadn’t been able to reduce the trade deficit. (he blamed the 7 weeks seamen strike and other trade union problems for blowing them off course). he finally took the step to reduce the value of the pound despite being determined to do so when he came to power three years earlier
why was devaluation seen as such a disaster
if introduced earlier and in a less theatrical way, it would’ve been less dramatised
however the way it was implemented made it appear to be a major political and economic failure by the government
consequences of devaluation
- Callaghan stepped down as chancellor of the exchequer over it
- the trade unions were angered over Wilson’s attempt to lay most of the blame for the government’s financial plights on the strikers
what prompted Wilson to make a second application to the EEC
economic factors - Wilson feared that Britain would be left behind financially and economically if it did not join.
on what backdrop did preliminary discussions with the EEC take place
against the background of the sterling crisis which led to the devaluation of the pound
who backed the application to join the EEC and who didn’t
fully backed by the Conservatives and Liberals
opposed by 36 Labour MP’s
what was the result of their application
it was vetoed by De Gaulle on the same grounds as in 1963, that Britain would be an obstructive member of the EEC. the other five members on this ocassion were openly annoyed with France but it was of little consolidation to the humiliated Wilson - same as Macmillan’s European fate.
what was the Enoch Powell problem
A prominent figure in Conservative opposition who was an ardent nationalist and in his 1968 ‘river of blood’ speech he regarded unlimited immigration as a massive threat to Britain.
the Abortion Act 1967
compliemented the freedom gained from reliable contraceptives. a private members bill presented by Liberal MP David Steel and legalised abortion in cases where the mother or child’s lives were at risk or of low quality
the Lady Chatterly Lover’s Case 1960
the 1928 D H Lawrence book was published by Penguin publishers in 1960 after the 1959 Obscene Publications Act legally allowed it to be published. when it was put to trial over claims of obscenity and won, this marked the start of the permissive age in Literature and lead to writers using less censored language and ideas.
Theatres Act 1968
removed the outdated requirement for plays to be submitted to the Lord Chamberlin and approved before they could be performed - removed censorship
