1970-79 Flashcards
(33 cards)
When did Heath come in?
1970
Heath’s manifesto
In his manifesto, heath promised to:
* Tax reform
* Better law and order
* Reforms to trade unions
* Immigration controls
* cuts to public spending
* end to subsardizing lame duck industries
Political and economic policies under heath
- The school leaving age was raised to 16
- 1971: Decimalisation, previously 144 pennies:pound
- Barber boom in 1970, cuts in GS and Tax, aiming for more investment from firms.
This led to Stagflation.
The Famous U turn. (Rolls royce nationalised in 72, Upper clyde shipbuilders nationalised too).
The U turn
Unemployment started to near 1 million in 1971, leading to the government:
* Nationalising rolls royce
* Saving upper clyde shipbuilders from bankruptcy.
By 1973, unemployment dropped back to 500,000
However this short lived period of growth ended with the oil crisis.
The Oil Crisis of 1973
The Yom Kippur war of 1973 led to an oil embargo from OPEC.
The price of oil quadrupled.
Using the oil embargo as an
opportunity, the NUM chose to strike.
24 million days of work were lost in 1972
Industrial relations under heath.
1970:
* Dockers strikes
* Paysettlements for dustmen
* Postal workers strikes
* Go slow by power workers.
1972:
* Miners strike
* Ambulance drivers
* firefighters
* power workers
In response, the government brought in the Industrial Relations act and abolished the board for national prices and incomes
The industrial relations act
The industrial relations act set up:
* An industrial relations court and provided for strike ballots and a ‘cooling off period’ before official strikes could occur.
Hugely opposed by the TUC and CBI.
Industry act 1972
An act which aimed to involve the government, the TUC and the CBI in agreeing wages, prices, investment and benefits.
Hugely opposed by the right wing (Enoch Powell).
Industrial disputes continued and in 1973, the miners enforced an overtime ban.
Heath did not want to give them higher wages to avoid inflation
The 3 day week
In response to the oil crisis and miners strike, Heath was forced to impose the 3 day week, where electricity only worked for 3 days.
Heath attempted to end the miners strike by moving willie Whitelaw from Northern Ireland, but the miners continued to strike, which became a national strike in 1974.
Imapcts of the 3 day week.
- 50 MPH speed limit on all roads
- TV closed at 10;30pm
- Increased unemployment
- Less hours, as no electricity for 4/7 days of the week
Coal shortage + high oil prices led to a BOP crisis.
The 1974 election.
Heath called an election, hoping to attain a huge majority and answer ‘who governs britain?’
Despite Polls favouring the conservatives..
* Labour won 5 more seats than conservatives
Conservatives: 37.9%
Labour:37.1%
Hung parliament formed.
The Troubles.
Heath inherited NI as an issue from Wilson.
He imposed internment in 1971, which was unsuccessful as it pushed more to join the IRA.
30th January 1972, Bloody sunday occurs, and 26 unarmed civilians were shot.
After Bloody sunday, the british embassy in Dublin was burnt down. Support for the IRA grew and more funs came in from Irish Americans.
1972 The troubles statistics
Explosions, Shootings, killings
1382 explosions
10628 Shootings
480 killings.
Direct rule had to be brought in and the Northern Irish “stormont parliament” was shut down.
Willie Whitelaw was made head of state.
1973, Sunningdale agreement
What was it, what did it promise, who was it between?
- A power-sharing executive of both nationalists and unionists both sides would be guaranteed representation
- A new northern Ireland assembley elected under a system of proportional representation
- A council of Ireland that would have some inpout from the Republic of Ireland.
Why did Sunningdale fail
In 1974 general election, anti sunningdale parties put up 1 candidate in each of the 12 constituencies. Pro sunningdale had a variety.
This meant that 11/12 constituencies had anti-sunningdale candidates.
Sunningdale lost the conservatives the support of the UUP, damaging their 1974 election prospects.
Economic and union problems diverted attention.
When did Wilson come in (for the second time)?
How large was his majority?
1974, with an overall majority of 3.
Industrial relations 1974-76
Wilson aimed to demonstrate that Labour was more in tune with the unions than the conservatives were.
In 73, whilst in opposition, he negotiated the social contract with the TUC.
The social contract would reduce pays but repeal the Industrial act and pay board.
This pacified the unions, allowing wilson to end the 3 day week.
Economic reform 1974-76
The social contract led to a sudden increase in wages, leading to inflation.
In 1975, Chancellor Dennis Heeley imposed steep taxation to control public spending.
Public spending was also cut.
The NEB (new enterprise board) was also set up, they monitored government shares in companies. However, their effectiveness was put into question. The nationalisation of British Leyland, a failing car company, could be seen as the government supporting a lame duck industry.
Successes and failures of the social contract
Successes:
- Put an end to the 3 day week
- Solved the problem on a surface level, as the NUM strike ended.
Failures:
- In 1975 another more formal pay restrait policy was introduced, as the social contract was not limiting wage demands, causing inflation and unemployment.
This caused party divisions as left wingers like Michael Foot did not want to put so much pressure on the unions.
Callaghan’s premiership
1976: Secured an IMF loan of 3 billion
* conservatives denounced this as national humiliation
* Callaghan actually handled the crisis well, and the economy recovered.
Callaghan’s economic successes
1978: Nine oilfields in the north sea bringing in huge sums of money
Unemployment was falling, despite being at 1.6 million.
Days lost to strikes hit a 10 day low.
Devolution under Callaghan
- 1977: LibLab pact is signed, allowing Callaghan to defeat a vote of no confidence from the conservatives.
- The liberals wanted devolution in scotland and wales.
Labour MPs rigged it so that more than 40% of the electorate had to vote for the bill to pass.
Referendums were held in scotland and wales. The welsh were against it (20% for)
The scottish were for it (51.6% for).
However the scottish were not granted devolution, resulting in the nationalist parties withdrawing their support for Labour.
(This is significant as Labour now had even less support during the winter of discontent).
The winter of discontent
TUC rejects callaghan’s proposed wage increase limit of 5%
- Grave diggers strike
- lorry drivers strike
- dustmen and gravediggers strike
It was minor compared to the miners strike of 74, but the newspapers attacked labour for it.
Callaghan was also quoted as saying that “it isnt that bad”
It only ended when an average pay rise of 10% was agreed upon in march 1979.
The 1979 election
- The labour party faces a vote of no confidence.
- They have lost the support of the liberals and nationalists.
- most newspapers, including the sun, backed the conservatives
The conservatives won a comfortable majority of 43 seats.
