Britain Transformed: Social Welfare Provision- Challenges to state welfare provision, 1964-79 Flashcards
(24 cards)
What was one main reason the welfare state came under pressure between 1964-79?
Britain’s economic decline made welfare seem unaffordable to many right-wing thinkers and MPs.
What budget deficit did Wilson and Callaghan discover after 1964 election?
An £800 million budget deficit caused by overspending on military and welfare and mass consumerism imports.
How did Harold Wilson respond to advisors who suggested cutting welfare benefits to rescue the economy?
He refused to cut welfare benefits, committed to expanding the welfare state despite economic crises.
By 1966, what percentage of GDP did social welfare costs reach?
5% of GDP and they continued to grow.
What did the Conservative manifesto pledge at the 1970 Selsdon meeting say about welfare?
Despite breaking with post-war consensus, it promised to increase welfare spending and pensions.
Quote from the 1970 Conservative manifesto about welfare improvements:
“The next Conservative government will take urgent action to give some pension as of right to the over-eighties who now get no retirement pension at all…”
What were the key welfare extensions in the 1970 National Insurance Act?
Pension rights for 100,000 previously uncovered people, attendance allowance for long-term care, invalidity benefit, increased child allowance, rent subsidies for low-income families.
Who was Keith Joseph and how did his views on welfare change?
Conservative MP, initially spent more on welfare than Labour, later believed welfare perpetuated poverty and dependency.
What did Joseph argue about welfare and individual freedom?
The welfare state restricts individual freedom by taking money through taxes to fund it.
How did Joseph and the Institute of Economic Affairs view government spending compared to private business?
Government spends money less efficiently than private business, leading to economic inefficiency.
What was Joseph’s argument connecting welfare spending to inflation?
Welfare requires high government borrowing, causing too much money chasing too few goods, leading to inflation.
What is the “dependency culture” according to radical Conservatives like Thatcher and Joseph?
Welfare payments encourage reliance on benefits, discouraging work, and causing economic decline and moral problems.
What moral problems did Conservatives claim welfare caused?
Welfare robbed recipients of self-respect, initiative, and independence, creating people with no aspirations who demand state handouts.
How did the 1974 election defeat affect the Conservative Party leadership?
Right-wing critics replaced Heath with Thatcher, who was less sympathetic to welfare and wanted cuts.
Name three welfare policies introduced or expanded under Wilson and Callaghan, 1974-79.
25% rise in pension rates (1974), Invalid Care Allowance (1975), Universal Child Benefit (1975).
How did Wilson propose to fund his welfare policies in the 1970s?
By taxing high-income earners and those with investment/property income.
What economic theory did the Conservatives promote to tackle inflation and welfare costs?
Monetarism – controlling the money supply to reduce inflation and unemployment.
What did the IMF demand in return for its 1976 loan to Britain?
Government cuts to public spending, including welfare, housing, and education.
What did Tony Benn’s secret memo warn about IMF-imposed cuts?
Cuts would be so deep they might endanger basic public services and social benefits, risking the Social Contract.
How did the press contribute to opposition to the welfare state in the 1970s?
Newspapers like The Telegraph and The Times criticized excessive welfare spending, influencing public opinion.
What generational shift affected attitudes to welfare in the 1970s?
Younger generations were more aspirational, wanting wealth over class solidarity, and less supportive of high taxes and welfare.
Which new working-class group did Thatcher appeal to?
The C1s – aspirational working-class people wanting lower taxes and less welfare spending.
How did the Conservatives frame welfare by the 1979 election?
As bad for recipients, bad for the economy, bad for society, and a burden on taxpayers.
What was the state of the welfare consensus by 1979?
The welfare state still existed, but the post-war consensus that sustained it was dead.
