BRITISH POLITICAL HISTORY 1945-90 Flashcards
(40 cards)
1
Q
What were the main features of Attlee’s Labour welfare programme 1945?
A
- National Insurance Act: Universal compulsory contributions to a central fund
- Industrial Injuries Act
- National Health Insurance Act: Free medical treatment, prescriptions, dental and optical care. Local health boards.
- National Assistance Act: National assistance boards to deal with poverty directly
- Education Act 1944 (Butler Act): tripartite secondary education system. 11 plus exam.
- Family Allowances Act 1945: weekly payment of 5 shillings for every child after the first. No means test.
2
Q
What is the basis of Keynesianism?
A
- Demand - raising demand would increase industrial profit. Decline would be prevented and jobs sustained.
- Keeping the economy at high level of activity
- An artificial boost to the economy would lead to genuine recovery and growth.
- Achieve full employment
- Earnings of the people would increase spending on goods
3
Q
What were the financial problems of Attlee in 1945?
A
- Debts £4 billion
- Balance of payments crisis
- Exports dropped 60% during wartime
- overseas commitments expensive
4
Q
What were Attlee’s main achievements 1945-51?
A
- Nationalisation
- Welfare state
- Marshall Plan agreement
- Indian Independence
- Housing programme - a million new homes
- Formation of NATO
- Britain became a nuclear power
5
Q
Why was Labour defeated in 1951?
A
LABOUR DISADVANTAGES
- Economic and financial difficulties
- Exhaustion after 6 years in government
- Divisions within the party over economy, welfare and foreign policies
- Resentment among trade unions at Labour’s slowness in response
- Labour’s image of rationing and high taxation
- Austerity
- Korean war expensive 1950
CONSERVATIVE ADVANTAGES
- Recovered from their defeat 1945
- Influx of young Tory MPs
- Attack on nationalisation of iron and steel
6
Q
What were the consensus strategies?
A
- Keynesian policies
- Welfare policies based on the Beveridge Report
- Education policies based on equal opportunities
- Foreign policy based on pro-American, anti-Soviet stance
- Imperial policies based in independence
7
Q
What were the key developments of 1951-5 under Churchill?
A
- End of rationing 1954
- Steel industry denationalised
- Built 300,000 new houses per year
- Continuation of Keynesian policies
- Detonation of first atomic bomb 1952
- Korean War ended 1952
8
Q
Churchill continued Labour’s main aims: (butskellism)
A
- Maintaining full employment while achieving economic growth
- Expansion of welfare state
- Maintaining military defence programme (including Korea)
- Development of nuclear weapons
9
Q
What were Eden’s reasons for withdrawing from Suez in 1956?
A
- Opposition of the public: Gaitskell and Bevan attacked Eden
- Fury of Eisenhower at not being consulted
- Failure to gain international backing
- UN condemnation
- Reluctance of many Commonwealth countries in supporting Britain
- Withdrawals on deposits by international investors - threatened economic collapse, with the USA refusing to bale Britain out
10
Q
What was the Conservative economic policy 1957-64?
A
- Continue Butler’s policies
- Mixed economy
- Follow a loose form of Keynesianism
- Avoid the extremes of inflation and deflation
- resulted in stop-go economics and stagflation
11
Q
Living standards under the Tories 1957 Macmillan:
A
- Rose
- Wages rose above prices - people could buy more, though inflation continued
- Credit - borrow large sums of money without saving. Consumer boom began and the class divisions became less prominent
- Built 300,000 new homes per year - 1.7 million by 1964
- Rent Act 1957: 6 million properties on the market, rent rose considerably
- ‘property owning democracy’ - Britain had ‘never had it so good”
- Unemployment- Tories inherited Labour’s goal of full employment, Unemployment was high.
12
Q
How suitable was the comprehensive system of education?
A
FOR COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM
- Majority of children undervalued
- 11+ exam was unreliable
- Socially divisive
- Public funds went to top layer schools
- Inferior children marked as failures
- Records showed that bright children performed just as well at comprehensive schools as grammar schools
AGAINST COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM
- Denied able children from disadvantaged backgrounds
- Quality of schools depended on the area - no alternatives if grammar schools demolished
- Wealthy parents could move to areas with better quality schools
- Most comprehensive schools put children into sets anyway, creating internal divisions
13
Q
Why were class divisions more blurred by the 1960s?
A
- The war: National war effort and common experiences of danger and hardships.
- Welfare state under Attlee and the cognition thereafter that the welfare of the whole population was a matter of national concern
- Growing affluence of society 1950/60s
14
Q
Criticisms if the Conservatives under the Tories (Churchill, Eden, Macmillan) 1951-63:
A
- stop-go economics rather than a coherent economic system to prevent wild swinging between inflation and deflation
- No financial strategy, despite a desire to maintain the value of the pound
- Failed to invest in industrial research and development - the result was one of the poorest growth rates among the advanced industrial nations
15
Q
What were the causes of the race riots under Macmillan 1958-9?
A
- sexual jealousy of white young males
- anger of whites at willingness of blacks to work for low wages
- whites were bitter at rise in rents - believed that this was due to the blacks’ willingness to live in cramped conditions and oay higher collective rents than individual whites could afford
- white ‘teddy boys’ were violent against immigrants - they became local heroes to local whites fearful of the growing number of blacks
16
Q
Why were youths becoming so anti-social by the 1960s? (Macmillan)
A
- Growing affluence meant young people were on good wages and felt independent
- Pockets of poverty felt alienated
- Teenagers in the 60s were the first generation not to live through the depression of the war - they were targeted by advertisers at special and different from their parents
- Scandals of 1963-4 set a poor example
- 1960s were a boom time for satire
17
Q
Why was Macmillan re-elected 1959?
A
LABOUR DAMAGED
- Disagreements over what the party stood for
- Divisions over socialist policies, such as nationalism
- Splits over unilateralism
- Uncertainty over the EEC
- Tories claimed to be leading Britain towards prosperity
- Public believed Labour would raise taxes
18
Q
Scandals 1963 that damaged the Tories:
A
- Vassall affair 1963: Civil servant who had been caught spying for the Soviet Union - govt appeared out of control
- 1963 Kim Philby: Senior official in the foreign office had been recruiting passing information to the USSR and running a spy network - Mac’s govt failed to recognise the traitor
- Argyll divorce case 1963: Duchess of Argyll found guilty of sex scandal - government ministers involved
- Profumo affair 1963: John Profumo, Minister for War. Sexual liaison with Christine Keeler, whose clients include members of the Soviet embassy. He then lied in front of parliament.
19
Q
Why did Wilson win the 1964 election for Labour?
A
- Tory weariness after 13 years in office
- Scandals 1963
- Antiquated system that made Douglas-Home PM made Tories look out of touch
- Unemployment reached over 800,000 in 1963, denting Mac’s claim
- Failure to join the EEC 1963 exposed Britain’s weakness
- Labour presented a youthful image
- Harold Wilson was more impressive than Douglas-Home
- Tory govt was the target of satire in the 60s
- Wilson led a skilful election campaign - he was well-suited to leading the technological revolution
20
Q
Social reforms under Wilson 1964-70:
A
- Race Relation Acts 1965 & 1968: prohibited descrimination, Race Relations Board, Community Relations Commission
- Abortion Act 1967
- Sexual offences Act - permitted homosexual acts
- Office of Ombudsman created - to whom citizens could appeal
- Commonwealth Immigration Act 1968: Prevented immigrants unless they had previous connections
- Theatres Act 1968 - ended censorship
- Abolition of Death Penalty 1969
- Divorce Reform Act 1969
- Open University 1969
21
Q
What were Wilson’s criticisms 1964-70?
A
- Rising unemployment
- Growing inflation
- Wage controls
- Attempted restriction of trade unions
- Immigration controls
- Failure to join EEC
- Retention of nuclear weapons
- Support of USA in Vietnam War 1963-75
22
Q
What were Labour’s economic difficulties under Wilson 1964-70?
A
- Manufacturing industries shrinking
- Rejection of EEC application
- Unions resisted reform
- ‘In place of strife’ abandoned 1969 (aimed at preventing strikes by balloting) - caused deep divisions within the Labour party
- Inflation
- Unemployment
- Devaluation 1967 - IMF loan proved that the govt was in danger of losing control over finances
23
Q
What was the Industrial Relations Act 1971? (Edward Heath, Tory)
A
- Restricted workers’ rights to strike
- National Industrial Relations Court set up to judge validity of strikes
- Unionsrequired to register themselves with govt
24
Q
Why was Heath’s government criticised? (1970-74)
A
- Abandoning mixed economy
- Weakening welfare state
- Undermining full employment
- Putting economics before social improvement
25
Why did Heath make a U-turn in 1972?
- Inflation rose to 15% in 1971
| - Declining industrial output
26
Three-day week 1973:
- An attempt to save fuel and survive the 1972 miners' strike longer than the miners
- A state of emergency
- Similar to the austerity of the 1940s
- Blackouts disrupted daily functioning
- The NUM eventually gained a 21% wage increase - they were emboldened by their victory, and went on strike again in 1974. Heath called an election.
27
Heath's economic issues:
- Rapid inflation made holding down prices difficult
- Wage demands of the unions; huge numbers of working days lost; decline in productivity
- Unemployment remained high. 1972 was the highest year for joblessness since the depression of the 1930s.
- 3 day week state of emergency highlighted the government's shortcomings
28
Britain joins the EEC 1973 (Heath):
- Could not survive economically on its own
- Had no say in its structure, which had already been set up by the founding six
- The EEC destroyed trade between Britain and the Commonwealth countries
29
Pros and cons of joining the EEC 1973 (Heath):
ADVANTAGES
- Access to European markets
- Better chance of achieving foreign business
- British workers could work in other EEC countries
DISADVANTAGES
- Britain couldn't buy cheap food from the Commonwealth
- Britain classed as an advanced industrial economy - had to make higher contributions to the EEC
- British consumers paid inflated food prices
- Common Fisheries Policy destroyed Britain's fishing industry
- VAT imposed
30
What were the economic effects of the international oil price rise 1973?
- Balance of payments deficit rose to £1billion
- Annual inflation rose 16%
- Value of the £ dropped $2->$1.57
- Interest rate rose 15%
- Record budget deficit
- Unemployment doubled between 1974-76 and remained high throughout the 70s
31
How did Heath challenge consensus politics 1970-74?
- Abandoned Keynesianism
- Returned to wage bargaining
However resistance from the unions to Industrial Relations Act 1971 caused a u-turn - Prices and incomes policy restored.
32
Why did Heath lose the 1974 election?
- Rapid inflation
- Strikes resulted in decline in productivity
- Unemployment of new levels
- Three-day week suggested loss of govt control
- Miners defied the govt
33
Labour suffered 3 major restrictions 1974-79 (Wilson):
- Narrow Labour majority
- Effects of rapid inflation following the oil price rise in 1973 - £ dropped below $2 in exchange
- Struggle with trade unions - cuts in public spending due to the £3 billion IMF loan caused unemployment and bitterness within unions
34
Winter of Discontent 1978-9 (Callaghan):
- Increased militancy among public sector workers
- NUPE and COHSE made an alliance, and went on strike
- They went on to strike in areas that would attract the most media attention
- Callaghan appeared to allow things to drift - he also failed to call an election in 1978, and by 1979 it was too far gone. Callaghan had a relaxed style of leadership and denied the crisis.
35
Why was Callaghan defeated in 1979?
- Economic crisis
- Rising unemployment
- Trade unions
- Political misjudgements
- Allowed Lib-Lab pact to lapse 1978 - forced to call election 1979, amd went into it with low morale
36
Why did Labour win the 1945 election?
TORY FAILINGS:
- Tories were out of touch
- Churchill was a wartime PM
- Unemployment of the 1930s under Tories
- Appeasement under the Tories failed to prevent war
- Failure to create a 'land fit for heroes'
- Conservative's poor election campaign
LABOUR ADVANTAGES:
- Represented the progressive zeitgeist
- Labour better fitted for post-war construction
- Labour ministers gained experience in the wartime coalition
- Labour's failings of 1920s out down to being a minority govt
- First past the post system
37
What were the most harmful social and economic habits according to Thatcher?
- High govt spending - led to excessive borrowing, taxation and inflation
- Unnecessary govt interference
- Growth of bureaucracy and intrusion
- Powerful unions led to increased wages and a decline in productivity
As a result, Thatcher wanted to introduce the free market to replace Keynesianism.
38
What were the causes of the riots in 1981?
- Poor job prospects in deprived inner-city areas
- Alienation of black youths, who felt discriminated by authorities
- Unemployment among school leavers
39
What were Thatcher's aims in the first term?
- End consensus politics
- Reverse Keynesianism
- Cut govt spending
- Cut taxes
- Restrict bureaucracy
- Reduce govt intrusion
40
What was the result of monetarism 1979?
- Cut govt spending
- Interest rates kept high
- Reduced inflation
- Unemployment high, and rising every year under Thatcher
- Riots as a result of unemployment and social unrest
