Chapter 6 - key dates and stats

Question 1

Who was Home Secretary when much of the Liberal legislation was passed and or debate?

Answer 1

Roy Jenkins

Question 2

What are free votes?

Answer 2

Where individual MPs can vote according to their personal beliefs rather than towing the party line.

Question 3

When was Ruth Ellis hanged for murdering her abusive boyfriend?

Answer 3

1955

Question 4

When was the Homicide Act, that reduced the frequency of the use of capital punishment, passed?

Answer 4

1957

Question 5

Which backbencher pushed for the end of capital punishment?

Answer 5

Sydney Silverman, Labour MP.

Question 6

When was the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act passed?

Answer 6

1965

Question 7

When was the trial period for the end of capital punishment made permanent?

Answer 7

1969

Question 8

When did the beating of prisoners end?

Answer 8

1967

Question 9

When were ‘majority’ verdicts rather than ‘unanimous ‘ verdicts introduced in England?

Answer 9

1967

Question 10

When was the Divorce Reform Act passed?

Answer 10

1969

Question 11

What did the Divorce Reform Act allow for divorce to be accepted for?

Answer 11

Couples could divorce if:

-they lived apart for two years and both agreed to divorce

-they lived apart for five years and one wanted divorce

Question 12

What was the divorce rate in 1950?

Answer 12

2 divorce decrees in 1000 (England and Wales)

Question 13

What was the divorce rate in the mid-1970s?

Answer 13

Nearly 10 in 1000 (England and Wales)

Question 14

Until when was abortion illegal, unless on medical grounds, in the UK?

Answer 14

1967

Question 15

Before abortion was legalised, how many illegal abortions occured each year?

Answer 15

100,000 to 200,000

Question 16

Before abortion was legalised, how many women were admitted to hospital per year in connection with illegal abortions?

Answer 16

35,000

Question 17

Between 1958 and 1960, how many women died from backstreet abortions?

Answer 17

82

Question 18

From when was the Abortion Law Reform Association campaigning for legalisation?

Answer 18

1945

Question 19

When was the ‘thalidomide disaster’?

Answer 19

1959 to 1962

Question 20

When was the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child set up?

Answer 20

1966

Question 21

Which MP campaigned for the legalisation of abortion?

Answer 21

David Steel, Liberal MP.

Question 22

What happened in the thalidomide disaster?

Answer 22

The drug thalidomide, prescribed to pregnant women with morning sickness, was found to produce congential deformities in children.

As a result, a majority of the population supported abortion when an abnormality was detected in a foetus

Question 23

When was the Abortion Act passed?

Answer 23

1967

Question 24

Until when was abortion allowed in pregnancy?

Answer 24

Until 28 weeks, with the consent of 2 doctors.

Question 25

What was the abortion rate change from 1968 to 1975?

Answer 25

4 per 100 (35,000) in 1968 to 17.6 per 100 in 1975 (141,000)

Question 26

When did the Wolfenden Commission recommend decriminalising homosexuality?

Answer 26

1957

Question 27

Which backbencher campaigned for the decriminalisation of homosexuality?

Answer 27

Leo Abse, Labour MP.

Question 28

When was the Sexual Offences Act passed?

Answer 28

1967

Question 29

What did the Sexual Offences Act permit?

Answer 29

Decriminalised homosexuality if: both consented both were over 21 it was in private (interpreted as alone in a building)

Question 30

In which Local Education Authorities were comprehensive schools established?

Answer 30

Labour-controlled councils like Greater London.

Question 31

How many students were in comprehensive schools in 1951 and 1964?

Answer 31

1964 - 1 in 10 1951 - 1 in 100

Question 32

Who became education minister under the Labour government?

Answer 32

Tony Crosland

Question 33

When did Tony Crosland issue Circular 10/65, urging all LEAs to convert schools into comprehensive schools?

Answer 33

July 1965

Question 34

What were direct grant schools?

Answer 34

Old grammar schools that accepted many scholarships from LEAs, phased out in 1976.

Question 35

When was the Robbins Committee, that showed Britain was slipping behind in science and technology compared to other western nations, established?

Answer 35

1961

Question 36

What replaced Colleges of Technology under Labour?

Answer 36

Polytechnics, focusing on applied education

Question 37

How many Colleges of Advanced Technology became universities under Labour?

Answer 37

Nine

Question 38

What did the Royal College of Science in Scotland become, under Labour?

Answer 38

Strathclyde University

Question 39

By 1968, how many new polytechnics and universities had been established?

Answer 39

30 polytechnics and 56 universities

Question 40

When did a Labour Party study group first propose a 'University of the Air'?

Answer 40

March 1963

Question 41

Who did Wilson appoint to oversee the Open University project, in 1964?

Answer 41

Jennie Lee

Question 42

When was the Open University's headquarters established? Where was this?

Answer 42

September 1969, Milton Keynes.

Question 43

By 1970, how many comprehensive schools were there?

Answer 43

1145, caring for 1/3 of state education pupils

Question 44

By 1970, how many LEAs failed to meet Circular 10/65?

Answer 44

Only 8

Question 45

When did the Open University begin studies with its first batch of students?

Answer 45

January 1971

Question 46

By 1980, how many students did the Open University have?

Answer 46

70,000

Question 47

By 1980, which two universities was the Open University awarding more degrees than (combined)?

Answer 47

Oxford and Cambridge