Liberal reforming legislation in the 1960s

Question 1

Who was key to liberal reforms?

Answer 1

Roy Jenkins

Question 2

What Labour government policies were ahead of their time?

Answer 2

-Abolition of capital punishment
-Abortion Act
-Sexual offences Act
-Divorce laws

Question 3

What were the dividing lines in the Labour government about liberal reforms?

Answer 3

Labour leaders such as Harold Wilson and George Brown were conservative on moral issues along with many working class Labour MPs remained suspicious of change.

Question 4

What did Labour favour when it came to altering law?

Answer 4

Labour also favoured the use of ‘expert witnesses’ and a technical/rational approach to alterations in the law.

Question 5

What was the provision for backbench MPs to introduce legislation?

Answer 5

Private Member bills

Question 6

What kind of vote were private member bills usually?

Answer 6

Free vote

Question 7

What is a free vote?

Answer 7

MPs are allowed to vote without the party whip.

Question 8

When was capital punishment abolished?

Answer 8

1969

Question 9

What did Jenkins refuse to do in 1967?

Answer 9

In 1967 Jenkins also refused to authorise the beating of prisoners, which ceased after 1967

Question 10

What did Jenkins bring in to do with juries?

Answer 10

He brought in majority votes for juries instead of unanimity

Question 11

Effect of unanimity juries?

Answer 11

This helped put many skilled and deadly criminals behind bars.

Question 12

Effect of abolition of capital punishment = ?

Answer 12

Didn’t significantly reduce the number of murders or violent crimes as supporters had hoped for.

Question 13

When was the divorce reform act passed?

Answer 13

1969

Question 14

What did the divorce reform act allow for?

Answer 14

This allowed for ‘no fault divorce’ following the breakdown of a marriage.

Question 15

Under what circumstances could couples divorce?

Answer 15

• They had lived apart for two years and both partners agreed to a divorce
• They had lived apart for 5 years and one partner wanted the divorce.

Question 16

What was the backlash from MPs for the liberal reforming legislation?

Answer 16

Many Christian MPs thought that Labour were discarding Judea Christian morality that had existed in the UK for the last 1000 years.

Question 17

Effect of the 1969 divorce reform act = ?

Answer 17

Following the reforms there were large numbers of divorce, this could be attributed to growing Female independence, however it is very likely the act played a major role.

Question 18

Number of divorces in 1950?

Answer 18

2 divorces in 1000 married couples in England and Wales

Question 19

Number of divorces in 1970?

Answer 19

10 divorces in 1000 married couples in England and Wales

Question 20

Up until 1967 what were the only ways of getting an abortion?

Answer 20

The only way of terminating a pregnancy was through a private clinic which was very expensive or through a backstreet abortion.

Question 21

Statistics of abortion pre 1967 = ?

Answer 21

Between 100,000 and 200,000 abortions were carried out illegally every year and even worse around 35,000 women were administered to hospital with complications as a result

Question 22

How many women died from backstreet abortions in 1958 and 1960?

Answer 22

82

Question 23

Who drove the change on abortion?

Answer 23

Liberal MP David Steel

Question 24

What did the passing of the abortion bill show?

Answer 24

A show of bipartisan support reflects the countries changing attitude to not just abortion but the women’s rights as a whole and the changing state of the UK’s society which was breaking down the previous taboos and becoming a more liberal society.

Question 25

Effect of abortion being legal?

Answer 25

Abortion increased

Question 26

Number of Abortions in 1968?

Answer 26

4 per 100 live births in 1968 [35,000]

Question 27

Number of Abortions in 1975?

Answer 27

17.6 per 100 live births in 1975 [141,000]

Question 28

Which Labour backbencher pushed for the decriminalisation of homosexuality?

Answer 28

Leo Abse

Question 29

What 3 conditions allowed for homosexuality?

Answer 29

• Both partners had to consent
• Both had to be over the age of 21
• It had to be in private

Question 30

What were the differing opinions of the decriminalisation
of homosexuality?

Answer 30

Some liked it as it meant men who had been previously afraid of their sexuality could come out more and declare their sexuality. However, the act was strictly interpreted to in private which meant that no one else could be in the same building – meaning there were still prosecutions for homosexual relations

Question 31

What did the differing opinions of homosexuality show?

Answer 31

It shows that homosexual relations weren’t liked by the majority of the population still people could just tolerate them and it’s a sign that maybe there was reforms but they didn’t go far enough.

Question 32

Why did Labour undertake an expansion of higher education?

Answer 32

There was a fear that Britain was slipping behind in science and technological education

Question 33

What made it evident that Britain was slipping behind?

Answer 33

The Robbins report

Question 34

What countries were Britain behind when it came to science and technological education?

Answer 34

France, Germany and the United states

Question 35

What was the issue with Britain’s university students?

Answer 35

Too many students followed arts-related courses to the exclusion of the study of science and technology.

Question 36

How did Labour expand higher education?

Answer 36

• Polytechnics replaced colleges of technology
• 9 colleges of Advanced technology became full universities
• ‘New’ universities were to be founded

Question 37

How many polytechnics were there in 1968?

Answer 37

30

Question 38

What was a polytechnic?

Answer 38

Their focus was to be on applied education for work and science and they would concentrate on teaching rather than research.

Question 39

How many universities were there in 1968?

Answer 39

56

Question 40

What did these new institutions bring with them?

Answer 40

New institutions brought with it new courses and it became possible to take a degree in town planning or architecture.

Question 41

What was the main success of the expansion of higher education?

Answer 41

Most importantly these new endeavours into higher education paved the way for working class families and people who may not have previously had the chance to go to university to go to university.

Question 42

What was a sign that maybe the expansion of higher education hadn’t affected anything?

Answer 42

The old universities were still dominated by the middle and upper classes thus it is hard to argue that there was a strong change in higher education.

Question 43

What was the largest introduction of the higher education expansion?

Answer 43

The largest change was the introduction of the Open university

Question 44

How does the Open university reflect Wilson’s personality?

Answer 44

Harold Wilson himself wanted to be remembered for, it combined his enthusiasms for equal opportunities in education, modernisation and the ‘white heat of technology’ by attempting to offer high quality degree level learning in arts and sciences to people who had never had the opportunity to attend campus universities

Question 45

Who did Wilson appoint to oversee the open university?

Answer 45

Jennie Lee

Question 46

How was the open University a success?

Answer 46

The university using radio and television in innovative ways, the Uni attracted a totally new group of students to those who traditionally went to Uni – mostly part time students, Women and the disadvantaged. The scheme helped to raise the self-esteem of those who had previously been deemed as a failure in the education system. By 1980, the open university had 70,000 students and was awarding more degrees than Oxford and Cambridge combined.