The Conservatives in office 1951-64 Flashcards
(37 cards)
Marshall Plan
This increased demand for British products abroad
Butskeillism
First used in 1954 by the Economist.
Butler set the pattern of economic policy. He continued Labour’s aims of:
Trying to maintain full employment
Expanding the welfare state
Keeping Britain’s military defence programme.
This suggests that the ideology of Butler and Gaitskell were similar.
The Suez Crisis 1956
Nasser was promised US and UK loans for the Aswan Dam. But the USA learned that he had also approached the USSR countries for aid, so he withdrew his offer.
In July 1956, Nasser announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal, in order to raise the necessary finance.
Eden declared that, ‘Nasser could not be allowed to leave his thumb on Britain’s windpipe.’
Americans, French and Britain applied pressure on Egypt through the creation of a canal users’ association.
On 5th November, the Soviet Union issued a formal note to Britain, asking them to withdraw from Suez. Said that they were willing to use rockets against the Western invaders.
4th November 1956
Anti-war rally in Trafalgar’s Square.
Aneurin Bevan spoke.
He addressed 30,000 protesters and accused the government of blackening the name of Britain.
Macmillan and Butler
Macmillian made Butler his home secretary.
He took at liberal approach towards legal and social issues.
e.g. the Homicide Act of 1957.
His liberal stance hinted that the Tories were prepared to modify their traditional status.
Economic policy 1957-64
Compared to improvements abroad, the British economy appeared sluggish. Despite this, the government continued with Keynesian economics.
The aim was to avoid the extremes in inflation and deflation.
Budget politics
In his 1959 budget, Derick Heathcoat Amory made an effort to boost support for the government in the upcoming election by introducing a range of tax cuts. This led to increased inflation and a wider trade gap. Faced with this, he changed direction and adopted deflationary methods, which included tax cuts and interest rates rises, cuts in public spending etc.
In 1963, in order to regain lost popularity, Macmilian’s government returned to an expansionist budgetary policy; taxes and interest rates were again lowered. The consequence was another boom in consumer spending. The net result was by the end of 1964, Britain had a balance of payments deficit of over £800 million.
Stagflation
Referred to the situation in which industry declined but inflation still persisted. The economy suffered the best of both world.
Britain’s industrial growth rate
GDP growth rate was the lowest in Western Europe.
UK= 2.3%
West Germany= 5.1%
Italy = 5.6%.
The major reason for this was heavy defence expenditure.
West Germany= 10.8% of R&D was spent on defence
France = 26.2% of R&D was spent on defence
UK= 34.5% of R&R was spent on defence
Living standards under conservatives
In July 1957, Harold Macmillan stated that British people have never had it so good.
Wages
Wages rose ahead of prices. Growth in real wages: 1951-55- 2.2% 1955-60 - 2.9% 1960-64- 4.0%. People were able to buy more with their money.
Hire purchase
Greater availability of credit.
Consumers could buy more manufactured goods.
In addition, foreign holidays, clothing and mod cons came within the reach of ordinary people.
Housing
Attlee’s government 600,000 houses by 1951.
Conservatives committed themselves to building 300,000 houses annually.
Tories built 1.7 million homes, 60% of these were building new houses.
Rent Act of 1957, abolished rent control and put 6 million properties on the market. This meant that rents rose considerably, making it difficult for some to afford rents.
This created the conditions for a property owning democracy.
Education
Central disagreement was between those who wished to end 3 tier schooling and replace it with a system of comprehensive schools and those who defended the grammar schools.
Edward Boyle (minister of education from 1962-1964) urged Macmillian to abolish the 11 plus exam.
Examples of comprehensive schools;
Sandfields school in Wales, 1958.
Risinghill school in Islington, north London, 1960.
Robbins Report
- Expansion of the existing university
The 12 existing colleges of advanced technology to be upgraded into university status
Larger grants to be provided so that no potential student would be deterred by lack of income.
Class
Churchill recognised that important social shifts were occurring. He described the working class trade unions as having become, 'an estate of the realm.' Mobility to move between social classes.
The establishment
Common use in the 1960s.
Formed an elite which was all the more powerful.
Gave them means to influences government policy ad shape public opinions and attitudes.
A body that was independent of direct political control.
Social mobility
R.A Butler said that modern conservatism was actually ending class divisions. Key aim for the Tory government was the development of a socially mobile society which left its individual members free through their own efforts to enjoy t he nation's increasing wealth.
Responses to the Conservative social and economic policies
Critics argued that:
The gap between the rich and poor had widened in that same period.
Argued that the Tories hadn’t developed coherent economic polices.
Failed to invest in industrial research and development.
Immigration and racial violence
Textile firms in London and North England took on workers from India and Pakistan.
By the late 1950s, No coloured notices appeared in boarding house windows and factory gates.
Proportion of non-European people has never been more than 6% of the overall population of Britain.
When immigrants arrived, they tended to live in the poorer areas of cities and urban areas, where cheaper properties were to be found. This caused housing shortages in inner city areas.
White defence league
A racist organisation formed in 1957 in Notting Hill and modelled on Oswald Mosley’s union of facists, which has been active in the 1930s.
Race riots
1958- broke out in a number of urban areas, including London and Bristol.
Gangs of white youths went around harassing black residents who frequently retaliated.
August 1958 - Notting Hill. 600 white males tried to batter their way into black owned properties. 9 white ringleaders were put into prison.
Salmon report
Suggested that the chief factors for the 1958 riots were:
Sexual jealousy
Anger of whites at the willingness for blacks to work for low wages
Bitterness at the rise of rents which many believed was due to the readiness for blacks to live in cramped conditions.
White teddy boys who used violence against immigrants to become local heroes to whites feaeful of immigrants.
Explanations for antisocial behaviours of the young
Growing affluence of young people
Pockets of poverty lead to some feeling alienated.
Youth didn’t live through the great depression and the war.
Psychological theories encouraged young people to throw off traditional restraints.
Scandals and satire hardly set a good example.
