The Conservatives in office 1951-64

Question 1

Marshall Plan

Answer 1

This increased demand for British products abroad

Question 2

Butskeillism

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

The Suez Crisis 1956

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

4th November 1956

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

Macmillan and Butler

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

Economic policy 1957-64

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Budget politics

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

Stagflation

Answer 8

Referred to the situation in which industry declined but inflation still persisted. The economy suffered the best of both world.

Question 9

Britain’s industrial growth rate

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Living standards under conservatives

Answer 10

In July 1957, Harold Macmillan stated that British people have never had it so good.

Question 11

Wages

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

Hire purchase

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

Housing

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

Education

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Robbins Report

Answer 15

1963. 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.

Question 16

Class

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

The establishment

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

Social mobility

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Responses to the Conservative social and economic policies

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Immigration and racial violence

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

White defence league

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Race riots

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Salmon report

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Explanations for antisocial behaviours of the young

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

Status of women

Answer 25

WW2 had elevated the position of women
3/4 of women gave up their jobs after the war.
Stafford Cripps (labour politician) made it know that he expected women to behave with extra responsibility by not seeking new freedoms.
Number of divorces rose to 60,190 is 1947.
Growing availability of consumer goods gave greater leisure time.
Tax authorities classified women as dependants of their fathers and husbands.

Question 26

Common agricultural policy

Answer 26

Poor areas in the EEC were to be subsided by a transfer of money from the rich areas. This provided farmers with guaranteed prices.

Question 27

Britain’s attitude towards European Union

Answer 27

In October 1962, Gaitskell firmly dismissed the idea of Britain becoming a member of the EEC. He warned that taking such a step would, ‘fatally undermine its standing as a independent European nation.’

Question 28

Moves towards EEC membership

Answer 28

Set up EFTA in 1959, to match the economic success of the EEC. However, it could never match the economic success of the EEC, and by 1972 most EFTA members had joined the EEC.
Suez crisis challenged Britain’s status as an independent power and raised doubts about the special relationship.
Edward Heath gave Macmillian a report in 1961, which encouraged government to consider joining the EEC.
Made it known that UK would only join if Britain’s existing trade agreements with the commonwealth and EFTA would be preserved and protected.

Question 29

First French veto 1963

Answer 29

De Gualle saw the political implications of British entry.
Didn’t want the influence of the USA in Europe.
Britain’s only response was to wait until De Gualle wasn’t leader and reapply again.

Question 30

Scandals

Answer 30

Vassall inquiry 1963- John Vassall was caught spying for the USSR.
January 1963- Kim Philby, a senior official in the foreign had been passing on information to the USSR for decades.
Argyll divorce case 1963- duke of Argyll sued his wife Margret for divorce on the grounds of adultery which provided the country with many details. Provided details of a list of men whom the duchess had sex with, including two government ministers and details of group sex.

Question 31

The profumo affair 1963

Answer 31

In March 1963 it was revealed that, the minister for war, John Profumo, had had sex with Christine Keeler who was having an affair with a member of the soviet embassy.
Profumo solemnly declared to the house of commons that there was no truth in the rumours, only to have to admit 3 months later that he had lied to Parliament.

Question 32

Impact of the Prufumo affair

Answer 32

By Profumo lying, it suggested that the government was loosing his political grip.
The Times argued that it was a moral issue, involving hi lying to government.
Seemed to emphasis the weaknesses of the government.

Question 33

Struggle to succeed Macmillan, 1963

Answer 33

A fight between R.A Butler and Lord Hailsham.
Butler seemed highly successful. One of the leading cabinet members to survive the Night of the Long Knives.
However, Lord Home entered the race as a late runner. He renounced his peerage to become Alec Douglas Home.
Macmillan kept the party waiting before announcing the date of his resignation therefore giving Home time to press his candidacy.
Enoch Powell and Ian Macleod declared that they wouldn’t serve under Home, whose leadership would give the electorate the wrong idea of Conservatism.
Successes indicated that class and the old boy network were still in force.
Following it’s defeat i the 1964 general election, the party adopted an open democratic system involving the balloting of Conservative MPs.

Question 34

Labour’s internal disputes

Answer 34

The labour party had yet to identify what type of party it was and what its aims were.
The left of the Party argued for a much greater commitment to state control and direction of the economy and society. This was the view of Beventies.
Gaitskell resisted both trade union domination and the left’s drive towards unilateralism.

Question 35

The 1959 general election

Answer 35

First held since Suez crisis.
‘Life is better with the Conservatives. Don’t ruin it.’
In order to woo voters, they introduced a scheme that promised increase in state pensions without an accompanying rise in taxation. Raised questions about how it would be funded.
The election results showed that the Tories had gained 21 seats while Labour had lost 19.

Question 36

Reasons for Labour’s defeat

Answer 36

Disagreements about the character of the party.
Divisions over how far the party should push socialist policies.
Splits over the issue of unilateralism
Uncertainty about whether Britain should join the Common Market.
Their election campaign was:
Outmanoeuvred by the Conservatives
Handicapped by the public perception that Labour’s plans would result in higher taxes.

Question 37

Labour’s reaction to its defeat

Answer 37

Gaitskell accused the party of weakening the movement by their demands of unilateralism. The left replied by attacking him over his betrayal of party principle by dropping nationalisation.