A changing political and economic environment

1918-1979
Timeline
Prime Minister Time in office Reason for fall Events in this time
HH Asquith 1908-1916 Lost election  1914 WW1 begins
David Lloyd George 1916-1922 Conservatives ended  WW1 ends
 ‘Coupon election’ coalition  1918 ROPA
 Splits Liberal party  1922 ‘Chanak incident’
 ‘Cash for honours’  1922 ‘Geddes Axe’
Andrew Bonar Law 1922-1923 Ill health  Speech in 1922 encourages conservatives to
 ‘Unknown Prime Minister’ end coalition
 Died of throat cancer
Stanley Baldwin 1923-1924 Lost vote of confidence
Ramsey Macdonald 1924-1924 Lost election  First Labour Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin 1924-1929 Lost Election  1925 Return to Gold Standard
 1926 General Strike
 1927 Trade Disputes Act
 1928 vote extended to women over 21
 1929 Wall St. Crash

Ramsey Macdonald 1929-1935 Ill health  Unemployment 2 million

 Minority government  Forms National Government
 Seen as a traitor  1931 Abandons Gold Standard
Stanley Baldwin 1935-1937 Retirement  1936 Abdication
Neville Chamberlain 1937-1940 Resigned  Appeasement - ‘peace in our time’
 1939 Germany invades Poland - WW2 begins
Winston Churchill 1940-1945 Lost Election  WW2
 Won the war  1940 Emergency Powers Act
Clement Atlee 1945-51 Lost Election
Winston Churchill 1951-1955 Retired  1954 End of rationing
Anthony Eden 1955-1957 Retired, ill health  Suez Crisis
Harold Macmillan 1957-1963 Resigned - ill health  1963 ‘Profumo Affair’
Alec Douglas-Home 1963-1964 Lost Election
Harold Wilson 1964-1970  1967 devaluation of the pound
 White heat
Edward Health 1970-1974 Lost election  Britain join EEC (precursor to EU)
 Break with consensus  1973 Oil crisis
 ‘Who governs Britain’  1974 ‘three day week’
Harold Wilson 1974-1976 Resigned - ill health  1976 IMF loan
 Minority government, then
majority of three seats after
Oct 1974 election
James Callaghan 1976-1979  1979 ‘Winter of Discontent’
Margaret Thatcher 1979-1990 Resigned
Changes in the political landscape

Decline of the Liberals

How did the Liberal Party develop in interwar British politics?

 In the 1910 General Elections, the Liberal Party retained power and formed a government.
 In 1915, the Liberal Party had strong representation on the coalition wartime government.
 During the First World War, the Liberal Party begins to split which leads those who support Lloyd
George forming a coalition government with the Conservatives after the 1918 General Election.
 The Liberal Party loses the 1922, 1924, 1929 and 1931 General Elections by large margins - 1922
Labour gains more seats then the Liberals and become the main opposition to Conservatives
 During this time, the Liberal Party supported the minority Labour governments of 1924 and 1929-31.

Why did the Liberal Party fall as a political force in the interwar period?

1. Collapse of party unity.

2. Impact of the Representation of the People Act.
3. Impact of the 1918 General Election.
4. Failure of Lloyd George after 1922.

How did the First World War impact upon Liberal unity?

 The First World War saw the government implement the Defence of the Realm Act [1914] which
gave the government extended powers, such as economic controls, conscription and rationing to
avoid defeat.
 These illiberal measures were opposed by many in the Liberal Party.
 However, DORA was supported by leading and popular Liberal, David Lloyd George. Lloyd George in
1916 managed to oust traditional Liberal, Herbert Asquith as Prime Minister. This was as much to do
with Asquith’s wartime leadership as well as policies.
 Asquith’s ousting outraged many traditional Liberals who saw Lloyd George as a traitor and
continued to support Asquith.
 This split was crystallised in the Maurice Debate which was sparked by a public letter by General
Maurice who accused Lloyd George of lying to Parliament about the number of troops on the
Western Front. Asquith attacked Lloyd George when the issue was debated in Parliament and
demanded an inquiry.
 Asquith led an attempt to oust Lloyd George with the support of the majority of Liberal MPs, but this
failed.

To what extent did the Representation of the People Act of 1918 damage the Liberals?

Significant damage Limited damage

 ROPA extended the electorate by 13 million
people, including young, working class men
- the working class made up the majority
(80%) of the electorate - and (some)
women
 The working class vote did not increase to
the extent where it could have led to such a
decline in Liberal seats.
 Liberals failed to challenge the
development of the first past the post
  The Representation of the People Act led to system and this only really damaged the
a growing number of working class voters Liberals in the 1930s – by then the decline
which the Liberals failed to win over. was too far gone.
 Effectiveness of the Labour Party in
adapting to the new areas of the electorate
took votes away from the Liberals.
 Between 1910 (before ROPA) and 1923
(after ROPA) the Labour party went from
having 7.1% of the vote to having 30.5%,
meanwhile the Liberals share of the vote
declined – from 43.9% to 29.6% - evidence
that the new influx of voter led to a rise in
the Labour Party’s power – and a decline of
the Liberals.

Was the 1918 ‘Coupon Election’ a turning point in Liberal fortunes?

 Because the divisions within the Liberal Party did not heal in time, the 1918 General Election was
contested by two Liberal Parties – one which supported Lloyd George and the other who supported
Asquith.
 Lloyd George made a coalition with the Conservatives – who were desperate for office after an absence
of 18 years and allied themselves with the popular Lloyd George, who did not have enough
Parliamentary Liberals to support him.
 Any candidate who stood for election on behalf of the Lloyd George/Conservative coalition was issues
with a ‘Coupon’ – a letter confirming they stood for the coalition.
 The coalition won by a landslide with the Conservatives as the dominant partner with 335 seats and
Lloyd George Liberals with 133 seats. Only 28 Asquith Liberals won seats with Asquith losing his.

The impact of the ‘Coupon Election’ was far reaching on the Liberals –
 Asquith’s leadership never recovered.
 The Lloyd George Liberals were dependent on the Conservatives and had a weak position in
Parliament.
 The split between the party deepened - Lloyd George was ejected from the Leamington party
conference in 1920 by Asquith and his supporters
 Lloyd George tried to make the coalition permanent with the formation of an anti-Labour ‘Centre
Party’. This attempt failed and divided Liberals even further.

How did Lloyd George’s conduct damage the Liberal Party in 1922?

 Lloyd George had made his name as a champion of limiting the rights of the privileged and the ‘man
who won the war’.
 In June 1922, a scandal emerged where he was selling knighthoods and peerages amassing a huge
political fortune - a knighthood could be bought for £10 000 -[which he refused to share with the
Liberals unless they followed his ideas].
 The scandal did much damage to his credibility and he was portrayed as corrupt.
 At the same time, he was seen as a warmonger, threatening Turkey if it sought to revise the terms
of the peace treaty in the Chanak Incident.
  These events led to the Conservatives withdrawing from the coalition and forcing Lloyd George to
resign.
 The subsequent election saw the Conservatives win a handsome majority with Lloyd George’s
National Liberals in third place, overtaken by Labour

How did the Liberals try to bounce back from the 1922 General Election?

 Lloyd George’s personal unpopularity, divisions between the Liberals and the rise of the Labour Party
were significant reasons why the Liberals lost the 1922 General Election.
 In the 1922, 1923 and 1924 elections the Liberals lacked the proper funds to run successful
campaigns or field as many candidates as the Conservative and Labour partys (this was party due to
Lloyd George withholding funds from the Liberal party unless they gave him their full support)
 Although it supported a minority Labour government in 1924, their share of the vote fell by 12% in
the 1924 General Election, This was down to the Liberals losing the confidence of their traditional
voter base as many turned to the Conservatives.
 After Asquith’s resignation, Lloyd George was able to reunite the Liberals in 1926.
 Lloyd George tried to create a viable set of policies to solve the growing problem of unemployment
and investment in industry presented in their ‘The Yellow Book’. They never gained the support of
the electorate and the Liberals became increasingly marginalised and their share of the vote
continued to fall throughout the 1920s.
 FPTP further limited their ability to gain seats; as it favoured a two party race, and after 1922 the
two dominant parties were the Conservatives and Labour – In 1924 election the Liberals gained
17.6% of the vote, but were only awarded 40 seats, Labour gained 33.0% of the vote, but were
awarded 151 seats.

Rise of Labour
How did the Labour Party develop in interwar British politics?

 In the 1918 General Election, the Labour Party had 57 seats. This increased to 142 seats in the 1922
General Election.
 In December 1923, the Labour Party won 191 seats and formed a minority government with the
support of 158 Liberals.
 Conservatives won the 1924 general election with a large majority after the Labour Party are tainted
with accusations of Soviet sympathies.
 Labour won 287 in the 1929 general election and forms a minority government which lasted until
1931.
 The 1931 General Election saw a meltdown of the Labour vote – winning 46 seats – losing many of
its leading politicians.

What was the position of the Labour Party in 1918?

 The Labour Party was formed in 1900 and was the youngest major political party in Britain.
 It had emerged from Labour Representation Committee of the Trades Union Congress [TUC] and,
therefore, was closely tied to the unions who sought political representation to advance the cause of
the working man.
  Although the Labour Party won seats in the 1906 and 1910 elections, working class representation
was made easier in 1911 when a law was passed allowing MPs to receive a wage.
 Labour was further aided by the 1918 Representation of the People Act which tripled the size of the
British electorate which included nearly all working men.
 Also, wartime saw a massive increase in trade union membership - between 1915 and 1918
membership almost doubled, going from 4.3 million members to 8.3 million - and this was the heart
of Labour support

Why was the Labour Party able to develop in interwar British politics?

1. Preserved party unity.

2. Developed grassroots organisation.
3. Developments in the voting system.
4. Independence from the Liberal Party.

How were the Labour able to preserve party unity?

 Because of how the Labour Party were formed through the TUC, this gave them a strong sense of
class consciousness among the industrial workforce. This meant that the Labour Party could make a
serious claim of representing the working classes giving it a political identity and receiving loyalty
from the working man.
 There were strong divisions within the Labour Party about supporting the war effort. This division
was healed in 1917 when Labour ministers resigned from the wartime coalition. However, despite
this division, they remained unified on issues that affected the working people, such as prices and
pensions.
 The effective leadership of Arthur Henderson between 1914 and 1917 was down to his ability to
reflect a consensus view of the Labour movement. He was also, the first Labour leader to gain
representation at cabinet level.

How did the organisation of the Labour Party develop in the inter war period?

 Thanks to union backing, who provided funds and membership, the Labour Party was able to
develop a national political machine.
 In 1917, the Labour Party began to develop local party branches and by 1924 only 19 constituencies
did not have a Labour Party local branch. This gave Labour a national identity and allowed them field
a similar number of candidates to the Conservatives in the elections of the 1920s.
 However, because of the trade unions control of party finances, there was a distortion of funding
for campaigns in winnable areas, such as constituencies with mining communities.

How did changes to the voting system impact upon the Labour Party?

 The impact of the Representation of the People Act of 1918 on the Labour Party remains
controversial. Without doubt, this act transformed the electorate by tripling it and including more
working class voters as well as women. To what extent, these new voters swayed towards the
Labour Party remains unclear.
  The 1918 General Election was strongly influenced by patriotism. Those Labour politicians who took
a popular, anti-German line won handsomely, while those who took a more pacifist line were heavily
defeated.
 Internal organisation allowed for more Labour candidates to stand for election. This not only
boosted Labour’s chances of winning seats but also gave a stronger impression that Labour was a
national political party.

How did the Labour Party break away from the Liberal influence in the interwar years?

 Before 1914, there were close links between the Liberal and the Labour Parties. Both were left-
wing parties but the Liberals were the senior members in this unofficial partnership.
 After 1914, the Labour Party began to develop a separate identity from the Liberals by promoting
free-trade, internationalism and social reform. Then it drew up its new constitution in 1918 which
tied itself to nationalisation of key industries.
 This led to a more ruthless approach in elections in aiming to establish an independent identity. This
was demonstrated in the 1923 General Election where it capitalised on the splits within the Liberals
and was able to sweep up much former Liberal support.
 The 1924 Labour minority government was then able to establish a reputation of economic caution
and competence in foreign affairs rebutting Liberal plotting of discrediting Labour politicians.

Conservative Dominance 1918-1931

How were the Conservatives dominant in interwar British politics?

 David Lloyd George’s Coalition Government of 1918 to 1922 was dominated by Conservative MPs.
The government was made up of 335 Conservatives alongside 133 Lloyd George Liberals and 10
Coalition Labour MPs.
 The Conservatives withdraw from the coalition in 1922 and win the following election.
 In December 1923, the Conservatives lose their overall majority in the election but remain the
largest party in Parliament with 258 seats compared with 191 Labour and 158 Liberals.
 Conservatives win the 1924 general election with a large majority.
 Conservatives lose the 1929 general election, although no party has an overall majority.
 Conservatives agree to participate in the National Government in 1931 and become the dominant
party in this coalition government until 1945.

Why were the Conservatives dominant in interwar British politics?

1. The electoral system of 1918.

2. Weaknesses of opposition parties.
3. Effective party organisation.
4. Effective leadership and image.

How did changes in the electoral system help the Conservatives?

 Plural voting remained until 1948 which distorted the impact of traditional Conservative voters.
Plural voting enabled businessmen who lived in one constituency and owned property in another to
 vote in both constituencies. People could also vote in their home constituencies AND in their
university constituency. Both businessmen and under/graduates tended to vote Conservative.
 In 1918, constituency boundaries were redrawn to reflect population movements. This change gave
middle class suburbs – those people who owned their property - greater representation.
 This unevenness was exacerbated by the first past the post electoral system. In 1918 it was
calculated that it took 15, 943 to return a Conservative MP, 29, 898 for a Labour MP and 26, 116 for
a Liberal MP.
 In 1921, the Irish Free State gained independence. Independence from the UK resulted in the loss of
80 Nationalist MP’s, who had supported the Liberals. In contrast the Conservatives continued to
receive support from 10 Northern Irish MP’s

How did divisions with the opposition help the Conservatives?

 The Liberals, who the main opposition to the Conservatives before 1918, were plagued by division.
Much of this was due to Lloyd George, the Liberal leader.
 By 1931, many of the right wing Liberals spilt from the official Liberal Party and became National
Liberals forming a close alliance with the Conservative Party.
 The Labour Party found it difficult in the interwar years to establish themselves outside their
industrial working class heartlands.
 In 1931, the Labour government was deeply divided over how to handle the economic crisis and
were decimated in the general election of that year.

How effective were the Conservatives organised?

 Because the Conservatives were seen as the ‘party of property’, funding was not a problem.
Therefore, the party were able to field more candidates, distribute party materials more widely and
to exploit new technologies, such as the cinema, to get across its message.
 The Conservatives developed a true national party structure with organised local branches and a
network of professional agents.
 Internal organisation was also developed with the Conservative Research Department being created
in 1929 which was responsible for research, drafting speeches and preparing party documents, such
as election manifestoes.

How effective was image the Conservatives projected in the interwar years?

 The rebranding of the Conservative Party began in the 1870s moving away from the party of wealth
and privilege to ‘one nation Tories’ - which promoted empire, patriotism and national defence. This
move was designed to attract the uncommitted working class voter – which it did.
 The dominant figure in the Conservative Party in the interwar years was Stanley Baldwin, who was
leader between 1923 and 1937. He continued this rebranding, presenting himself as a straight-
talking man of the people, although he could be seen as dull - ‘safety first’ campaign.
 Although he owned a fortune in the steel industry, Baldwin was known to run his factories fairly and
promote good working relationships between employers and workers.
 Therefore, Baldwin gained a reputation for economic competence and this helped not only bolster
support from traditional voters but also attracted wealthy, middle class Liberals.
 This had been a challenge as Baldwin was a key figure in destroying the Lloyd George Coalition in
1922. In 1922 he supported free trade, taking away the policy that had United the liberals, and
before returning to Protectionism in 1924.
The National Government
Why was the National Government formed in 1931?
1. The outcome of the 1929 General Election.
2. Weaknesses of the minority Labour government of 1929-31.
3. Economic problems caused by the Great Depression.
4. Role of Ramsay MacDonald.

What was the outcome of the 1929 General Election?

 On the back of an uninspired ‘Safety First’ election campaign, the Conservatives did not do enough
to retain office as a single party government.
 The results of the General Election were unusual in that the Conservatives won the largest share of
the vote with 38.2% but this was not translated into an overall majority of seats as they won 260 of
the 605 seats contested while Labour won 287 seats.
 Therefore, the Labour Party, led by Ramsay MacDonald returned to power, in a minority
government supported by 59 Liberal MPs.

What did the 1929-31 Labour government try to do?

 The Labour Party had been in power, only once before – during 1924.
 This period in office remained an unhappy memory as Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, was
forced to make harsh economic choices that affected the poorest voters as well as handle the threat
of industrial action.
 It was also dependent on Liberal support which blunted its radical programme of welfare legislation.
 The Labour government quickly lost support and was forced to call an election, which it lost heavily
to the Conservatives.

What did the 1929-31 Labour government try to do?

 Returning to office, MacDonald wanted to pass social welfare reforms which he was unable to do in
1924.
 Therefore, he quickly developed a working relationship with the Liberal MPs and was able to pass a
number of social reforms, which included The 1930 Housing Act and The Coal Mine Act 1930.
 However, MacDonald warned in 1930 that Britain was going to go through ‘an economic blizzard’
over the next two years – he was right and the ‘blizzard’ blew away his government.

Why was the 1931 budget significant?

 By 1931, the Labour government was struggling to finance its spending commitments, particularly
finding money for their welfare reforms.
 Britain needed loans from the US and France - however international bankers demanded a balanced
budget as a condition for the loans
 The government put together plans to cut spending and raise taxes to balance the budget. The
centrepiece of these proposals was to cut unemployment benefit by 10% which were keenly
 supported by Prime Minister, MacDonald, and his Chancellor, Philip Snowden. They argued that
these proposals would stabilise the pound despite causing hardship to many within the working
class.
 These proposals split the Labour Party and after much political wrangling resigned as the party of
government on August 24th 1931 and moved to expel MacDonald and Snowden from the party with
Arthur Lansbury taking over.

What was the role of Ramsay MacDonald in creating the National Government in 1931?

 MacDonald was a Prime Minister without a party and was ready to resign. However, both King
George V and the Conservative Party wanted MacDonald to continue as Prime Minister – but for
very different reasons.
 King George V appealed to MacDonald’s patriotic duty and argued that by resigning MacDonald
would make things even more unstable at a time of great difficulty.
 The Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin, were happy to allow MacDonald continue as Prime
Minister thinking that MacDonald would bear the brunt of any unpopular economic measures
clearing the way for the Conservatives to take power at a later date.
 As a result, MacDonald announced that he would continue to serve as Prime Minister leading a
‘National Government’ to face the emergency.

What happened in the General Election of 1931?

 MacDonald called for an election in October 1931. He was worried that this would split the Labour
Party – some had joined him to serve as part of the National Government while the rest formed a
separate Labour Party following George Lansbury.
 The Liberals were also similarly spilt.
 The Conservatives, who had thrown their lot in with the National Government, insisted on an
election as they wanted such a coalition government to tackle the crisis to be voted by the people.
 The outcome of the 1931 General Election was an overwhelming victory for the National
Government winning 554 seats with the Conservatives holding 473 of them.
 Labour did extremely badly in the elections - winning just 52 seats

Who were the leaders of the National Government between 1931 and 1945?

Ramsey MacDonald Stanley Baldwin Neville Chamberlin Winston Churchill

1931-1935 1935-1937 1937-1940 1940-1945
What challenges did the leaders of the National Government face between 1931 and 1945?

 Economic threats – each leader had to deal with the aftermath of the Great Depression.
 Opposition – each leader had to deal with the opposition the House of Commons provided. This was
mainly through the Labour Party.
 Rise of extreme politics – each leader faced the potential rise in extreme politics, particularly from
the right and Oswald Mosley.
 Foreign policy threats – each leader had to deal with the growing threats from abroad from, the
issue of rearmament, through to appeasement and war.

MACDONALD
 1931 Macdonald and his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Snowden, go ahead with spending cuts
 MacDonald’s health begins to fail, Baldwin effectively takes over from 1931

BALDWIN
 1935 Baldwin’s plan to appease fascist Italy by giving Mussolini 2/3 of Abyssinia was hugely unpopular
when leaked to the press
 Nazi Germany a growing threat; some wanted rapid rearmament, others wanted disarmament and
cooperation with the League of Nations to avoid war
 1935 Baldwin offers a compromise; increased spending on rearmament to fulfil any military requests
from the League
 1936 Abdication Crisis; Baldwin advises King Edward VIII to abdicate so he can marry Wallace Simpson, a
divorcee, Baldwin is praised for his handling of the crisis

CHAMBERLIN
 Attempts to find ‘peace in our time’ hugely popular with the British people
 1938 flew three times to meet Hitler
 Once war begins he is forced out of parliament by a vote of no confidence

CHURCHILL
 Had long been an opponent of Hitler and a critic of appeasement
 Appointed thanks to backing amongst Labour and Liberal MPS
 Set up a war cabinet of just 5 men, to make quick war decisions
 Creates new ministries, like Ministry for Aircraft Production
 Emergency Powers Act (May 1940) gave wide-ranging powers to the British Government
 An essential wartime leader, Churchill maintained public moral with inspirational speeches

The failure of extremism

Extremist failed to gain support in Britain, partly due to the success and unity of the National Government

Oswald Mosley and the BUF

o Oswald Mosley forms the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932 with the aim of emulating Mussolini
style leadership
o BUF was racist and anti-Semitic
o Party funded mostly by Mosley himself and some wealthy aristocrats
o 50 000 members in 1930s
o October 1936 ‘Battle of Cable Street’ ; BUF march through East London (home to many Jews and Irish
immigrants) turned into a violent clash
o WW2 made BUF even more unpopular; Mosley was imprisoned for three years until 1943 and the BUF
was banned

The Communist Party of Great Britain

o Far right more successful than Mosley

o CPGB gained one MP in 1924 and 1935
o However only gained a maximum of 0.4% of the vote; British electorate rejected communism
o Traditions and strength of TU and Labour prevented communism from taking off
o CPGB used ‘entryism’ - tried to infiltrate the Labour party to steer their ideas further to the left (Labour
banned CPGB members from joining Labour to support this)
o CPGB puppets of Russia, were against WW2 until Germanys invasion of Russia in 1941, funded by the
USSR
o They gain some support after Russia helps to defeat Nazi Germany

Consensus 1945-1979
The post-war consensus is a name given by historians to an era in British political history which lasted from
the end of World War II in 1945 to the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979.

The post-war consensus can be characterised as a belief in:

 Keynesian economics
 A mixed economy
 Nationalisation of major industries
 The National Health Service
 Commitment to full employment
 A welfare state in Britain; social security and national insurance
 Introduction of nuclear weapons

Why did WW2 set the stage for consensus?

o The National Government proved the Ministers from rival parties could work together and that a broad
agreement on key policies could be reached.
o Success of collectivism – an approach where certain problems are tackled by taking away some rights for
the common good.
o The war changed the role of government, as the state was forced to take more control– Emergency
Powers Act of 1940
o There was a shift from a mainly free-market economy to a more mixed one, where the government used
rationing, the Essential Work Order, conscription and censorship all in a bid to engage Britain in a total
war– by 1945, 1/3 of citizens were taking in war-related work.
o The led to the Beveridge report in 1942 – in the report Beveridge envisioned a welfare state that could
care for a person from cradle to grave. His ideas were hugely popular – the report sold 635 000 copies-
and Labour’s promise to fulfil the report was a huge contributing factor in them winning the election.
Why did Labour win by a landslide in the 1945 General Election?
 Leadership - Atlee portrayed himself as a ‘man of the people’, though Churchill led the
country through WW2 people were unsure whether he was the right leader for
peacetime. During WW2 Atlee had managed the home front, showing that himself and
the Labour party were capable leaders.
 Campaigns - Labour broke off the wartime coalition after the war to force an election,
campaigned on the slogan ‘let us face the future’ and campaign posters centred around
the British people, with pictures of women of soldiers accompanied by the text ‘Labour
for him’ or ‘Labour for her’. Atlee spent a lot of time touring the country. Churchills
campaign was lacklustre as he was so confident in him victory after winning the war -
Conservative slogan ‘let’s finish the job’ Churchill’s spiteful ‘Gestapo’ speech was seen
as distasteful and poorly judged.
 Policies - Labour promised to implement the policies of the extremely popular
Beveridge Report, Churchill rejected the report and did not have a clear strategy for
post war recovery. Labour’s manifesto seems more specific, ambitious, detailed and
thought through
 Public Mood - Public wanted a change after the harsh war years, they associated the
Tories with the high unemployment of the 20s and 30s and failed appeasement

Atlee government 1945-51

From 1945-1951 the key consensus policies were established: a mixed economy, universal healthcare, a
welfare state, full employment and cooperation with the trade unions.

Key achievement/policies:

 The 1944 Education Act - Introduces universal secondary education split into three parts Grammar,
Modern and Technical schools. It also created a Government Minister for education and raised the
school leaving age to 16 by 1973.
 The 1945 Family Allowance Act – gave money to support those with children (child benefits).
 The 1946 National Insurance Act – paid for through taxes the Government provides support or
‘benefits’ in cases of sickness, unemployment, retirement, maternity, widow, guardians allowance
for orphans and a grant for funeral expenses.
 The 1946 National Health Service Act – a major law that gave healthcare to all paid for by taxes but
free at the point of need. Allowed for the creation of the NHS is 1948. (Bevan)
 The Industrial Injuries Act - provided cover for accidents that happened at work.
 Nationalised the coal, steel, iron and railway industries, which prevented their collapse
 More housing - by 1948 125 000 ‘prefab’ homes had been built, and by 1951 1 million good quality
council homes were built, 4/5 homes built by the state
 Means-testing abolished
 Improved education - built 900 primary schools (for baby boom) and 250 secondary schools - School
leaving age raised to 15

The changes implemented during this time were hugely popular with the public, which led to the
Conservatives 1947 Charter, which accepted many of the consensus views. The charter; accepted the
idea of a mixed economy, gave a commitment that the party would protect labour rights, stressed the
need for fairness and opposed protectionism.

Why did labour lose the 1950 and 1951 election?

 Growing dissatisfaction over continued rationing.

  Austerity (after 1947) wasn’t being perceived as bringing economic recovery quickly enough.
 Taxation at 45% at a standard rate was seen as too high.
 Labour Ministers were tired, beginning to divide and were disillusioned; Labour became divided after
the Bevanite revolution in 1951, and over the issue of nuclear weapons and the Korean War.
 Conservatives were seen as a united party – particularly over the nationalisation of iron and steel
which impressed the electorate.
 The Conservative 1947 Industrial Charter showed that Conservative were willing to adapt and
adopt consensus policies
 Also, 1950 saw an influx of bright young Conservative politicians.

Churchill, Eden and Macmillan governments 1951-1965 - ’13 Golden Years’

The ’13 golden years’ of conservative dominance from 1951-1964 largely continued the consensus, albeit
with minor disagreements and flaws beginning to show.

The Prime Ministers:

Churchill 1951-1955  77 years old in poor health, lacked passion and drive of war years
 Retired
Eden 1955-1957  Young, popular, aristocratic
 Forced to resign after Suez Crisis
 Britain had agreed to invade the Suez canal zone with France and Israel to protect
the Suez canal from Egyptian President Nasser
 The US had not been consulted, a furious Eisenhower forced a UN resolution
imposing a ceasefire, and refused to loan any money to the British
 Britain was forced to pull out and Eden was humiliated.
Macmillan 1957-1964  Cheerful, confident
 Nicknamed Supermac
 Increased Conservative majority in the 1959 election to 49.4% of the vote
 1959 Chancellor, Treasury Minister and Financial secretary resign because they
believe government is spending too much money
 1962 ‘night of the long knives’ Macmillan sacked 7 members of the cabinet,
replacing them with younger politicians - meant to make government look
stronger and less aristocratic but backfires, making Macmillan seem
weak/ruthless

Key policies/achievement:

 Housing (under Macmillan) 1951-1955

o Conservatives made a commitment to 300,000 new houses a year, which they achieved. 1953:
327,000 were built 1954: 354,000 were built
o 1952 – Housing subsidy increased from £25 to £35 per home - Supported by Butler.
o Mortgages were to be more readily available.
o Still 80% of house building was state.
 Iron and steel were largely denationalised in 1953
 War time rationing ended 1954
 Health
o 1959 Metal Health Act - Modernised treatment to be humane.
o 1962 plans were unveiled for 90 new hospitals to be built within the next 10 years
 Education 1957-1964
 o Pledged that 6000 new schools would be built
o 1963 Robbins report suggested need for more universities, so 7 new universities were
established
o Allowed local authorities to set up comprehensive schools if they so choose
o 10 Technical colleges (for further study) were set up

Consensus?

 The Conservatives adhered to many of Labour’s policies; they continued to fund and improve the NHS,
they were committed to the mixed economy and full employment and they managed the economy using
Keynesian style economics.
 No changes made to Nye Bevans NHS
 Welfare state expenditure continued to grow in real terms. 19.3% of GDP was spent on it in 1964, up
from 16.1% in 1951
 The term Butskellism (a mixture of the names of Tory Chancellor R.A. Butler and Labour party leader
Hugh Gaitskell) was coined to describe the almost identical economic policies of the two parties.
 The Conservatives were criticised for their use of ‘stop-go’ economic policies, inflation begins to be a
problem
 1959 Chancellor, Treasury minister and Financial Secretary all resigned because they believed the
government was spending too much; believed inflation a bigger threat then unemployment and wanted
spending cuts, tax rises and end of subsidies.
 The Conservatives also reversed nationalisation of steel and iron, with the support of the people.

’13 Golden Years’ or ‘13 wasted years’?

Golden
 Housing was perhaps the most remarkable
achievement - 6000 new schools, 11 new
universities and existing ones were expanded
 Leading member of UN and NATO by 1964
 Britain was developing closer ties to the USA.
Involved in the Test Ban Treaty Talks, 1963.
 1950s: Nearly 3% growth per annum
 1951-1964 – Britain’s economy grew 40%
 Consumer spending rose by 45%
 Families ate better and had more consumer
and luxury goods
 NHS – its work was improved by the Mental
Health Act of 1959
 Inflation was around 3/4% for most of the 13
years, unemployment was below 2%
 Subsidies to help modernise and support British
farming
 Wages rose by 72%
 Significant improvement in wages and the
standard of living for all. By 1964 91% owned a
TV, Car ownership had quadrupled to 8 million
by 1964.
Wasted
 Britain’s economic rivals sent more young
people to university.
 Failure to tackle inflation for fear of increasing
unemployment. Inflation 3/4%
 Humiliation at Suez and the failure to find a
place in the world
 Economic growth was fairly low in Britain (2.4%
compared with 5.6% in Italy and 5.1% in
Germany)
 Productivity was the lowest in Western Europe.
 Share of world exports in manufactured goods
fell from 25.5% in 1951 to 13.9% by 1964.
 The economy – ‘Stop, Go’ hampered growth -
The policy only worked in the short term and
contributed to a build-up of inflationary
pressure and ‘stagflation’
 Stop Go prevented investments and caused the
balance of payments to be imbalanced (too
many imports).
 1964: Labour inherited a balance of payments
deficit of £750 million.
 British application to join the EEC vetoed.
 Lack of investment in manufacturing. Germany
and Japan did better in these years.
 Debate over grammar and comprehensive
 schools and the 11plus. Not resolved. Became
more problematic after 1970.

End of Conservative dominance

 Conservative popularity had declined by 1962

 Increased consumer spending had led to inflation and a balance of payments deficit
 People had become more opposed to the ‘establishment’
 Failure to gain entry to the EEC in 1963
 Night of the long knives makes Macmillan seem ruthless
 Profumo affair - Conservative Secretary of State for War John Profumo discovered to have had an affair
with Christine Keller, who had also been sleeping with a soviet naval attache (and suspected spy).
Profumo had denied the affair in Parliament, and when the truth was exposed the Conservatives image
was badly damaged and Macmillan’s self-confidence was shattered.

Harold Wilson 1964-1970

When Harold Wilson became prime minister of a Labour government in 1964 he was keen to continue the
consensus and lead Britain into an era of social and scientific process.

Harold Wilson was appeared the polar opposite of the establishment. He was state-school educated, had a
normal Yorkshire accent and appeared calm and reassuring (was often pictured smoking a pipe.) He was a
big believer in scientific progress. Remember for white heat and devaluation.

Key departments created:

 Department of Economic Affairs

o Run by George Brown, unreliable and a notorious drunk
o Put together the ‘National Plan’ in September 1965, a hugely ambitious plan to expand the
economy, but with no real ideas on how to raise production or exports
o The Treasury resented competing with the DEA and the two department would no cooperate
 Ministry of Technology
o Wilson talked about the ‘white heat of technology transforming Britain’
o Ministry run by maverick MP Tony Wedgewood
o Stifled by lack of funds (due to economic problems) and cautiousness of the party
o Supported high profile projects such as Concorde (1968) and nuclear energy
o Encouraged British markets to compete in world trade

Other policies/achievements:

 New universities and polytechnics built

 Open University created
 Many liberal reforms; 1965 Race relations Act, 1967 Abortion Act and Family Planning Act, gay sex made
legal, death penalty abolished 1969, 1970 Equal Pay Act
 By the end of the 60’s Britain had a small balance of payments surplus

Problems faced:

 Previous government had left the country with an £800 million balance of payments deficit - twice
what Labour had predicted it would be
  Wilson was eventually forced to devalue the pound in 1967 from $2.80 to $2.40, losing him huge
credibility.
 By the end of the 60’s unemployment had risen - unemployment was at 900,000 by 1964.
 Union unrest had increased –during the 60’s 3.6 million days were lost to strikes - yet Labour relied
on Trade union funding and so were unable to resist union demand - Barbara Castles ‘In place of
Strife’ White paper never implemented.
 Recession and inflation caused by Stop Go policies – failure to properly solve the underlying
problems of the British economy.

Consensus?

 Wilsons ambitious plans to invest in technology show enthusiasm for consensus

 Consensus policies of full employment and cooperation with the trade unions under strain
 Economic problems undermining governments ability to continue investing in the welfare state - NHS
charges abolished in 1965, then reinstated in 1969 at higher rates than ever because of economic
troubles

Edward Heath 1970-74

After the Conservative victory in 1974 Prime Minister Edward Heath made the first attempt to break with
consensus.

Edward Heath was in some respects a precursor to Margaret Thatcher - He is most remember for his U-turn
on policy and the three day work week.

Seldon Man: Outlined his ideas, promising fewer government controls, a tough approach to trade unions
and no support for failing industries

Key achievements/policies:

 On coming into power the Conservatives cut taxes and spending, and ended Wilson’s income policy,
determining that wages should be set by the market. (Less Keynesian more Free Market approach)
 1971 Industrial Relations Act ; limited trade union power, very unpopular with the TUC
 U-turn in 1971/1972 - government increase intervention and spending
 1973 Britain finally joined the EEC (precursor to the EU)

The U-turn

 The budget of 1971 saw cuts in income tax and government spending.
 However, economic policy was in tatters by the end of 1971 as inflation soared and production fell due
to, in part, lack of government intervention.
 Unemployment had also risen to 1 million by 1972
 Heath, losing his nerve, conducted a U-turn in government policy and returned to increasing government
controls in prices and incomes and interference in industrial relations.
 £2.5 billion was pumped into the economy in increased pensions, benefits and tax reductions (known as
the Barber boom)
 This brought down the unemployment level to 550 000 by 1974, however it indicated the Selsdon Man
had been completely abandoned

Problems faced:

 Unemployment had reach 1 million by 1972

 1973 Oil Crisis badly affects the British economy
 Miner’s strike in 1974 forced Heath to implement a three day work week (and eventually give in to the
strikers demands)
 After the miners’ strike Heath called an election with the slogan ‘Who governs Britain?’ He lost.

Consensus?

 Selsdon man shows the first major shift away from consensus policies – with an attempt to break away
from cooperation with trade unions and full employment.
 However Selsdon man was abandoned, the government pumped £2.5 billion pounds into the economy
 Relations with the Trade Unions in tatters - Industrial Relation Act, 1972 Strike, 1974 Strike

Wilson and Callaghan 1974-1979

From 1947-1979 the post war consensus was under huge strain and the Labour party faced significant
barriers to upholding consensus policies.

Labour held a slim majority of 3 seats and were forced to rely on the Liberal party (was known as the Lib-Lab
pact)

In 1976 Wilson resigned, and was replaced by Jim Callaghan. They are remembered for the IMF loan, and the
‘Winter of Discontent’.

The Economic problems:

 1973 Oil Crisis - After oil prices rose by 70% in 1973 there was a dramatic surge in inflation, with the
inflation rate over 20%.
 Britain was dubbed ‘the sick man of Europe’
 In 1975 Chancellor Heady abandoned commitment to full employment (a key consensus policy) and
embraced monetarism in order to limit inflation and balance the budget
 Pound devalued, reaching a record low against the dollar in June 1976
 1976 IMF loan - Britain was forced to take out a £4billion loan from the IMF to cope with the economic
crisis; In return for the loan Britain made huge cuts to public expenditure and the budget deficit - there
were proposals for a cut of around 20 per cent in the budget deficit.

After the IMF loan Britain’s economy improved, interest rates were soon cut and the pound appreciated
(went up in value).

The Trade Union Problems:

 Labour repealed the Industrial Relations Act and replaced it with the ‘Social Contract’ – a voluntary
prices and wages control agreement.
 This failed as trade union members wanted pay increases.
 Industrial unrest culminated in the ‘Winter of Discontent’ in 1978-79; After a wage freeze (a condition
of the IMF loan) public service workers went on strike; rubbish went uncollected, staff walked out of
children’s hospital and corpses were left unburied.
 The British tabloids exaggerated and sensationalised the strike, causing public opinion to turn decisively
against trade unions and against the Labour party, who failed to stand up to the unions.

Consensus?

 Economic problems and huge cuts to public expenditure made consensus policies of economic growth,
full employment and a welfare state almost impossible to maintain 
 IMF crisis reinforced a change in policy orientation away from full employment and social welfare
towards the control of inflation and expenditure
 Callaghan and Chancellor Heady ditched Keynesian economics
 Unemployment rose to 1.6million in 1978
 In a speech Callaghan said ‘We used to think you could spend your way out of a recession and increase
employment by cutting taxes and boosting government spending .... That option no longer exists’
 Also said Britain must ‘pay its way’ in the world

In the landmark election of 1979, Margaret Thatcher was elected, which marked a decisive end the post was
consensus. From 1974-1979 consensus was ultimately abandoned due to the economic troubles faced by
Britain.

Changes in the economic landscape

The 20s
What was the economic legacy of the First World War?

 Loss of trade –During WW1 British ships were occupied shipping essential war supplies -with 20%
being sunk in the process - and could not be used for exports. Economic rivals ( US and Japan) filled
the gap left by a decline in British exports, took over British markets. Britain was also unable to trade
with countries she was at war with - many of these countries became more self-sufficient, producing
goods within the country that they had previously imported from Britain, and continued this practice
one war had ended.
  Debt – the war cost Britain £3.25 billion with debts of £8 billion by 1920– mainly to US banks.
Wartime debts rose to 160% of income by 1924.
 Value of the pound fell. Britain had been forced to abandon the gold standard in 1914, in order to
be able to print enough money to cover the immense costs of the war. This decision resulted in a
rise in inflation and a drop in the value of the pound (£1 was valued at $3.19 in 1919),
 Inflation rose to 25% in 1918 which impacted upon prices.
 Technological development accelerated in the war – particularly in medicine and transport, radio.
Use of machine tools and assembly-line techniques encouraged employment of semi-skilled labour,
taking jobs away from skilled workers. Britain fell behind in technological development - Countries
like France and Germany saw many of their factories destroyed, were forced to purchase new, more
modern machinery, giving them an edge over their British counterparts. Foreign industries to
overtake British ones after WW1- by 1918 Germany was producing twice as much steel as Britain
 Nearly 900,000 men were killed in the First World War – many who made up the British workforce.

What was the pattern of Britain’s economic story during the 1920s?

 1919-20 saw a short post war boom fuelled by an increase demand for scarce goods caused by the
First World War.
 1920-21 saw a severe recession as unemployment rose to 12% of the working population. The heavy
industries, particularly coaling mining, was hit the hardest as prices rose by 25% and wages had
failed to keep up with these increases.
 The main causes of the recession were loss in trade, underinvestment in traditional industries
(shipping, mining, steel, iron and textiles) and declining industrial relations.
 Spending cuts helped to usher in a period of limited recession from 1922 although unemployment
remained high averaging at 10%.
 The Great Depression from 1929 hit Britain hard as trade collapsed and unemployment soared.

Ineffective solutions to economic problems

Interest rates – Government set high interest rates to curb inflation and raise value of the pound against
and value of other currencies
the pound – However high interest rates curbed economic growth - more expensive for businesses to
borrow and invest, people more likely to save then spend
– Britain returned to the gold standard in 1925
– Key post-war policy decision, taken following the report of the Cunliffe Committee in 1919,
restored the pound to its pre-war value of $4.86 in 1925.
– Decision proved to be disastrous for traditional industries. The high exchange rates made
British exports more expensive and less competitive, industries such as coal, steel, shipping
and textiles had an even harder time selling abroad.
– In contrast the US dollar had become increasingly attractive - Keynes famously argued
Sterling was overvalued by 10% compared to the dollar –this, coupled with America’s low
interest rates made American exports far more advantageous than British ones, further
damaging Britain’s export market.
Tax, spending – To reduce inflation and repay war debts as quickly as possible taxes were raise each year
 and balancing after 1918 from £18 per capita in 1919 to £24 per capita in 1922
the budget – Lloyd George appointed a Commission of National Expenditure under Sir Eric Geddes to
find out where savings could be made
– 1922 Geddes Axe led to £24 million of cuts in spending on education, pensions,
unemployment benefit, housing and health
– Defence cut from £190 million to £111 million
– Spending cuts contributed to growing unemployment - unemployment never fell below 1
million during the war years
Protectionism – Government policies of ‘protectionism’ introduced duties and limited tariffs on foreign
goods in order to protect Britain’s traditional industries, which struggled after WWI.
– These policies may have helped in the short term but in the long term they created a lack
of incentive to modernise in order to compete with new foreign traders
– Industries avoided introducing the changes needed to become competitive in the long
term, and so failed
– Protectionist policies and tariffs also incited other countries to elect their own ‘tariff walls’
which further limited international trade.
– After WW1 Britain struggled to reclaim dominance of the market - the volume of British
exports in the mid-1920s was only about 75% of its 1913 level - industries which relied on
exports suffered
– By 1933 unemployment had reached 60% in shipbuilding areas, and 49% in iron and steel
industries – demonstrating how a failure to modernise created the decline in traditional
industry.
– Newer industries, such as chemicals and cars, were neglected.

Other things that impacted the economy:

Rise of Trade Unions

o War had caused a huge growth it trade union membership – between 1915 and 1918 membership rose
from 4.3 to 8.3 million –trade unions had far greater power and influence.
o During the harsh 20’s employers in traditional industries were forced to cut costs – yet attempts at
introducing pay cuts or longer working hours were met with harsh resistance from the trade unions
o In 1926 – the year of the General Strike, there were 323 strikes launched, which led to a total of 162.23
million working days being lost.
o Trade unions led to a lack of wage flexibility which resulted in employers firing workers in a bid to keep
costs down
o As a result unemployment never fell below 1 million between the two world wars.
o TUS halted the progress of certain industries, particularly as their foreign competitors had much greater
access to cheap manual labour (the US’s influx of immigrants gave it a huge advantage for economic
growth).

The 30s
Remember - Wall St Crash in 1929 impacts much of the 30s

Why are the 1930s referred to as ‘the hungry thirties’?

  The term ‘the hungry thirties’ refers to the 1930s being a period of depression and high
unemployment. This was partly a political term begun by left wing historians in the 1940s wanting to
darken the name of the Conservative Party, who they blamed for devastating economic slump of the
early 1930s.
 Modern historians have countered this view arguing that it is too simplistic. They argue that there
was no single trend that identified that most people suffered a decline in living standards in this
period.
 A commonly held view now is that the impact of the depression on Britain was uneven
 The areas that were hit the hardest were those that centred on the staple industries, such as coal in
the north and in south Wales, textiles in Yorkshire and shipbuilding in Scotland and the Tyne – in the
town of Jarrow in the north-east of England every man was made redundant after the coal mine,
steel works and Palmer’s shipyard closed - Jarrow March in 1936
 Unemployment rose to 2.5 million (25% of the workforce) in 1933, but it was higher in the north of
Britain
 The depression also lowered productivity for the whole country, and so demand for products such as
coal and steel fell – with coal use in the UK dropping from 180 million tonnes in 1929 to 155 million
tonnes in 1935
 However, while these areas suffered from high unemployment, areas such as London and the south
east remained prosperous as consumer industries enjoyed boomed.
 This encouraged the two nations view of poor and rich and north and south.

What was the pound devalued in 1931?

 The Great Depression led to a fall in exports by 50% and unemployment rising to 2.5 million in 1933.
 The government cut spending and maintained high interest rates to preserve the value of the pound,
which was still attached to the Gold Standard.
 This policy divided the Labour government (Labour were particularly against the 10% cuts in
unemployment benefit) , who resigned which led to the formation of the National Government in
1931.
 12 000 Soldiers mutiny in Scotland 1931 in opposition to pay cuts - leads to change in policy
 The National Government removed the pound from the Gold Standard and devalued the pound; the
pound depreciated from $4.80 to $3.40

What was the impact of the pound being removed from the Gold Standard in 1931?

 The removal of the pound from the Gold Standard allowed for a quicker recovery from the
depression compared with other countries.
 The key features of this recovery are –
 Unemployment fell from 17% to 8.5% between 1932 and 1937.
 Interest rates were cut from 6% to 2% leading to greater borrowing. This policy was called ‘Cheap
Money’.
 Rate of long term government borrowing cut but 1.5% slashing the cost of government debt
repayment
 Greater borrowing triggered a boom in mortgages and house building.
 Exports were cheaper as prices of British goods fell by 45% and sales went up by 28%.
  Industrial production rose by 46%.

The 40s
What was the impact of the Second World War on the direction of economic policy?

 Churchill expanded the government’s role in managing the war economy and created a series of
ministries which had a specific role in economic management
 These ministries had extensive powers of economic management.
 The government also controlled prices through controlling production levels.
 The National Government transformed Britain into a managed economy; rationing and conscription
introduced immediately, Registration for employment made compulsory in 1941; 8.5 million work
orders issued, By 1945 1/3 of citizens involved in war work
 The growth of state intervention led to a huge increase in war production and military spending.
Between 1941 and 1945, over half the government spending was on military.
 Even after the war, military spending continued to be a priority for the government (who wanted
Britain to be in possession of her own atomic bomb) By 1951 over 10% of GDP was spent on
defence- 30% of total Government spending

How important was economic aid to the British economy during the 1940s?

 By December 1940, Britain’s cash reserves were spent.

 Churchill was able to secure the Lend-Lease Agreement with the USA. This allowed the USA to supply
Britain with what it needed and the debt would be paid after the war.
 This was supported by supplies from America being brought to Britain by ‘Liberty Ships’.
 Immediately after the war, John Maynard Keynes negotiated a £2.2 billion loan from the US and
Canada - this was nowhere near enough
 Britain was also a recipient of £6 billion of Marshall Aid from 1948.

What was the impact of austerity economic measures in the 1940s?

 In 1945, Britain had accumulated £4 billion worth of debt to the USA and with an additional loan in
1945, it would cost Britain £70 million a day just to finance the debt.
 There was a £700 million deficit
 The Attlee Government embarked upon a series of austerity measures – which was a programme of
cuts in government spending, controlling private spending and rationing of goods.
 This was unpopular with the British public – the most outraged were the trade unions, who were
requested to accept a wage freeze or face legal pay restraints.
 However, austerity measures did not work alone. With the harsh winter of 1947 led to an economic
crisis which hit industrial production and Britain having to pay for goods in dollars and not pounds,
making imports more expensive, Attlee was forced to devalue to pound in 1949.

What was the impact of nationalisation of key industries in the 1940s?

 The nationalisation of key industries was a centrepiece of Attlee’s economic policy.

 The aim of nationalisation was to create full employment and to ensure the effective management
of the key industries, which had been for too long inefficient.
 By 1950 10% of the work force were employed in nationalised industries
  The nationalisation of coal, the Bank of England, transport infrastructure, electricity, gas, iron and
steel cost the government over £2 billion in buying out the previous owners of the key industries.
 This meant that the government had little money left over to invest in the key industries in
modernising them. Eventually, this left them lagging behind international competitors.

The 50s and 60s

Butskellism’ – the dominant economic approach of the 1950s and 1960s

 The 1951-64 Conservative governments largely accepted Labour’s post war welfare reforms and
approach to managing the economy along Keynesian lines.
 Both parties accepted the commitment to full employment and a mixed economy.
 Such was the closeness of the economic policies of Labour and Conservative governments of the
1950s, The Economist coined the phrase ‘Butskellism’ to describe this consensual approach.
 ‘Butskellism’ came from the names of the Conservative Chancellor, R. A. Butler, and the Labour
leader, Hugh Gaitskell.

‘You’ve never had it so good’ – the illusion of affluence

 The 1950s was seen as a period of affluence with increased consumer spending - Consumer spending
rose by 45%
 This increase was based on the ability for people to borrow money to spend. This had significant
consequences –
- Growth in inflation (around 4%)
- Increase in imports which led to an imbalance in balance of payments.

Stop-go economics

 The Conservative governments of 1951-64 encouraged this growth in consumer spending by relaxing
laws on borrowing and credit (low interest rates and taxes).
 However, when the problems of inflation and import prices became serious, controls to slow the
economy down (raising taxes and interest rates and lowing wages) were put in place.
 This inconsistent policy towards economic growth was called ‘stop-go economics’ and demonstrated
that controlling unemployment and inflation was impossible.

What was corporatism?

 It was clear in the 1950s that Britain was lagging behind its world competitors in terms of economic
growth (2.3% a year compared to 5.6% in Italy and 5.1% in Germany).
 Macmillan’s 1957-63 government decided to follow a corporatism policy – a managed economy
uniting labour, management and government through corporations to plan and achieve economic
goals. He set up two department nicknamed NEDDY and NICKY
 NEDDY – The National Development Council and Office. Aimed to produce reports for future of
economy. Recommended pay freezes and tax increases. Not popular
 NICKY – the National Incomes Commission. NICKY was an advisory body for unions and
management. Tried to steer course of wages. Trade unions refused to cooperate with it at all.
 This first move towards economic planning met considerable opposition from within the Tory Party,
the Treasury and the capitalist media. The result was a quick U-turn.
 However corporationist ideas were continued by Wilson through the DEA (Department of Economic
Affairs)

‘Dash for growth’

 Launched 1963 after conservative abandon corporatism.

 ‘Dash for growth’ was simply a demand management strategy based on the idea that injecting high
levels of demand into the economy for a sustained period would stimulate investment, raise
productivity, and thus enable the expansion to become self- sustaining.
 Inevitably, the policy was a complete failure, higher demand simply led to more imported goods, a
massive balance of payments deficit occurred, and capital ran scared from the faltering British economy.
 The Tories lost to Labour and never had to deal with the consequences of this policy

Stagflation
  By 1964, the key economic problem was it was in a period of stagflation – where there is both high
inflation and low economic growth and unemployment (which was supposed to be impossible under
Keysian economics)
 The key causes of stagflation by 1964 were –
- Increased consumer spending lead to more imports which led to a balance of payments
deficit leading to threat to the value of the pound.
- Increased borrowing from the IMF.
- Rising unemployment.

Wilson and devaluation of the pound

 Wilson attempted to improve economic planning and invest in the ‘white heat’ of technology, but
attempts failed due to continuing stagflation
 The DEA created a National plan to stimulate growth, but was over ambitious and never got off the
ground due to lack of departmental resources, defined authority and bad relations with the treasury.
 Labour instead continued to use failing stop-go policies
 Wilson had been determined to avoid a devaluation of the pound, not wanting labour to be known as
the ‘party of devaluation’
 Yet in 1967 he was humiliatingly forced to cut the value of the pound from $2.80 to $2.40
 Wilson tried to reassure British through the ‘pound in your pocket’ speech, but he suffered a huge loss of
credibility
 Aside from this Wilson's government suffered from increased unemployment (900 000 in 1964) and
growing TU unrest - during the 60’s 3.6 million days were lost to strikes.

The 70s
How did Heath attempt to tackle the economy?

 Outlined ideas in Selsdon Man

 Wanted to reduce state intervention - with a more hands off approach to governing
 The budget of 1971 Cut state spending and tax
 Tried to control the unions - 1971 Industrial Relations Act

Why did Heaths policy fail?

 Oil crisis 1973 - the price of suddenly oil rose by 70%, which had a dramatic impact of the UK economy
 Rising inflation - After the oil price rise inflation rose by 20%
 Rising Unemployment - Unemployment reached 1 million by 1972
 Heath took a U-turn in government policy
 £2.5 billion was pumped into the economy in increased pensions, benefits and tax reductions (known as
the Barber boom)
 This brought down the unemployment level to 550 000 by 1974, however it indicated the Selsdon Man
had been completely abandoned

Why did Britain apply for a loan from the International Monetary Fund?

 The consequences of the 1973 oil crisis led to rapid inflation and the pound falling in value to the extent
by 1976, Britain was almost bankrupt.
 Callaghan’s response in a key speech was –
‘We used to think you could spend your way out of a recession and increase employment by cutting taxes
and boosting government spending .... That option no longer exists’
 Such was Britain’s position in 1976, the government negotiated a £3 billion loan from the International
Monetary Fund. Britain could have the loan only if they made major cuts in public spending.
 The impact of this was the abandonment of Keynesian economics, formal withdrawal from the
commitment to full employment and paved the way for Thatcher’s more radical approach from 1979.

Changes in industrial relations

1918-1939

What was pattern of change within interwar relations?

 The brief post war boom led to increasing disputes between trade unions and the government. This
was a legacy of long term industrial neglect and the boom in workers joining trade unions.
 The economic slump of the 1920s weakened the union position as many workers left the trade
unions.
 1921 Black Friday Strike
 The General Strike of 1926 challenged government policy but failed.
 Overall the period 1921 to 1939 was marked by comparatively low incidents of industrial action
despite the 1930s being a period of hardship and unemployment for many in the traditional
industrial heartlands.

What were the key changes in industry in the interwar period?

 Much of the traditional industry was still rooted in Victorian Britain.

 Iron ore and the coal industries in Scotland, south Wales and northern England were the key heavy
industries.
 By the interwar period, they were outdated, suffered from underinvestment and could not compete
with foreign competitors.
 The 1919 Sankey Commission recommended that government ownership of mines by continued
after the war, yet mines where handed back to private ownership in 1921, wages soon fell.
 The aftermath of the Great War saw demand for textiles and shipbuilding fall as rivals stepped in to
the gap which Britain had left in the Great War and never relinquished their industrial position.
 However, the interwar period saw the rise of modern industries, such as the motor industry and
chemicals - these industries centred around the Midlands and the south east of England.
 There was also the growth of light engineering companies which produced consumer goods: These
industries used modern manufacturing techniques - unionism was weaker in these industries and
the wages were better.

What was the impact of these changes in industry?

 Many have argued about the emergence of ‘two Englands’ in this period which were differentiated
by the older and newer industries.
 They key changes with this development were –
– The older industries lost a third of their workforce - unemployment 3 million in 1932, Jarrow
 – Those industries that made electrical appliances increased their workforce by 250%.
– The service industries boomed.
– The building industry expanded by 40%.

The 1926 General Strike

 In March 1926, the Samuel Commission recommended radical restructuring of the coal industry, but
also a pay cut for miners
 Miners rejected the proposals - ‘Not a minute off the day, not a penny off the pay’
 They called for TUC support in a strike
 TUC entered talks with the government, hwever on the 2 nd May Baldwin called off talks and declared
a state of emergency
 On 3rd May 3 million workers went on strike
 However, 9 days later the general strike was over and the miners were left to strike on their own for
a further 6 months without success

Why did the strike fail?

 Not all workers were ready for a strike and did not coordinate their efforts
 The government had been preparing for the strike since 1925 - thye had created the Organisation for
the Maintenance of Supplies, a network of volunteers who stepped in to do essential jobs not done
by striking workers
 Churchill was put in charge of the government newspaper - The British Gazette - which he used to
turn public opinion against the strike, and made clear to the TUC that the government would not be
held hostage to strike action
 The TUC limited violence during the strike - which made it easier for the government to handle
 The strike was expensive for the TUC - costing £4million of its £12.5 million strike fund
 A liberal politician offered the TUC an unofficial settlement - the Samuel Memorandum - promising
and National Wage Board, wage subsidies and no wage cuts before the restructuring of mining. The
TUC accepted this and called off the strike.

The failure of the strike led to the Trade Disputes Act in 1927 which made sympathetic strikes illegal. The
TUC thus abandoned general strikes. Many men became disillusion with trade unions - TUC membership
sank to its lowest in 1932. Working-class men began to look to Labour for better solutions.

What was the impact of the Great Depression on industrial relations?

 Although unemployment never fell below one million in the interwar period – it rose to 3 million in
1932.
 Much of this was long term unemployment - in 1929 5% of unemployed had been jobless for over a
year, by 1932 this had risen to 16.4%
 Mass unemployment led to a fall of union membership by almost 50% - from 8 million in 1922 to 4.5
million in 1932.
 Against this backdrop, workers in the traditional heavy industries tended to fight harder for their
jobs and pay. This was against employers wanting to make cuts and improve productivity.
  In the middle of this the government tried to supply support for the unemployed, but did not have
the resources to do this. Also, the government tended to side with the employer in trade disputes.
 By 1939, traditional heavy industries were in terminal decline and working conditions remained
poverty stricken.

1939-1964

Pattern of employment 1939-1964

 WW2 lead to more employment opportunities like:

o Move towards full employment as Britain engaged in a ‘total war’
o More women in the workforce
o Better working condition; improved healthcare, longer hours but better wages
o Control of Employment Act - semi-skilled workers could take on skilled jobs
o Essential work order - forced people to do particular jobs, 8.5 million issued by government,
made it difficult for workers to be fired, protected and defined essential jobs
 The government’s commitment to full employment led to record low figures of unemployment in
this period
 There was particular growth in the ‘white collar’ industry because:
o People on average had higher levels of income, this fuelled more demand for ‘luxury’ goods
and services, like meals out, which created more jobs
o Government increased spending on services like health care and education, creating more
public sector jobs
o White-collar jobs were more difficult to mechanise, and so weren’t lost to technological
advances as much as ‘blue-collar’ jobs were
 Traditional industries suffered and there were huge falls in the numbers of miners and shipwrights
 Better education gave people greater mobility
 Some workers enjoyed incentives like cheap canteens, subsidised outings and social clubs

Changes in Industrial Relations

WW2  There were some strikes during the war, over wages and hours
 Bevin, a trade unionist, became Minister of Labour in 1940
o Bevin promoted working relationships between unions and management
o Bevin Boys - young British men conscripted to work in the coal mines between
1943 and 1948.
 1944 the government declared its long term responsibly for the maintenance of high
employment
 War led to inclusion of trade unionists in many government decision making bodies

Attlee  Working with unions established as part of the consensus

government  Key industries nationalised
 Trade unionist inclusion on the board of the nationalised Bank of England
 Trade Disputes Act of 1927 repealed - giving the unions more power and making
Labour more reliant on union funding
 Conservatives industrial charter 1947 shows consensus views on cooperation with the
unions and protecting labour rights

The 50s  Full employment and high trade union membership
  Growth of prosperous trade union leader like Vic Feather and Jack Jones led to a
distance between trade union members and their leaders
 There was a growth in power of shop stewards, who would call unofficial ‘wildcat’
strikes
o They wanted a greater share in consumerism
 Deteriorating relationship between the Conservatives and the TUC
o The number of strikers between 1955-1964 was double that of 1945-1950
 Growing divide between the workers and the middle class

1964-1979

Patterns in industrial relations

 No. of wildcat strikes (i.e. unofficial strikes) increased - accounting for 90% of all strike action in the 60s -
making union leadership seem weak and workers aggressive
 Growing union militancy - caused by workers whose wages fell behind inflation, many felt left out of
Britain’s increasing prosperity
 Deteriorating relationships with the unions caused by persistent strikes and stagflation - which led to
governments opposing wage restraints
 Rising unemployment - unemployment 1 million in 1972
 Tensions with the unions reach crisis point in the 70s - three day work week & winter of discontent

Wilson’s 1964-1970 government

Attitude towards unions:

– Wilson projected image of an ‘ordinary bloke’ , often smoking a pipe, to attract union support,
– Wilson attempted to have a close relationship with the unions, wanted to talk over industrial
disputes with "beer and sandwiches at Number Ten" 
– Passed Trade Disputes Act in 1965 restored certain legal immunities for TU’s
– Barbara Castles 1969 ‘In place of strife’ proposed -
o secret ballots before strikes become compulsory
o a cooling off period of 90 days could be imposed at ministerial discretion
o Fines be available for breaches of the law by union activists.
– However ‘In place of strife’ was so unpopular with the unions it was never implemented

There was a National Seamen’s strike in 1966

 The Seamen effectively wanted a pay rise of 17%, which would break with the governments voluntary
incomes policy
 The government opposes the strike, with Wilson even implying that the strikers are in league with the
Communist party
 The strikers give up, but shows clear tension between gov and unions

Heath 1970-1974 government:

Attitude towards the unions:

– Selsdon man wanted to limit the power of the unions and refuse to prop up failing industries
– 1971 Industrial Relations Act:
o Placed limits of the rights to strike
 o Insisted unions had to place themselves on a government register
o Established the National Industrial Relations Court to judge the legality of strike action
o The act failed because unions refused to comply - the unions simply refused to register and
the TUC mobilised a massive campaign of non-cooperation.

Notable strikes:

Year and event What happened Government response

1972 Nation Union of  NUM demanded a 43% pay rise  Government declared a state of emergency
Miners (NUM) strike +  Government offers 8%  The government eventually offered a 27%
3 day work week  200 000 miners went on strike pay rise
1974 NUM strike + 3  1973 oil crisis led to higher wage  Government call a 3 day work week:
day work week demands o Commercial electricity use limited
 The NUM demanded a 35% pay to three days each week.
rise o Industry worked 3 days a week
o 50mph driving limit
o Some schools close
o Television ended at 10:30 p.m.
each night.
 In 1974 - attempting to tackle the miners
head on - Health calls an election with the
slogan ‘Who governs Britain’ - he loses.

Wilson & Callaghan 1974-1979 Government

Attitude toward unions:

 Labour repealed the Industrial Relations Act and replaced it with a vague ‘Social Contract’ – a voluntary
prices and wages control agreement.
 Callaghan was determined to stick to a 5% limit to pay increases in 1978

Deteriorating relationships:

 1978 a strike at Ford leads to a 17% raise for the workers - embarrassment for the government
 3rd January oil tankers and lorry driver strike, tanker drivers quickly win a pay rise and return to work -
the lorry driver hold out for another 6 weeks. During this time they refuse to deliver goods and picket
ports to stop supplies reaching industry, shops and hospitals - in response people began to panic buy
 22nd January strikes led to the ‘winter of discontent’
- 1.5 million public sector workers went on strike (they were protesting wage freezes - a condition of
the IMF loan
- Almost all school shut, as well as museums, libraries and other public buildings
- Hospital staff went on strike and hospitals could only treat emergency patients
- Rubbish went uncollected, piling up on the streets (famous pictures of Leicester square filled with
rubbish bags)
- In Liverpool, gravediggers strike and by end of Jan 225 corpses were in storage awaiting burial
- Nearly 30 million workings days had been lost to strikes by the end of 1979
- The government accepted defeat in Feb and allowed pay increases of 10-15%

Tabloid coverage of the winter of discontent exaggerated the chaos caused by the strike and turned public
opinion firmly against the unions - 84% of the nation thought that trade unions had become too powerful.
Many now believed that the unions had to be stopped. Margaret Thatcher promised to tackle to union,
and she won the 1979 election.

Creating a Welfare State 1918-1979

Timeline

Welfare support
Pre-1918

 Poor laws - welfare aid given in form of money or necessities to those in need.
 Usually the old, the young, the sick and the poor.
 First three were seen as ‘deserving’ poor, rightly cared for by the relatives, the church, private
organisations and increasingly the state.
  Until the end of the 19th century, healthy people of working age who fell into destitution were often
seen as morally at fault - the ‘undeserving’ poor - they were housed in workhouses, where
conditions were deliberately terrible to discourage the able bodied from poverty
 The process of having to prove that you ‘deserved’ welfare was a hated, humiliating experience.

From 1908 the liberal government inaugurated a huge expansion of state-provided welfare:
 These new mechanism were open to all who qualified with no distinction between ‘deserving’ and
‘undeserving’ poor.

The 1911 National Insurance Act expanded welfare:

 Employers, employees and the government would contribute to the insurance scheme
 Provided benefits and healthcare through the funds generated
 However this scheme was only available to low paid workers earning less than £160 a year, only
applied to 6 industries when created, and did not insure workers families
1917 Ministry of Construction
• After WW1 it was largely accepted that the government had a role to play in insuring individuals had
basic security
• The Liberal government promised a ‘home fit for heroes’
• The Ministry of Reconstruction was established to build a better Britain after the wars

Interwar years

Unemployment

Unemployment was the most pressing issues for interwar governments - It was never below 1 million
between the end of the 1920s and mid- 40's (around 10% of the workforce) and peaked at over 3 million in
the early 1930's.
However there was continuous conflict between supporting the unemployed and balancing the books.
Problems with the National Insurance Scheme….
 The self-funding National insurance scheme implemented by the 1911 National Insurance Act was
undermined by the war as many of the 3.5 million returning troops were not eligible for the benefits
provided.
 This was because they had not worked in one of the specified industries or had not made sufficient
contributions.
 The wartime coalition realised that a difficult solution was developing, the national insurance
scheme would need to be redesigned and the unemployed couldn’t be left to rely on old Poor law.
‘Out-of-work donation’ 1918-20
 The short term solution, to help returning troops and civilian unemployed, was to issue dole money
but under the name ' the out of work donation' (1918-1920)
 Issued to remaining troops and then civilian unemployed until they found work.
 Was paid out of taxation/ borrowin) with no link to individual contributions
  It was meant to be temporary, it set 2 important precedents
 The government accepted the duty to adequately support unemployed, regardless of insurance
contributions.
 It provided more money for family dependents
1920 Unemployment Insurance Act
 Unemployed Insurance Act was developed to offer a longer-term solution and cover those not
employed by the National Insurance Act
 2/3 workers were eligible to claim insurance
 The act was passed in the 1920's just as the effect of the post war slump were setting in.
 Rather than creating a self-funding system, the greater number of eligible claimants quickly drained
the accumulated funds.
 By 1921 the government was forced to make 'extended' or 'uncovenanted' payments; these were
meant to be paid for through worker contributions from future employment were dole payments
disguised as insurance.
 They made this law as the Poor law could not cope with the scale of the problem and ministers
feared a revolution if the unemployed were not supported.
 Government already pressured, 2.4 million workers had taken part in strikes over pay and conditions
in 1919.
 Attempts were made to limit the expense, a seeking work test was implemented March 1921
 By March 1930, 3 million claims had been rejected because of the test.
1929 Local Government Act
 The local government act said that county and borough council had to set up Public Assistance
committees (PAC's).
 They were central funded and replace the poor law guardians who had administered funds under
the old poor law.
 In response to the financial crisis of 1931, the PAC's were given the power to administer means test
to claimants
 Their combined household income was thoroughly investigated to judge eligibility for dole
payments.
 The means test was hated as it was seen as an invasion of privacy and unfair, as some PAC's were
more stringent than others.
1934 Unemployment Act
 The unemployment act separated the treatment of insurable from long-term employment.
 Part 1 of the act provided 26 weeks of benefit payments to the 14.5 million workers who had paid
into the scheme
 Part 2 created a national Unemployment Assistance Board (UAB) to help those with no entitlement
to insurance benefits.
 By 1937 the UAB had assisted 1 million people on a national means-tested basis.
 By this point the Poor Law provisions shrunk to just a few groups not covered by the UAB; these
included widows who could not yet claim a pension and deserted wives.
HOWEVER….
 The government had not been able to solve unemployment largely because the prevailing wisdom of
retrenchment (spending cuts and tax rises) could not stimulate economic growth.
 It was only when huge state spending was poured into rearmament after 1936 that persistent
unemployment was finally tackled.

Pensions
1908 Pensions Act
  State pensions were introduced
 It was hugely popular with the eligible over -70's
 There were criticisms that they were means-tested and did not support the widows and children of
the deceased.

1925 Widows’, Orphans' and Old Age Contributory pensions act.

 Brought in by Neville Chamberlain- minister for health
 Addressed criticisms of the 1908 Pensions Act
 Provided a pension of 10 shillings a week for those aged 65-70 and provided for widows, their
children and orphans.
 It was funded by a compulsory contribution rather than taxation
 This was initially unpopular with the Labour party, they felt it unfairly penalised the poor
 Tough economic conditions and an aging population led to it general acceptance
 Self-employed workers of both sexes were allowed to join the scheme in 1937

Housing
Why was reform needed?
 Local and national governments made efforts to improve housing since the mid-Victorian era.
 Concern that slums promoted crime and disease.
 Lots of slum clearances took place before 1918
 Major improvements in urban living standards were achieved by the introduction of mains water
and sewage to homes.
 As late as 1899, only a quarter of houses in Manchester had flushing toilets compare to the 98% by
1914.
 Government had promised returning troops ' a home fit for heroes'.

1919 Housing and Town Planning Act

 The 1919 Housing and Town Planning Act aimed to empower local authorities to use central
government funds to meet housing needs
 It was estimated that over 600,000 houses would have to be built to meet demand
 Only 213,000 were actually constructed before the onset of the recession lead to the 'Geddes axe'
(1922 Geddes axe led to cuts in spending on education, pensions, unemployment benefit housing
and health from £206 million to £182 million. also prompted cuts in defence)
 As a result the housing shortage grew worse with an estimated shortfall of 822,000 houses in 1923.
 A consequence of this was young married couples living with their parents

Conservative and Labour Housing Acts 1923 and 1924, Labour Housing Act 1930
 Conservative and Labour Housing acts in 1923 and 1924 respectively sought to use subsidies to
encourage the construction of private and state-owned housing.
 These and the further Labour housing act in 1930 promoted a great deal of house building between
1919 and 1940.
 Four million homes were built in total, with one million built by the public sector.
 The 1930 Act used state funds to rehouse people living in overcrowded cities; most were built in
large cities.
 Between 1924 and 1939, 20 'cottage estates' were created on the outskirts of London. These were
new suburbs connected the centre by rail.
 While the quality of housing was much improved some projects were not properly thought through.
 At the huge Becontree estate (25,800 houses and flats) a lack of local jobs nearly led to disaster,
which was only avoided thanks to the construction of a new ford car factory nearby in 1931.
  With the new homes came not only indoor plumbing and gardens but also increased demand for
domestic goods such as new furniture, which further stimulated the economy and helped raise the
average standard of living

Impact of WW2

The impact of the Second World War, the Labour Gov

The impact of total war on social welfare:
 WW2 lead to wide consensus that welfare provision needed a radical overhaul
 A political will developed to iron out the unfairness and inconsistency of the system
 There were several reasons for this shift in attitudes among politicians and the general public:
o A total war, which affected all, had prompted total solutions such as universal rationing and
the provision of communal bomb shelters; the success of which gave a boost to Universalist
as opposed to selective solutions.
o The sacrifices made during the war lead to the public expecting a just reward. There was
several discussions of the fair shares that should continue into peacetimes.
o The evacuation of city children to the countryside openly showed the extent of the poverty.
This contributed to the acceptance of the need for change.
o The success of a state directed war economy increased political and popular belief in the
political state intervention to improve peoples' lives after the war.
o The war forced government to borrow and spend large sums of money in pursuit of victory.
Keynes’s economic views had been proved to work
o The war forced a wartime government and led to a greater deal of co-operation over war-
time policy. White papers of 1944 was the basis of the 1946 National Insurance Act, helped
to promote conservative acceptance of act.
The Beveridge report (December 1942)
William Beveridge was a liberal politician with an interest in social reform. In June 1941 he was appointed to
head government committee to investigate welfare provisions and recommend improvements.

Why was the report set up?

 Set up on Churchill's request
 Partly to predict future developments
 Conservatives did not want a repeat of their broken promise of a ‘home fit for heroes’ after WW1
 Clear feeling the war being fought to deliver a better world and a more systematic, inclusive welfare
system was fundamental.

Aims of the Beveridge report:

 Protection for all ‘from the cradle to the grave’.
 Tackle the five giants of
- Want (through national insurance)
- Disease (through the NHS)
- Ignorance (through better education)
- Squalor (by rehousing)
- Idleness (through the maintenance of full employment).
 Beveridge wanted the provision of the state welfare to be centralised, regulated and systematically
organised.
  State welfare should be funded entirely by a compulsory single insurance payment- Beveridge did
not anticipate extra government spending on welfare and under his scheme wanted to avoid any
'means-tested' assistance payments and the rise of the santa clause state (given everything for
nothing) as a liberal he didn’t want the system to incentivise dependence on the state.
Although his findings were not new, his report drew together the many findings that had taken place and
presented them as a coherent, consolidated programme for post-war reconstruction.

The report was extremely popular:

 635 000 copies were sold
 Popularity also explained by timing; winning the war made these prospects seem realistic and
achievable. 
 Copies were even dropped over Germany to encourage the civilian population to demand peace.

The Atlee government

The labour party won the 1945 election with the slogan ‘let’s face the future’. They promised to implement
the recommendations of the Beveridge report and introduce a welfare state in Britain.

Acts of Parliament that laid the foundations for the Welfare State.

Date of Name of Act Objective

Act
1944 The Education Act
(AKA Butler Act)
1945 Family Allowances Act
1946 National Insurance Act
Compulsory free education. Introduced tripartite system; after
selection by exam aged 11, children were sent to either a
grammar, modern or technical school.
Provided weekly payments for every child after the first. Money
was paid directly to the mother. By 1949 88% of those entitled to
family allowance had applied for it.
Created a compulsory system to help pay for pensions and
benefits for the unemployed.  Payments made by the employer,
employee and government. Payments would be made in times of
sickness, unemployment, maternity expenses, widowhood and
retirement. The ‘Family guide to National Insurance’ was a
free leaflet that was sent to 14 million homes to encourage
them to be insured. 

1946 National Health Service Act Brought the whole population into a scheme of free medical and
hospital treatment.
1946 The Industrial Injuries Act Provided cover for accidents that happened at work

1948 National Assistance Act Set up boards to deal with hardship and poverty. This new board
did not have a vigorous form of means-testing and so was
popular.

Other changes:

HOUSING
- 700,000 homes been destroyed in the war
 - 230,000 houses were built a year by 1948 (however 240,000 were needed to eliminate
homelessness)
- 1945-51 1 million homes were built.
- 4 in every 5 homes were built by the state. - Policies o
- Pre-fabricated homes were a key focus for speed - around 150,000 prefabs were built.
- Licences to produce homes were limited in order to achieve quality.
- 1946 New Towns act created new towns, moving people out of overcrowded cities.

NATIONALISATION
- Between 1946 and 49 – coal, civil aviation, cable, wireless, the Bank of England, road transport,
electricity, gas, railways, iron and steel, were all nationalised.
EDUCATION
- 900 primary schools built (for baby boom)
- Only 250 secondary schools
- School leaving age raised to 15

Issues with the welfare state

 The BMA were initially opposed to the creation of the NHS, it took Bevan persistence and ‘stuffing
their mouths with gold’ to get doctors to agree to work for the NHS
 NHS costs rose year on year instead of decreasing - 1949 The Health budget was £597 billion, or
4.1% or GDP
 The welfare state was expensive - Labour had rejected Beveridge’s call for welfare payments to be
funded solely through insurance
 Nationalisation meant the government now had to bear the costs of failing industries

Challenges to the welfare state 1964-1979

Changes to welfare
 1959 National Insurance Act - introduced a top up scheme based on earnings
 1971 Family Income Support Program - provided family allowance for the first child
 1975 Social Security Act

Rising costs of welfare

 Cost of unemployment benefits rose from 0.6% of GDP in 1939 to 8.8% in 1980
 Baby booms in the late 50s and 60s - 900 000 births per year - meant higher care and education
costs for children
 Increase in average life expectancy between 1940 and 1970 (from 64 to 74 for women and 59 to 69
for men) meant a larger burden on the welfare state
 New social groups not covered by the Beveridge report emerged like low-wage earning families and
single parent families
 Higher living standards prompted demands for a higher minimum standard of life for the poor - with
absolute poverty tackled, people focused on how relative poverty could be eased
 Growing size of the welfare state (by end of 70s welfare spending equated to around 6.5% of GDP)
required ever more beurocracy to make it work

Increased criticisms of welfare

 While spending on welfare increased just as much under Conservative governments as under
Labour, criticisms of the welfare state emerged from the right during the 70s
  Margaret Thatcher was a key critic of the welfare state, she feared benefit payments created a
poverty trap and encouraged dependence on the state
 Many also felt that the welfare-state was unsustainable with the poor state of the economy, and
commitment to full employment was fuelling inflation
 On the other hand the left were angry about the persistence of privilege in healthcare and
education, attacked welfare as inadequate and thought more should be done to combat relative
poverty.

Healthcare
Pre 1918

Before 1911
 Access to healthcare depended on wealth - wealthy could afford healthcare whilst the poor couldn’t
and often became very ill after using ineffective self-medication
 Workhouse infirmaries could treat the poor, however if these did not exist than the poor had to rely
on friendly societies
 Friendly societies offered some affordable health insurance schemes. They would take a small
regular payment and then pay a lump sum when people needed financial help - friendly societies
were unregulated and non-compulsory and could go bankrupt
 If a friendly society collapse than the poor would be left without any health care options
1911 National Insurance Act
 Introduced by the Liberal Government
 Compulsory health insurance for low paid workers earning under £160 a year
 Employer, employee and government paid into the scheme, which provided free medical treatment
and sick pay
 However in 1911 this Act only covered 6 industries, and would not covers worker’s families (women
and children were the most vulnerable and had least access to healthcare

The Interwar years

How did a consensus develop over healthcare in the interwar years?

 A growing idea was that government should play a leading role in healthcare provision and
investment should be made in medical advances building upon the progress made in the nineteenth
century.
 Government should also develop a network of hospitals and rationing healthcare.
 Although there was disagreement and debate about the extent of government intervention, there
was a broad agreement that government spending and co-ordination of healthcare provision was
critically important.

1919 Ministry of Health

 War recruitment uncovered poor standard of health - 40% of men declared unfit for combat
 The Ministry of Health was established to coordinate healthcare
 However the ministry lacked the authority and political will to drastically reform the healthcare
system
 Medical services like the School Medical Service and the Factory Health Inspectorate were still
controlled by other authorities
Insurance Companies
  After WW1 there was a growth of large insurance companies, who managed around 75% of health
insurance
 A lot of this came through the state due to the 1911
 ‘Approved Societies’ would collect subscriptions and pay costs - by 1937 18 million workers were
covered by state health insurance - by 1938 43% of the population was insured
 However widows, wives and children of workers were still not insured by the 1911 National
Insurance Act, they were reliant on family, local community (friendly societies) or a sympathetic GP

Access to GP’s
 GP’s were the first resort for medical care
 Patients had to pay for consultation and for medicine
 This meant that GP’s were unevenly distributed, with more working in wealthier areas
 The poor would only go to GP’s as a last resort, and altruistic GP’s would often offer their services at
lower costs to those seriously in need
 When the NHS was finally launched, many doctors were shocked to find poorer patients had been
putting up with medical issues such as rotting teeth and untreated hernias, due to their inability to
afford treatment.

Hospital treatment
 The best hospitals were teaching hospital - there were only 12 in London and 10 in provinces - they
relied on wealthy donations
 Voluntary hospitals were smaller and less financially secure, by the end of the 1930’s most were in
deep financial trouble- there were 1,100 of these hospitals

What did the Local Government Act of 1929 do to support healthcare?

 The Local Government Act of 1929 passed –
 Poor Law Hospitals were now in the hands of local government who convert them into local
hospitals.
 Local government was now responsible for running key healthcare services, such as dentistry and
schools’ medical services.
 This Act made local government responsible for co-ordinating healthcare provision.

How did healthcare provision expand after the Local Government Act?
 Various forms of hospital care developed, such as specialist teaching hospitals. The state became
more involved in healthcare - by 1938 England and Wales provided 75 000 general hospital beds
 GPs or ‘Panel Doctors’ treated more people through the National Insurance Scheme - by 1938 43%
of the population was insured
 However, less than half the population were insured against illness and many relied upon traditional
remedies and over the counter medicines.
 However, healthcare was improving – a key indicator, infant mortality rates were falling although
maternal mortality rates remained high in working class areas.
 By 1939, more groups, such as writers for The Lancet, were advocating a national health service.

Impact of WW2

What was the impact of the Second World War on healthcare provision?
 The Second World War helped to create a consensus on healthcare reform which was underpinned
by the introduction of a national emergency healthcare system introduced to treat casualties from
the Blitz.
  The Emergency Medical Service was established in 1939 to provide first aid for air raid casualties and
to dictate to hospitals health provision - but it was later used to treat civilians and evacuated
children. By the end of the war a 62 page booklet was needed to define who was eligible for
treatment.
 It allowed for resources to be pooled and saw a changing attitude in the medical profession who
previously wanted to stay independent of the government who were persuaded by government
funding for resources and wages.
 The Emergency Medical Service provided the blueprint for the National Health Service established
after the war.
 The National Blood transfusion service was also created
 The 1942 Beveridge Report called for a National Health Service, and in 1944 the government
presented the White Paper A National Health Service which called for a ‘comprehensive’ and ‘free of
charge’ medical service in Britain

The Creation of the NHS

After Labour’s landslide victory in 1945 Prime Minister Atlee was determined to fulfil his promise to establish
a National Health Service, and he appointed Aneurin Bevan as Minister for Health to carry out this task.

Aneurin Bevan

o Born into a mining family from South Wales, left school at 13 to work in a coal mine
o Became Minister for Health in the Atlee government
o Bevan aimed to create a centrally run system, funded through taxes and not insurance, that would
provide free healthcare to all - his success in achieving these aims was by no means easy.

The 1946 National Health Service Act - established a far more coordinated, centralised system (voluntary
hospital were nationalised and The Approved Societies forced to rely on private clients)

Opposition to the NHS

o The Conservatives
 The Tories voted against the formation of the NHS 21 times before the act was passed - they
were against state control
 Terms like “medical Gestapo” and “medical fuhrer” were bandied about by some of the most
Conservative members of the British Medical Association and their political allies.
 Bevan attacked the Tories for opposing the NHS, stating that they were ‘lower than vermin’ in a
speech
o The local authorities
 Didn’t want to lose control of their hospitals
o The BMA
 Main opposition to the NHS came from the doctors, represented by the BMA
 The BMA argued that working for the state would undermined their clinical independence, and
doctor’s feared becoming civil servants of the state (though in reality doctors were probably
more concerned about lost income)
 In February 1948, 90% of the BMA voted against working within the NHS.
 However they found themselves out of step with the majority of the British public - 5 weeks
after the launch of an NHS publicity campaign, 75% of British citizens had registered with the
NHS.
  Bevan overcame the doctors’ opposition by granting them a fee for each patient, and allowing
them to retain private patients - a tactic he angrily referred to as ‘stuffing their mouths with
gold’
 Eventually doctors gave in, with 90% of doctors joining the NHS in July 1948, just one month
before the launch date.

Healthcare 1951-1979

A Heathy Change?
 The NHS also allowed many Britons to take advantage in improved methods of combating disease
through research into new techniques, vaccinations and medicines.
 In the first 10 years of the NHS, new antibiotic drugs developed in the US cuased the number of deaths
from tuberculosis to fall from 25 000 to 5000 a year
 Mass immunisation programmes launched in 1958 led to a huge drop in cases of polio and diphtheria -
polio, as disease which had previously effected up to 8,000 people in epidemic years, was eradicated by
1984.
 There was a 90% drop in cases of whooping cough by 1970 and syphilis was almost completely
eradicated by the early 1990s.
 A MMR vaccine was also developed (in the US) in 1971, and has been offered for free by the NHS since
1988.
 Many of these diseases had particularly affected children, and the treatments offered by the NHS
contributed to a fall in child mortality rates (in 1926 1-14 year olds made up 10% of all deaths, by 1951
this figure had fallen to 1.5%).
 Improved midwifery also lead maternal deaths in childbirth to fall from 1 per 1000 in 1949 to 0.18 per
1000 in 1970.
 Increased funding led to better healthcare provision: Over 300 inadequate cottage hospital were closed
in the 60’s and new centres of excellence -with close ties to universities - were founded, as well as new
district general hospitals for larger towns.
 These changes contributed to an increased life expectancy: 66 in 1950 to 70 in 1979 for men, 71 in 1950
to 75 in 1979 for women. Life expectancy way higher in Britain than in other developed countries like
West-Germany and France
 However, increased life expectancy led to an increase in diseases associated with old age; rates of heart
disease and cancer increased throughout the 50’s and 60’s, and arthritis continued to be a huge
problem, affecting 200,000 men and 700,000 women in 1970.

Rising Costs
 Both Beveridge and Bevan had expected the cost of healthcare to fall after 1948; they reasoned that
people would get healthier, and preventative medicine would reduce cases of serious illness, and so
dependence on the NHS would fall.
 However, their estimates proved to be fundamentally incorrect; from 1950-1970 the cost of the NHS
increased from 4.1% of GNP to 4.8%.
 Advances in medical science lead to an increase in treatments available, which increased the cost of
healthcare - in 1948, there was only 1 antibiotic available, by 1968 there were 33
 As a result of increased costs, the government were forced to introduce charges for spectacles and
dentures in 1951, and prescription charges in 1952. These decisions cause an acrimonious split in the
Labour party, and Bevan and his supporters resigned.
 People also came to depend on the NHS in a way that Bevan had hoped to avoid - ‘dandruff syndrome’
soon emerged, where people took up valuable time and resources to complain about trivial problems,
like dandruff.
 The tripartite division of healthcare between GP, hospital specialist and public health authority also
made it difficult to effectively coordinate the healthcare system - a move which would save costs.
 The number of staff employed by the NHS doubled between 1948 and 1979 (from 500 000 to 1 million)

Medical Advances
 In 1953 the structure of DNA was uncovered by two British scientists, allowing for new research into
genetic disorders.
 The first kidney transplant took place in 1960 (although demand for transplants quickly outstripped
supply)
 In 1961 the contraceptive pill was introduced, a move that proved to be very popular - by 1962 100,000
women were on the pill, and by 1967 this number had increased to 1 million
 The first full hip replacement happened in 1962
 Britain’s first heart transplant occurred in 1968 (although due to complications with the procedure on 6
more were carried out over the next decade)
 In 1967 The Abortion Act was passed, making abortion legal up to 28 weeks.
 CT scanning was invented in 1972 and also quickly became part of standard NHS equipment, continuing
to improve patient care but also costs.

Education
Early 20th Century

 Provision for formal education only became compulsory in England and Wales in 1880 for 5-10 year
olds
 Previously where schools had existed they had been provided by the church, charities and private
foundations
 The state began providing some funding to ‘fill the gaps’ from 1870 onwards, including new ‘board
schools’ (basically state schools)
 Private grammar schools and prestigious public schools prepared boys for uni
 Most schools only provided primary education

1902 Education Act

 Created a Board of Education
 School boards where made into LEAs which had the power to fund education other than elementary
(secondary, technical schools, teacher training colleges etc.)
 The act produced a surge forward in secondary education
 In 1907 the Board of Education offered grants to 1,000 grammar schools in return for allocating 25%
of places to non-fee students who passed an exam
 However by 1914 only 56 out of every 1000 elementary school students gained a place

1918 ‘Fisher’ Education Act

 The act aimed to widen access to education by:
– Increasing the school leaving age to 14
 – Providing nursery school to toddlers and ‘contribution schools’ for new workers aged 14+ to
continue their studies 1 day a week
– Scrapping fees for elementary education
 The Act also punished those who employed school children and provided free, compulsory health
checks for secondary pupils
 However few nursery & contribution schools were actually provided due to the Geddes Axe cuts in
1922, which slashed education spending by 1/3

1926 Hadow Report

 R.H. Tawney was a big campaigner for secondary education in the interwar years - he
influenced Labour’s 1922 Secondary Education for All
 Tawney was also consulted by the committee which produced the Hadow Report
 Recommended elementary schools be replaced with primary schools for ages 5-11 (this meant there
would have to be new school for those who had previously only stayed on till 14)
 Recommended school leaving age by raised to 15
 Recommended divided secondary schools into grammar and modern
 A later education report in 1938 recommended the tripartite system and an end to fees in state
schools
 Overall - a great achievement in principle as it recognised that the entire population (not just the
children of the privileged) where entitled to some free education beyond an elementary level. Also
influenced Butler - who’s ideas in 1944 were not orginial but were inherited from a powerful post-
war reform moment.
 BUT - Nothing was done to act on the report until the 1944 Butler Act. By 1938 just under half (45%)
of Secondary school places where free, the education system reflected the class system, with most
working class leaving after elementary, the lower-middle class occupying the state secondarys and
the privileged upper class attending grammar or public schools.


40’s onwards

1944 Butler Education Act

 Aimed to tackle the giant of ‘ignorance’
 School leaving age increased to 15 in 1947
 Secondary education made free and universal
 Education would follow the tripartite model; pupils would take the 11+ exam and their results would
determine whether they went to a grammar, secondary modern or secondary technical school
o Technical schools specialised in mechanical and technical education, very few of these
schools were established because they were costly to run and only 5% of students attended
these schools
o Modern schools gave a general education. 70% of students went to these schools. Students
would normally leave these schools at 15 with a Certificate of Education.
o Grammar schools provided a highly academic education, they were usually single-sex. 20%
of pupils went to grammar schools. Most stayed until 16 to take O-level exams, some then
took A-levels and some then went on to university.
 The authors of the act hoped there would be ‘parity of esteem’ between pupils of the different types
of school
  In reality, grammar schools had 3x the resources of secondary moderns, and the 11+ came to be
seen as a pass/fail test, with those who did not ‘pass’ condemned to inferior education at a
secondary modern.
 Furthermore Butler failed to take the opportunity to bring public schools under state control -
creating a lasting class divide between state/public schools that persists to this day

The Crosland Circular 1965

 Between 1960 and 1979 there was large debate on whether comprehensive schools should replace
the tripartite system (often ironically referred to as the tripartheid system) as a fairer and more
equal form of education
 By 1964 10% of all pupils were educated in comprehensive schools, which accepted pupils of all
abilities
 In 1965 Labour Education Secretary Anthony Crosland issued a document, known as the Crosland
Circular, calling for universal comprehensive education
 In 1966 the government issues a document stating that funding for schools would only go to LEA’s
that adopted comprehensive reform
 The argument for comprehensive schools was popular with teachers unions and middle-class
parents
 By 1979 90% of students were educated at comprehensive schools

Arguments for comprehensive education Arguments against comprehensive education

• Grammar schools had 3x the resources of
secondary modern schools. This did not promote
‘parity’ as promised in the 1944 Education Act.
• In the 1960s many secondary modern schools
were already run-down. Comprehensive reform
would help many children to avoid these poor
schools
• Pupils who failed the 11-plus were condemned
to a life of fewer opportunities: only two percent
of those who failed the exam were still in school
at the age of 17
• The 11-plus favoured middle-class children over
working-class children: very few children from
working class areas passed the exam
• The majority of the public wanted to scrap the
11+
• Many grammar schools were excellent and produced
highly successful students
• Grammar schools were seen as a precious opportunity
for social advancement by many working class families
with bright children
• In 1975, the government forced direct grant grammar
schools to go comprehensive. Many went independent
instead; free placed were removed and poorer local
parents could not afford the fees
• The rise of more private schools in place of grammar
schools led to a system that promotes less social
equality
• The majority of the public wanted to keep grammar
schools

The 1967 Plowden Report

The 1967 Plowden Report was a report on primary schools that promoted more liberal teaching methods
and progressive reforms like:
• A large programme of nursery school building
• More project-based work in primary schools, rather than teacher led activities
• A focus on learning through play in the early years of teaching
• The teaching of grammar and punctuation was seen as a hindrance to creativity and a threat to progress
Some schools took these liberal reforms to extremes, a move which worried parents:
• Schools introduced relaxed discipline, no uniform and teachers were to be called by their first names
• In the William Tyndale Junior School in north London, pupils could choose which classes to attend and
could watch television or play table tennis if they didn’t feel like studying
• Some secondary schools also began adopting the recommendations of the Plowden report
• Parents became worried about ‘trendy teachers’ and a lack of discipline in schools

Other important reform:

• CSE - only 20% of student took O-levels, the rest left school with no qualifications. The CSE was
introduced in 1965 and students would be streamed into CSE of O-level classes. Though the CSE was
seen as an inferior qualification, it offered more subjects and meant student left with some form of
qualification.
• The 1973 Education Act - raised the school leaving age to 16 and allow LEAs to set up work experience in
place of lessons for final-year student, this helped students gain employment in the tough economic
climate of the 70s
• More students went to university - this was a result of extra government funding to boost the number
of placed at new universities. Some universities dropped the requirement for applicants to have O-level
Latin, thereby increasing application from comprehensive schools

University 1918-1979

Before the Robbins Committee report

• Rising number of secondary school pupils and the growing government recognition of the economic
value of education led to the growth of university education in Britain
• Government funding for universities had increased from £1 million in 1919 to over £80 million in
1962
• Between 1920 and 1950 the proportion of university costs met by students fees fell from 1/3 rd to
1/8th as bursaries became more commonplace
• In 1962 local authorities were compelled to give an allowance or ‘grant’ to enable students to
concentrate on their studies
• The increase in student numbers received a major boost after WW2; the 1900 there were around 20
000 student, this rose to 38 000 in 1938 and 113 000 in 1962
• Oxford and Cambridge dominated university education: In 1939 they educated 22% of students
• Universities tended to cater more to classics and arts, then to science
• The University of London grew hugely in the 20 th century: it had 13 000 students in 1939 and 23 000
in 1963
• London increasingly specialised in STEM subjects
• Some smaller universities founded by larger ones became fully independent (Reading, Nottingham)
• However university was still out of reach for the vast majourity of people; the proportion of 18-21
years olds at university only increased from 0.8% to 4% between 1900 and 1962 - in contrast in the
US 50% of that age group went to university
• Only 13% of students at Oxbridge were female

The Robbins Report 1963

 • Made as the baby-boomer generation was approaching the end of secondary education
• Report recommended:
– A universal national grant be provided to all students with a university place
– There should be a large increase in state funding to increase the number of university places
• The advice was acted upon
• Between 1962 and 1970 the number of universities increased from 22 to 46
• In 1964 Labour created the CNAA, which allowed non-universities to award degrees: 34 technology
colleges elevated their status to polytechnics which offered vocational degrees (although these
degrees were seen as inferior)
• The CNAA also enabled the launch of the Open University in 1969; mainly aimed at adults. The Open
University broadcast lectures on the TV in the morning or evening, therefore it was able to attract
students from very difference backgrounds, teaching more women, more adults and more students
from poor backgrounds than other unis. By the 1980s it was awarding more degrees than Oxbridge,
and DOminic Sandbrook calls it ‘one of the most popular and successful legacies of the 60s’
• Between 1970 and 1983 the number of students increased from 185 000 to 237 000 (however this
was still far lower than other industrial nations)
• Better access to university education increased social mobility and resulted in a more highly
educated workforce - the number of people who could demand higher salaries for skilled work
increased
• There was also less pressure to leave school at a young age

Society in transition
Changes in class
The Upper Class

Features of the upper class:

 Hugely wealthy
 Owned vast amounts of land
 Privately educated in schools like Eton
 Had and exciting social calendar, called ‘the Season’
o The season was divided between country pursuits (hunting, shooting) from autumn to spring
and a series of sporting and cultural events largely based in London during the summer months.
o The London Season began with the presentation of aristocratic daughters of marriageable age to
the monarch at the ‘debutantes ball’
o Debutantes ball was ended in 1958
 Attended events like badminton horse trials, horse-racing at Royal Ascot, rowing at Henley, sailing at
Cowes which would also be attended by the royal family - these events gave the upper class a clear
sense of identity

Changes to the upper class and causes:

WWI  Took a disproportionately heavy toll on the upper class; while 12.9 % of all men in the
army died, 20.7% of all Old Etonians died - this was largely because they often served
 as officers, who had a higher mortality rate
 Cost of war led to huge increases in income tax and death duties; estates worth over 2
million were subject to a 40% increase duty, tax on incomes over £2500 rose from 2%
in 1914 to 57% in 1925, death duties were continually increased
 This put financial pressure on the upper class, and made it harder for them to pay for
their country estates
 The gentry sold off a lot of land; ¼ of all land in England was sold off between 1918-
1920
Rise of Labour  The rise of the Labour Party accelerated the decline of the landed-elite power in the
House of Commons - this was because Labour MP’s were more middle/working class
 While wealthy landowners made up 40% of MP’s in 1910, this had fallen to around 5%
by 1945
House of Lords  Parliament Act of 1911 meant the Lords could only delay, rather than block, legislation
 From 1958 onwards, hereditary peers were increasingly replaced by politically
nominated ‘life-peers’
 In 1910, 39 out of 43 Lord Lieutenants had been aristocrats, by 1970 this figure had
fallen to 15 out of 46
 However rise of the new upper class (defined more by wealth than ancestry) meant
there was no real decline in elite dominance of politics before 1951 - Macmillan’s
government had 40 Old Etonian cabinet members
Rise of Satire  Rise of satire in the 60s and 70s undermined deference (unquestioned respect of
Establishment figures)
National Trust  Many country houses were bought or donated to the National Trust
 1937 Country Houses scheme allowed families to live in their stately homes rent-free
for two generations if they transferred ownership to the National Trust and opened the
house to the public for at least 60 days a year
 Millions of Britons paid to visit these homes - helping to preserve the landed elite
 The country house lifestyle remained the ultimate goal for most rich Britons

The Middle Class

Features of the middle class:

 Not upper class, not lower class

 Low-middle class distinguished themselves from the working class through their cultural and leisure
pursuits - they saw themselves as upright, moral people, often looked down on the working-class
 After WW1 a £250 annual salary was considered middle-class
 Home ownership became a defining characteristic of the middle class

Changes to the middle class and causes

WWI  Immediately after the war the middle class feared the distinction between them and
the working class was being eroded
 There was a (false) perception that working-class wages were increasing while middle
class incomes stagnated
 Wartime inflation contributed to this fear due to its impact on middle-class savings and
incomes: something that cost £100 in 1914 would cost £276 in November 1920
 Middle class (unfairly) blamed the increased strength of trade unions for pushing up
wages and prices - in reality inflation had more to do with the strains and increased
costs of a wartime economy
Rise of middle  WW1 spurred middle class employment; 34% growth in commercial and financial jobs
class jobs between 1911 and 1921
 Growth of respectable jobs in science, technology and engineering, the rise of salaried
jobs in management and administration (from 700 000 in 1931 to 1.25 million in 1951),
and the expansion of clerking jobs for women (from 170 000 in 1911 to 1.4 million in
1951) drove middle-class expansion.
 Workers in such jobs saw themselves as modern, progressive and financially
responsible
Home  Home ownership became a defining feature of middle class status
Ownership  Interwar contemporaries spoke of a ‘new middle class’ who had bought homes since
1920.
 By 1939, 60% of middle class were home-owners, compared to 20% of the working
class
 The suburban lifestyle and the geographical separation of men from their place of work
also came to define the middle class

The Working Class

Features of the working class:

 Comprised of skilled workers, unskilled labourers and criminals (the residuum)

 Did manual jobs, often with irregular wages

Changes to the working class and causes:

WW1  Smaller percentage of working class fought in the war - partly due to the number of
‘reserved occupations’, such as coal miners, whose Labour was deemed essential to
the war effort, and partly due to the poor health of the working class - in 1918 31.3% of
men were classed as too sickly for combat
 Rationing helped improve working class health - average life expectancy rose by 7
years for both men and women between 1911 and 1921
 ‘Home fit for heroes’ never materialised
Trade Unions  Between 1915 and 1918 trade union membership rose from 4.3 million to 8.3 million
 Trade unions suffered loss of membership in the interwar years, but gained power
again after WW2
 Trade unions protected the wages and rights of the working class (although only the
ones who had jobs), and aided the rise of the Labour party
WW2  WW2 united the British population under a total war - which led to a greater sense of
unity and equality among the population.
 The evacuation of young, often poor city children to the countryside led to a greater
degree of sympathy for the poverty endured by the working class.
 The war also restored traditional working class industries (in steel, coal, textiles) to full
employment, while maintaining these industries with post war nationalisation under
Attlee’s government.
Welfare State  Atlees government also saw the introduction of a great number of welfare reforms.
 The 1946 Industrial Injuries act provided cover for people who were injured at work,
which greatly aided working class miners
 The introduction of free universal healthcare in 1948 allowed the British population
comprehensive and effective healthcare, which arguable had the most benefit for the
working class, who previously had not been able to afford high quality care.
  However many working class families still lived in poor, slum conditions until well into
the 50s, and those in new housing often felt isolated.
50s and 60s  Working class were able to take advantage of mass leisure activities in the 50s and 60s
Consumerism  Dissolved class boundaries between the working and middle class

The Growth of the Permissive Society 1951-1979

Liberal laws

Obscene Publications Act - This Act allowed ‘serious works of art’ to use ‘obscene’ words and imagery -
1959
the Act recognised a greater public openness to sexual imagery, but only at an elite level - it was only in
1977 that the law was extended to include films

1961 Suicide Act - decriminalized the act of suicide in England and Wales so that those who failed in the
attempt to kill themselves would no longer be prosecuted

1965Murder (abolition of the Death Penalty) Act - Abolished the death penalty - the last person to be hanged in
Britain was Ruth Ellis in 1955. Passed because a majority of MPs had eventually been convinced by a long
campaign carried out by politicians - the majority of the British public remained in favour of capital
punishment

1967Sexual offences Act - decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men over the age of 21.
Support for the law grew not because homosexuality was being accepted, but because many saw being gay
as an illness, which undermined the view that it should be a punishable crime.

1967 Abortion Act - legalised abortions and provided them through the NHS. The Act was introduced by
David Steel. During the debate Steel focused on the high number of deaths and injuries that resulted from
dangerous ‘back street’ abortions (roughly 40 death in 1966) rather than the moral issue of abortion.

Family Planning Act - Made the pill available on the NHS

1967
1968
 Theatres Act - abolished censorship in the theatre, allowed the British Board of Film Directors to allow the
screening of some films with sexual content before 1977.

1969 Divorce Reform Act - allowed couples to divorce after they had been separated for two years (or five years if
only one of them wanted a divorce). A marriage could be ended if it had irretrievably broken down,
and neither partner no longer had to prove "fault"

Why the laws weren’t necessarily evidence of a more liberal society:

o Demand for these laws came not from the people but from MP’s - Roy Jenkins supported many
liberal reforms
o Often these laws were the result of long campaigns that had existed far before the ‘swinging 60s’ -
pressure for reform of the laws on homosexuality went back as far as 1890
o Often these laws went against the views of the British public - the majority of people remained in
favour of capital punishment after the 1965 Murder Act, and support for it even grew during the mid
1960s, due to public horror at the crimes of the Moors Murderers (Hindley and Brady). In 1945, just
over 60% had favoured the death penalty, but this had risen to 70% by 1970
o These laws were often passed due to the impractical consequences of current legislation, rather
than due to moral issues - e.g. Abortion Act passed to limit number of deaths/injuries due to
backstreet abortions

A more sexual society?

Did Britain experience more liberal attitudes toward sex, marriage and divorce between 1951-79?

Evidence For Evidence Against

 WW2 undermined traditional values by
seperating husbands and wives, promoting
sex outside marriage and encouraging
divorce - divorces peaked in 1947
 A number of post-war books helped
promote more liberal attitudes towards
sexuality
 The pill was introduced in 1961 and 1
million women used it by 1967. Meanwhile
the condom, the most common method of
birthcontrol, became thinner, pre-lubed
and was more accepted and available
(being endorsed by the CofE in 1958 and
being available in Boots in 1966)
 Alfred Kinglsy’s book Sexual Behaviour in
the Human Female undermined the moral
condemnation of sex before marriage
 1959 Obscene Publications Act and 1968
Theatres Act allowed more ‘obscene’
sexual content to be published in Britain
 Dr Alex Comforts 1972 book The Joy of Sex
was sexually explicit and illustrated, it
 Mass Observation reports suggest women
who had wartimes affairs saw them as a
product of difficult circumstances, and
happily returned to their husbands after
the war had ended - the divorce rate fell
after 1947
 Sexual textbooks and pamphlets had been
in circulation prior to the 60s, the most
popular being Love Without Fear by
Eustace Chesser
 Two major studies - The Sexual Behaviour
of Young People (1965) by Michael Scofield
and Sex and Marriage in England Today
(1971) by Geoffrey Gorer - suggest the
notions of a ‘sexual revolution’ in Britain
are hugely exaggerated
 The Sexual Behaviour of Young People
found that only 18% of girls and 10% of
boys in his sample of teenagers had had sex
with more than 3 people, and that only
17% of girls and 33% of boys had had sex
before the age of 19
 dealt with sex as a pleasure in its own  Sex and Marriage in England Today found
right, and was a bestseller that 96% of women and 95% of men were
 In 1974 the softcore porn film Emmanuelle marriage before 45, and that the average
became the first adult film to be shown in age of marriage for women fell below 23 in
British theatres - it was the fourth most 1970, down from 25 in 1946
popular film in 1974
 People became far more tolerant of sex
before marriage - by 1990 less than 1% of
first sexual intercourse took place after
marriage

Overall - Sex certainly became a less taboo subject, and sexual content became far more acceptable to read,
view and discuss, partly asa consequence of the age of mass consumerism (sex was a big seller) and media in
particular became saturated with sex. Attitudes to sex changed somewhat, with sex before marriage and
extramarital sex becoming more normalised, however despite a moral panic there was not significant change
in peoples sexual behaviour and promiscuity remained far from normal. As Dominic Sandbrook puts it ‘For
most people, the sexual revolution happened in the newspapers, not in the bedroom.’

Changing attitudes to homosexuality

Was homosexuality more accepted?

Evidence for Evidence against

o The high-profile trial of Lord Montagu and
journalist Peter WIldeblood (both
convicted) led to growing public perception
that the state should not be able to
regulate what two consenting adults do in
private - the Sunday Times wrote in 1954
‘the law… is not in accord with a large mass
of public opinion’
o In 1958 33 prominent political and cultural
figures signed a letter to the Times calling
for reform of the law
o The 1967 Sexual Offences Act legalised
sexual relations in private between men
aged 21+
o A British branch of the Gay Liberation Front
was set up in 1971
o In the 70s a number of men made ‘camp’
behaviour acceptable on TV - e.g. Larry
Grayson, who had catchphrases like ‘What
a gay day’, and ‘Seems like a nice boy’
o In 1975 ITV screened The Naked Civil
Servant, a film about the flamboyant gay
writer Quentin Crisp
o In the 1970s leading popstars Elton John
o In the mid-50s over a thousand men were
imprisoned on the basis of their sexuality
o A poll in 1963 revealed that 93% of the
public thought that homosexuality was an
illness
o Even after the 1967 Act, it remained illegal
to ‘solicit’ homesexual acts (i.e. to seek
them in a public place)
o The number of men arrested for ‘public
indecency’ trebled between 1967 and 1972
o ‘Camp’ tv stars like Larry Grayson and John
Inman publically denied being gay -
Grayson told the Daily Mirror he just
pretended to be gay
o According to Gorer’s study Sex and
Marriage in Young People Today the most
common reaction to homosexuality was
‘revulsion’ voiced by ¼ participants
 and David Bowie admitted to being bisexual
o 1976 Tom Robinson released the single
‘Glad to be Gay’ which reached no. 18 on
the charts (however the song voiced a lot of
issues faced by the gay community, like
police brutality, demonization in the media,
and violence)

Overall - By the 70s there are some cultural signs homosexuality was more accepted, particularly in the
media, however generally public attitudes towards homosexuality were still extremely hostile. The change in
law was more the result of an attitude that if was unjust for the state to dictate private relations. It was not
until the early 2000s that most British people felt it was not wrong to be gay

Opposition to the permissive society

Margaret Thatcher

 Became increasingly outspoken about her disdain for the permissive society and her fears for
standards of public decency
 1970 Finchley Press interview - ‘I should like to see a reversal of the permissive society’
 Complained in 1977 ‘basic Christian values… are under attack’

Mary Whitehouse

 Took a stance against the damage done to British moral by the media
 Criticised Hugh Carleton-Green, Director General of the BBC from 1960-69, blaming him for the
growth of liberal, permissive values on television
 Her Clean-Up TV petition in 1964 gained 500 000 signatures
 Launched National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association (NVALA) in 1965
 1977 launched a legal battle against magazine Gay News for publishing a ‘blasphemous’ poem - she
won her case, the magazine owner was fined and given a suspended sentence
 1977 book - ‘Whatever Happened to Sex’ said ‘being gay was like having acne’
 Campaigned against pornography - may have influenced the government’s 1981 decision to force
sex shops to have black-out windows

The Nationwide Festival of Light

 Hyde Park 1971

 Staged to promote Christian morality
 Rally was supported by famous figures like Cliff Richard
 The Event inspired over 70 other regional rallies
 Events attracted crowds of over 100 000 people

Immigration

Why did large numbers of immigrants begin to arrive in Britain from the Commonwealth in 1948
onwards?
 During the Second World War many Commonwealth citizens fought and died for Britain.
 After the war the Labour government passed the British Nationality Act in 1948.
 This said that all citizens of the Commonwealth were British citizens.
 The Act meant that Commonwealth citizens had the right to come and settle in Britain.
 The earliest immigrants came from India, where, after independence and partition in 1947, some Hindus,
Muslims and Sikhs found themselves isolated.
 In the early 1950s many immigrants began to arrive from the West Indies.
 India, Pakistan and the West Indies came to be known as the New Commonwealth.
 The National Health Service had been set up in 1948 and railway and bus transport had been
nationalised. Large numbers of extra workers were needed.
 Advertising campaigns were started in the West Indies and India and Pakistan to try to attract workers.
 In 1954, 9,000 West Indians came to Britain, rising to 26,000 in 1956 and 66,000 in 1961.
 Wages in Britain were much higher than in other parts of the Commonwealth and the standard of living
was rising very quickly.

Problems with immigration

 Immigrants often found themselves living in the poorest accommodation in the worst areas of big cities.
 Some areas—notably Toxteth in Liverpool, St Ann’s in Nottingham, Handsworth in Birmingham and
Brixton in London—attracted so many immigrants that there was what the government called ‘white
flight’ from these areas, as the original white population began to move out to other parts of the city.
 The ‘colour bar’ - Landlords would not rent to immigrants, employers would not hire
immigrants (e.g. Bristol Bus Company)
 Trade unions failed to support immigrant workers - white trade unionists were often concerned
their jobs were being taken by black immigrants who would work for less
 Those who found work were only offered the lowest-paid and most unskilled jobs - on average
immigrants were paid 28% less than white workers
 ‘Teddy Boy’ gangs of young, white men sought to intimidate black immigrants

Race Riots

 In the St Ann’s area of Nottingham in August 1958 a crowd of up to 1000 black and white youths fought
each other, resulting in a number of stabbings;
 A few days later, in Notting Hill (West London) gangs of 300-400 white men armed with chains, iron bars,
knives and petrol bombs attacked local black people and their homes.
 These Notting Hill Race Riots 1958 were sparked by a Teddy Boy attack on a white woman who had a
black partner.
 The riots lasted two weeks. 140 were arrested, but there were complaints that the police had been too
slow to react to black appeals for help, and that the police had been too eager to say that racism hadn’t
caused the riots.
 The Notting Hill riots were a turning point. Afterwards, 3% of the total immigrant population returned to
the Caribbean. Caribbean governments made official complaints to the British government about poor
housing and prejudiced policing.
 The Notting Hill Carnival was also founded in 1959 to promote racial harmony. It still takes place
annually.

How did government policies on immigration change in the 1960s?

The 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act

 This stated that only immigrants with jobs waiting for them or those possessing certain skills
would be allowed into Britain.
 Immigrants had to apply for a voucher, which would only be issued if they could offer skills that
were needed in Britain. The number of vouchers was limited each year to about 9,000.
 The Act did not apply to Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Why did the situation get worse in the late 1960s?

 In 1967 the National Front, a racist party that wanted immigrants to be sent back to their original
countries was set up.
 President Kenyatta ordered all Kenyan Asians to take Kenyan nationality or leave the country.
Many left and came to Britain.

The 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act

 In response the British government passed the 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act.
 This stated that immigrants must have some close connection with Britain. Close connection
meant that the immigrant must have been born in Britain or have a parent or grandparent who
had.
 The Act also restricted the number of vouchers to no more than 1,500 each year.
 By the late 1960s immigration had become a major political issue.
 Opinion polls showed that about 80% of people believed that too many immigrants had been
allowed into Britain

The 1971 Immigration Act

 This created a new class of immigrants called ‘Patrials’. These were people who had been born
in Britain, or who had lived in Britain for more than five years, or whose parents or
grandparents had been born in Britain.
 Anyone else, whether they came from the Commonwealth or not, needed a work permit.
 All Commonwealth citizens now needed work permits or visas to come to Britain, unless they
were Patrials.
 70,000 Asians from Uganda were admitted from 1972, when President Amin ordered all
Ugandan Asians to leave the country

Why did government policies on immigration change in the 1960s and 1970s?

 From the late 1950s and early 1960s the number of immigrants coming to Britain rose very rapidly.
 From 1955 to 1961 400,000 people came to Britain from the West Indies, India and Pakistan.
 Extra labour was not needed because most of the jobs in the National Health Service and transport had
been filled.
 By 1960 many families were arriving, and men who had arrived in the early fifties were bringing their
families over to join them. This meant that immigrants were becoming permanent settlers.
 By the early 1960s the British economy was beginning to slow down and unemployment was
rising.
 By the early 1960s it was obvious that immigration had led to severe racial tension. The British
government believed that it could reduce racial tension by placing limits on the number of immigrants
allowed into Britain each year.

How did the British government try to reduce racial tension?

 In 1965 the Race Relations Act banned discrimination in all public places, such as pubs, clubs
and dancehalls.
 It became illegal to publish anything, which incited racial hatred.
 The Act set up a Race Relations Board in 1966, which dealt with complaints. But this had no
power to enforce its decisions and was made up almost entirely of white people
 In 1968 a second Race Relations Act banned discrimination in housing, work or training. It also
banned racist adverts.
 But landlords could easily say that a house or room had already been rented and there was
almost no way to prove otherwise. Employers could always find plenty of reasons for not giving
jobs to immigrants.
 This Act also set up a Community Relations Commission to try to improve race relations.
 In 1976 the Racial Equality Act banned all attempts to discriminate by indirect means. Abusive
or threatening language became illegal.
 Anyone who felt that they had been the victim of such discrimination could take their complaint
to a tribunal.
 Local authorities had to improve race relations and opportunities for immigrants.
 The Act set up the Commission for Racial Equality, which could take up cases of discrimination.
It had the power to serve legal notices on offenders.

Opposition to Immigration
Enoch Powell’s Rivers of Blood speech (1968)

In 1968, Conservative MP and Shadow Defence Secretary Enoch Powell made what became known as the
Rivers of Blood speech. In this speech he warned that immigration was getting out of hand, and that if it
continued unchecked there would be inter-racial violence.

The
Conservative
Party leader,
Edward Heath,
sacked Powell
from the
Shadow
Cabinet. Powell
never held a
senior
government position again. Among the British public, however, there was considerable support for Powell. A
petition against his sacking gathered over 30,000 signatures. Opinion polls suggested that 75% of the British
public agreed with his speech. A 1969 poll found he was the most admired man in the country

Other attitudes towards immigration:

 The BBC’s popular series Till Death DO us Part portrayed a staunch conservative, working class
character named Alf Garnett who frequently complains of ‘wogs’, ‘blackies’ and ‘coons’ that are
undermining Britain’s moral fibre and social fabric. Alf was intended to be a satirical character, but
many critics felt he represented the prejudice that could be found in most pubs, factories and
boardrooms in Britain.
 Anti-immigrant sentiment was often strongest in the most areas most densely populated by
immigrants, such as Smethwick, which had the highest concentration of immigrants in 1964. The
local paper The Smethwick Telephone took a fiercely anti-immigrant line, while Peter Griffiths
became MP for the area after campaigning on the slogan ‘If you want a nigger for a neighbour vote
Labour.
 Polls conducted between 1964-1974 showed that at least 8/10 people felt too many blacks were
entering Britain.
 Therefore while the Liberal elite preached tolerance and acceptance, the majority of British people,
particularly the working class, were racially prejudiced towards the new-comers. This was partly due
to; the economic downturn of the times, the need (especially in poorer areas like Smethwick) to
compete with immigrants for jobs and housing, old Imperial ideas of superiority and general
anxieties about cultural change and national decline.
Women
Interwar years -  1918 ROPA - vote extended to women over the age of 30
political  1928 extended to all women - after various campaigners (like the NUSEC) put
advancement pressure on MPs (NUSEC organised demonstration in Hyde Park in 1926 - 3000
attended)
 ROPA led to little political advancement,
o 1918 election only 17 women stood as candidates and only 1, Countess
Constance MArkievicz, won
o highest number of female MPs was 15 in 1931
 Women’s groups become split over feminist issues (equality with men on
men’s terms or equal valuation of female roles?) - and membership fell in 30s
 This was because Party’s did not want to risk a female candidate in a safe-seats
(reflects ingrained sexism and male bias in society
 Women contributed to 1922 Criminal Law and 1923 Bastardy Act
New job  More jobs due to WW2
opportunities o Jobs in traditionally male work (replacing men fighting the war)
after WW2 o Queen Elizabeth worked as a car mechanic
o Percentage of women who worked as engineers, in transport or the
chemical industry rose from 14% in 1939 to 33% in 1945
 WW2 triggers desires and aspirations beyond the home
o 1950 Manchester Guardian 50% of housewives report being bored
 Some women forced out of work after WW2, but change is more permanent
than WW1
o 1951 ¼ of married women worked, by 1971 ½ did
 More semi-skilled and unskilled jobs due to shifts in the Labour market - easier
for women to work - 1965 60% of working women do unskilled work
Post war  Little representation in Parliament - only 23 female MPs in 1974
political  Female MPs often exceptionally talented due to having to overcome large
representation opposition to get in Parliament
 Barbara Castle - Equal Pay Act
 Margaret Thatcher
Welfare State  Family Allowance Act - Eleanor Rathbone insured payments went to the
mother
 NHS - free healthcare for women (who had previously been last in line for
 healthcare - 1911 Insurance Act insured workers but not their wives)
 1961 pill introduced - made available on the NHS in 1967, 1 million using by
1967 - gave women greater control & sexual freedom
 Improved midwifery - death during birth fall from 1 per 1000 in 1945 to 0.18
per 1000 in 1963
 HOWEVER - 1946 National Insurance Act classed non-working wives as
‘dependants’ - they could not claim unemployment benefit
Liberal  1967 Abortion Act - women can access abortions - BUT debate focused on
Legislation dangers of ‘back street’ abortions (caused 40 deaths in 1966) rather than
women’s rights
 1969 Divorce Reform Act - made divorce easier, no longer necessary to prove a
‘fault’ in the marriage, can divorce after 2 years due to ‘irreconcilable
differences’ , or 5 if only one party wants the divorce
 Rate of divorce increases from 3 in 1000 marriages in 1965 to 10 in 1000
marriages by 1976
Women’s Lib  Women’s liberation movement in the 70s helped challenge social expectations
of women and increase awareness on issues of domestic abuse and rape
 1970 Germaine Grier The Female Eunuch
 1970 1st WLM conference
 1970 feminists flour bomb the Miss World contest
 1973 Sarah Jane becomes the new companion of Doctor Who. In contrast with
stereotypical female companions of the past, she is a feisty young journalist,
openly supporting women’s Lib and refusing to make the Doctor coffee
 1971 1st women’s refuge centre (for victims of domestic abuse) opened by Erin
Pizzey. By end of decade there are 200 refuges in Britain. Pizzey’s tireless
campaigning (and 1974 book Scream Quietly or the Neighbours Will Hear) helps
lead to the 1976 Domestic Violence Act (which allows wives to get court
injunctions against abusive husbands)
 1975 - Sex Discrimination Act - bans discrimination on the basis of sex
 Rape less of a taboo - 1976 1st Rape Crisis centre opens - 16 by end of decade.
1977 Take back the Night march + Deidre Langton on Coronation Street is
raped.

Changing Quality of Life

Living Standards 1918-1979
Living Standards – Measured by factors that contribute to a person’s physical well-being e.g. Public health,
diet, housing, social capital and wages

Boom, crisis, recovery and war -1918-1945

Real Income
 Real Income – This takes into account the effect of inflation on what can be bought with money earned
at a particular time
 Severe Recession in 1921 - Wages for the poorest fell until 1934
 However living standards still improved become:
o Prices, especially food prices, fell faster than wages
o An increase in the use of contraception meant that families shrank (average number of children
2.19 in 1920 compared with 4.6 in 1880) so wages were shared between fewer people and so
went further
 Real cost of living fell by 1/3 between 1920 and 1938
 Average wages doubled during WW2

Housing
 4 million homes were built during the inter-war period (Conservative Housing Acts of 1923/24 and
Labour Housing Act 1930)
 1914 10% of the population were homeowners, by 1938 it was 32%
 Effects of the Blitz in WW2 (3.5 million homes bombed, 60 million changes of address)
 1944 Housing and Temporary Accommodation Act
 After WW2 pre-fabricated homes were built
 1946 New Towns Act

Health and Diet

 700 000 died and 1.7 million injured in war - by 1921 over 1 million men were receiving disability
pensions
 WW1 40% of men exposed as unfit for combat
 Amount spent on alcohol decreased throughout the interwar years (due to pub restrictions during WW1
and rise of other entertainment)
 Diets improved due to rationing + 1914 Education (Provision of Meals) Act which provided meals to poor
school children
 By 1922 infant mortality had halved from 1900. More people were living beyond 65 (although geriatric
care was poor). However this was dependant on where you lived e.g. there were fewer live births in
Wales than in parts of London
 1930s Hunger Marches
 However still large regional variations in health and diet - infant mortality 5.17 death per 1000 in Wales
but 0.86 per 1000 in Kensington. Still no national healthcare, hospital care a ‘postcode lottery’
 Families who looked after children during WW2 were often shocked by the diet of the poor. The poor
preferred to eat fish and chips or biscuits for dinner rather than vegetables
 Impact of rationing in WW2 – government price controls meant foots became more affordable, working
class had a healthier diet. Ministry of Food’s ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign encouraged people to grow their
own vegetables
 450 000 Britons killed in WW2
 Rationing ended in 1954

Regional Variations
 Industrial areas like South Wales fared worse than areas with a large service sector or newer industries
(like London)
 Traditional industries heavily reliant on exports - suffered due to loss of trade post WW1, return to Gold
Standard, competition from Germany and US (new machinery!) and the Depression
 Rise of long-term structural unemployment - in 1929 5% of people out of work had been jobless for a
year, by 1932 this had risen to 16.4%
 In 1944 Beveridge calculated that 85% of all long-term unemployment was in South Wales, Scotland and
North of England
 1936 Jarrow MArch
 Regional variations in the ‘means test’ to determine the amount of dole money persisted

Consumption
 Regional variations reflected in consumption
 Car ownership was more common in the South-East
 1920 730,000 people had electricity. In 1938 this rose to 9 million. By 1961 96% of homes had electricity
 1926 Electricity Supply Act which created a Central Electricity Board and a National Grid.
 1938 – people in the South-East used 861 Kilowatts per hour, in the North people used 386 Kilowatts per
hour. In the North it was mainly used for lighting, in the South it was also used for labour-saving devices
 1920s/30s electric fridges, cookers, heaters and washing machines were a preserved of the middle class -
still no mass consumer market
 WW2 austerity- clothing rationing levelled fashion across classes, life became more drab, in 1946
roughly ¼ of consumer expenditure was controlled by rationing - this rose to 30% in 1948

Growth of a consumer society 1951-1979

Incomes
 Historian Eric Hobsbawn -1950s-70s the ‘golden era’ of western capitalism
 Real disposable income rose 30% in 50s, 22% in 60s and 30% in 70s
 People spent more of housing, cars, durables and entertainment
 1950-1970: Home ownership increased from 29% to over 50%, car ownership rose from 16% to 52%
 Harold Macmillan - ‘Most of our people have never had it so good.’
 By 1965, the necessities of food + clothing absorbed only 30% of consumer spending.

Growth of consumerism
 The number of homes with Central Heating rose from 5% in 1960 to 50% in 1977.
 Growth in TV ownership. Nearly every household had one by 1970
 Between 1947 and 1970 the amount of money spent on advertising tripled
 1957 Old Spice was advertised – more men used deodorant. By 1969 over half of all men and women
used deodorant, perfumes or aftershave
 Swinging London - a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene which flourished in London,
in the 1960s. It was a phenomenon which emphasized the young, the new and the modern. It was a
period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution.
 Fashion:
o Age of affluence and mass production contributed to a boom in the fashion industry - young
women could now afford to have lots of different, cheaply produced clothes that varied with the
season. Fashion became a part of ‘swinging London’
o Rise of models like Jean Shrimpton - an icon of ‘Swinging London’ and the world’s first
supermodel as well as Twiggy
o By the 1960s new fashions like ‘The Look’ (bright, sharp style) meant it was hard to tell which
class a woman belonged to by her clothes, appealed to young, modern and newly affluent ‘dolly
birds’
o Twiggy said that clothing brand Biba was ‘for anyone.’
 o 60s characterised by boutiques like Mary Quant’s boutiques (1 st opened in 1955) and Biba -
which by 1967 had the highest turnover per square foot of any shop in the world.
o Quant pioneered ‘The Look’ and popularised the mini skirt amount young women.
 1947 – first supermarket (in St Albans) -short lived
 1950 – Sainsbury’s opens in Croydon, marks the permanent start of the supermarket era.
 Supermarkets did well due to the Retail Price Maintenance being rolled back, they could slash prices due
to their size - by 1971 there were 3,500 in Britain. This led to 2/3 of specialist grocer shops closing
 1957 Consumer Association founded and launched Which? Magazine
 1972 Ministry for Consumer Affairs set up to protect consumers

Credit
 1974 Consumer Credit Act clarified the rights and responsibilities of lenders and borrowers, paved the
way for an explosion of borrowing in the 80s and 90s
 Credit cards began being used in 1966

Mass Popular Culture

Cinema

Popularity Audience Content British cinema

- Grew Popular during WW1
- 1916 Battle of the Somme
seen by 20 million in first 6
weeks
- 1928, Talkies further
increased popularity -
cinema most important
medium of popular culture
in interwar years - no. of
cinemas increase from 3000
in 1914 to 5000 in 1930
- Another boom during WW2
- popular war films include
1942 In Which We Serve
(about the navy) and 1943
The Gentle Sex (exploring
wartime problems for
women)
- Admissions peaked in 1946
at 1.64 billion
- 1950 - average person went
28 times a year (more than
any other country)
- However attendance fell
until late 80s - half of all
cinemas closed 1955-1963
- This was due to the rise of
television
- Typical - Content controlled by - WW1 led to collapse of
cinemagoer was BBFC (British Board of British film cinema - due to
young, urban and Film Censors) funding problems, disruption
working class established 1912 of production and use of
(often female) - Led by conservative, studios for propaganda
- In 1946 - 69% of upper-middle class - 1925 only 5% of films shown
16-19 year olds men who were in cinemas were British
went once a week concerned about the - 1927 quota ensures 20% of
compared to 11% impact of cinema on films shown were British-
of over-60s ‘impressionable’ made
- Peoples in the audiences - ‘Americanization’ of
North went on - 1917 ’43 rules’ were cinemagoers in 40s - youths
average twice as the unofficial dressing like gangsters and
much as people in regulations of what girls like actresses, using
the South was acceptable to slang like ‘sez you’
- However people show - 1950 ‘Eady Levy’ charge on
still encouraged - 1928-1939, the BBFC tickets was used to subsidies
the same types of banned 140 films British film-making
film - 1959 Obscenities Act, - James Bond -popular British
- Saturday and 1968 Theatres film
mornings were for Act loosened - British film production
kids films with censorship collapsed in 70s - number of
cheap seats - By 70s more violent, British films made each year
sexual films like 1971 fell from 40 in 1968 to 31 in
A Clockwork Orange 1980
and 1974 - This was due to funding cuts
Emmanuelle
 Radio

NATIONAL AND - BBC founded in 1927 as a ‘quango’

REGIONAL PROGRAMME - Two radio services - National programme and Regional Programme
- Both aimed at a general audience
- BBC established itself as a ‘public service broadcaster’ aimed to enrich and educate
listeners
- Programmes like the monarch’s Christmas message and anniversary programmes for
New Year and Empire Day were ‘reassuring symbols of national community’
THE WAR YEARS - THE - National and Regional programmes replaced with the Home Service
HOME SERVICE - Done to prevent enemy aircraft using regional radio as navigation
- Programmes like Workers’ Playtime aimed to boost morale or factory workers
- News and speech based entertainment
HOME, LIGHT AND THIRD - Peacetime programming returned after war
- The Light Programme (created 1945) was a mix of comedies an soaps, was the most
popular - held 1/3 of the 11 million daily listeners
- Daytime shows aimed at women at home (gender roles)
- The Third Programme was highbrow classical music and drama (attracted only 3% of
listeners)
THE PIRATES - Despite BBC’s monopoly on radio ‘Pirate’ stations like radio Caroline, Radio Luxembourg
broadcast from ships
- 1967 Act banned pirate radio - Radio Caroline ignored this
- 1967 Light Programme split into BBC 1 and BB2 - BBC 1 first channel dedicated to pop
and a younger audience , while the Third Programme became BBC 3, and Home Service
became BB4
- 1973 Act ended monopoly and introduced competition - BBC1 still popular (Breakfast
Show attracted 20 million listeners

Influence Lack of influence

- BBC held monopoly until 1973 - held
control over what people heard
- Consistently a popular medium of
entertainment - 11 million daily listeners
during WW2
- Many working class had the radio on all the
time - listened to a wide range of
programming, broadened their horizons
- BBC tried to influence the tastes of the
public but failed
- People favoured ‘Top 40’ pop music station
over BBC’s ‘high brow’ content - Radio
Caroline popular pirate station
- BBC did not change society - was forced to
adapt to meet demands of society (creation
of BBC1 in 1967)

Music

20s  Vera Lynn - slow sentimental music

 Rag time and Jazz from America
 Dance Halls very popular (esp. with working class) with American dances like the Charleston,
swing, jive
30s  Swing and bop
40s  Country, Western and blues
50s  1955 film ‘Black Board Jungle’ marks the arrival of rock’n’roll
 Elvis Presley - the ‘King’ of rock’n’roll - a more sexual, wild kind of music
 British music companies responded with more ‘safer’ artists like Cliff Richard
 Rock’n’roll coincided with the birth of the teenager (‘teenagers’ also emerge because young
 people have more disposable income and stay in school longer)
60s  SKiffle bands become popular - influenced by folk, blues and jazz
 Beatles start as a skiffle band called the Quarry Men in Liverpool, develop into ‘the Beatles’ in
Hamburg
 1962 single ‘Love me Do’ released, leading to ‘Beatlemania’
 1964 ‘British Invasion’ launched - British music globally influential and respected, benefitted
Britain through exports
 Beatles commercialised music - their made £100 million through merchandise
70s  Different genres, escapist/ reflective of troubled times
 Early 70s ‘glam rock’ - David Bowie, Gary Glitter, their androgynous look indicative of more fluid
attitudes to sexuality and gender
 Late 70s Punk - The Sex Pistols, angry music, promoted rebellion and anarchy, reflected dire
economic situation and frustration with politicians and establishment - female punk empowered
women

Television

Ownership Popularity Cultural Impact

1950 4%  TV exploded as a mass
medium
 Sales spurred by coronation
of Queen Elizabeth II in
1955 40% 1953
 Because of popular use of
leisure time
 Late 70s people watched 16
1960 80%
hours a week in summer, 20
in winter
 Men + Women spent 23%
1969 95% of their leisure time
watching TV (twice as much
as Belgium, Italy, Sweden)
 Colour TV began in 1967 -
percentage of colour sets
went from 1.7% in 1970 to
70% in 1979
 Blurred class divisions - everyone watched similar programmes
 Formed important part of culture - discussion of shows formed
part of daily conversation
 Colour TV - perhaps made reporting on violence like The
Troubles or Vietnam war
 1955 BBC monopoly ended - 14 other stations began
broadcasting
 1962 Piking Report led to: 1964 Television Act - forced ITV to
screen news, two plays and two current affairs programs - and
BBC 2
 The Wednesday Play (BBC 1964-1970) screened hard hitting,
social realist plays like 1965 Up the Junction (about abortion)
and 1966 Cathy Come Home (about homelessness) seen by 6-10
million peoples
 Working class/ middle class enjoyed shows like Coronation
Street (launched 1960) seen by 20 million
 Rise of satire (That Was The Week That Was/ TWx3) questioned
and mocked the establishment, again dissolving class boundaries
 Other popular programmes; Upstairs Downstairs - set in England
between 1903-1930 and police shows like The Professionals and
The Sweeney - averaged 19 million viewers
 70s rise of sitcoms like Fawlty Towers

Influence Lack of Influence

 TV most popular use of leisure time, (23% of leisure
time spent watching TV) so shows had large impact
 Class boundaries dissolved through universal
watching and satire - TWx3 has 12 million viewers
 Police shows, at a time when suspicions about
 BBC again tried to influence public tastes to
more ‘intelligent’ content - partially
successful with The Wednesday Play and
1964 Television Act - but shows like
Coronation Street still most popular
 corruption about police were raised, helped raise  Wednesday Play didn’t directly change
the public image of the police force - 1977 poll attitudes
showed 75% thought the police were honest

Youth Culture

Rise of the Teenager  Word ‘teenager’ came into regular use after WW2
 Growth of disposable income - teenagers have more money to spend on entertainment
and luxuries
 Rise in school leaving age to 15 after WW2 - young people have more time to be young
 Mass media widened the gulf in fashion and music taste between generations
 Pirate radio shaped popular forms of youth culture
Teenage leisure pursuits  Cinema
 Dance Halls
 Coffee bars or milk bars - by 1957 there were 1000 coffee bars, music would be played
there from a jukebox - 7000 jukeboxes by 1958
 Music - BBC show Six-Five Special (1957) appealed to young audience, with presenter
who had been a formed DJ on Radio Luxembourg, teens listened to rock’n’roll, skiffle,
folk, jazz and blues
 Fashion - Biba, Mary Quant
Youth Culture  Identities influenced by fashion and music
 Rockers - American style white tee-shirt, jeans and leather jacket
 Mods - Italian style clothes and Vespa
 Other identities; Beatniks, Hippies, Skinheads, Glam Rockers and Punks
 Many older generations felt that youth culture was ‘out of control’
 Slight rise in youth crime in 50s and 60s, and sharp rise in arrests for possession of
marijuana (235 in 1960 to 11 000 in 1973)
 The press inflamed fears of adolescent deliquancy - after a scuffle at Clacton beach
between Mods and Rockers in 1964 the Mirror ran a front page story titled ‘The Wild
Ones invaded a seaside town yesterday’

Leisure pursuits
Football - growth and decline of live spectatorship

Clubs Attendance Cost

1910 12 000 1914 23 000 1914 2.5p
1948 17 973 1938 31 000 1918-1939 5p
1967 30 862 1948-9 41.2 mil 1968 25p
1985 41 069 1969-70 29.6 mil 1981 £1
1979-80 24.6 mil

Growth Decline after WW2

 Britain was the global leader in developing
football as a national sport
 Britain was the first industrial nation -
growth of factories made it easier to
organise workers into teams + arrange
 TV
o Fans watched sports shows instead of
watching live, shows included Match of the
day (1964) and World of Sport (1965)
o New tech in the 60s like colour TV, multiple
 matches
 Football association founded in 1888
 Rise of mass transport and
communication made national leagues
possible
 Growth of radio (BBC), national
newspapers and cinema newsreels
increased interest in football
 Low ticket prices for matches drew large
crowds
 Saturday half days gave men time to play
 Attendance peaked in 1948-49 at 41.2
million
camera angles and slow-mo replay made
watching at home more enjoyable
o England world cup in 1966 was watched by
32 million
 Hooliganism
o Increased violence at matches put people off
going
o Many clubs built up fences to keep fans off
pitches
o British rail cancelled ‘Soccer Special’ which
provided cheap travel to games, after several
of their carriages were destroyed

Effect of increased viewership:

 More advertising money - £1 million in 1966, £16 million in 1976, £100 million by 1983
 Higher wages for footballers - wage caps scrapped, professional footballers can now earn huge sums
through advertising
 ‘Amateurism’ declines in favour of professional football

Holidays and tourism

1935  Only 1.5 million out of 18.5 million workers have paid holiday
1938  Holiday with Pay Act strongly suggest employers pay for 3 consecutive days of Holiday
 7.75 million workers enjoy this
 Most spend their holidays at the seaside
1960 o Two weeks paid holiday for manual workers
1975 o Three weeks paid holiday
1979 o Four weeks paid holiday

Holiday in the interwar years

o Seaside visits
o Class divisions - better off go to Tynemouth rather than Whitely Bay
o Holiday industry grew rapidly - Blackpool had 2 million visitors each year
o Youth Hostel Association and Rambled Association experience increased membership - more Britons
want to get out of the city
o Butlin’s launched in 1937 - by 1939 there are 20 000 holiday camps in Britain, who cater for 30 000
visitors a week- poorer families could go away for the first time

Holiday during the war

o Gov. tried to prevent travel for leisure to free up roads

o Railway companies banned from running extra trains during peak holiday hours
o This was ineffective - seaside holidays like ‘Wakes Week’ and ‘Trip Week’ continued
o Gov. tried (with some success) to promote ‘Holiday at Home’, but mainly accepted that holidays were
good for morale
o Wartime institutions like POW camps, military barracks and workers hostels would later be used for
holiday camps

Holidays after the war

o An increase in disposable income like to more foreign holidays and caravan holidays
o By the end of the 70s ½ the population had been on a caravan holiday
o No. of holidays abroad increased in the 70s due to cheap package holidays and an end to currency
restrictions
o By 1979 almost 2/3 had been on a package holiday using companies like Thomas Cook - most went to
resorts in Spain
o Foreign travel influenced British tastes - wine consumption doubled in the 60s and 70s, Italian and Greek
food became more popular

Travel Developments

Car

Ownership
• Increased rapidly after WW1 - from 200 000
in 1920 to two million in 1939
• Cheaper, smaller cars like the Austin Seven
(1922) made motoring affordable for the
middle class
• Price of cars halved between 1924-1938
• Few restrictions on motorists helped to
popularise cars - driving test only introduced
in 1934, no speed limit
• After WW2 car ownership doubled due to the
end of petrol rationing, more efficient
production techniques and rises in income
• Car ownership doubled between 1960 and
1970 from 5.6 million to 11.8 million
Impact
• Ministry of Transport spent lots of money to
improve roads until the mid-1930s
• By 1939, 1.4 million jobs were dependant on the
motor industry
• Ribbon development - houses and factories began
to stretch out along roads
• More people were able to live in the suburbs - the
populations of many cities (including London)
declined between 1911 and 1951
• More remote parts of the country were opened
up to holiday makers - by 1971 cars make 63% of
holiday transportation
• Large car-parks built - first multi-storey car park
open in Blackpool in 1939
• Change in consumer habits - rise of the ‘weekly
shop’ as people could load lots of groceries and
food into their car
• Out of town supermarkets more popular - ASDA
the first one to open in 1964
• Motoring a very male activity - 1975 only 29% of
passports held by women

Planes

• WW1 - rapid improvement in design of planes

• 1918 - flight a commercially viable option for travel
• Flight expensive in interwar years - only rich could afford - plane companies had to be propped up by the
state:
o 1924 Imperial Airways subsidised by the government to promote image of British power
 o 1935 British airways starts as a private company, had to be rescued by state
• Rapid growth in air transport after WW2 due to improvement in design, safety and the economy
• Allowed Britons to enjoy holidays abroad

Trains

• WW1 - state takes control of railways

• 1921 railway act forces all rail companies to merge into 4
• Growth of railways encouraged ribbon development before cars and buses
• ‘Metro land’ - a series of suburbs north of London linked to the city centre by the Metropolitan railway
• 1848 ‘big four’ merged into the nationalised British Railway (denationalised in 1994-97)

Impact of Thatcher 1979-90

Margaret Thatcher
Her first priority was the economy – began with cutting supply of money in circulation to reduce inflation
(monetarism). She aimed to reduce government interference with the economy and used the law to smash
the power of trade unions. Her initial economic policies were unsuccessful with 3.6 million out of work
however her success in the Falklands war in 1982 saw Thatcher re-elected in 1983.

During her second term she had the confidence to expand privatisation of state owned assets and began to
centralise more power in Whitehall at the expense of local authorities. She faced a number of problems such
as the miner’s strike, IRA and Soviet Union – stand offs made her popular with the people who saw her as a
Churchill-like patriot

1987 she was re-elected for a third term and introduced the ‘poll tax’ 1989-1990 which was very unpopular
and resigned in November 1990.

Economics
When Mrs Thatcher came to power, she sought to:
 Reduce inflation – running at around 14% in 1979 (after periods
of 20% plus in late 1970s)
 Reduce budget deficit.
 Increase efficiency of economy
 Reduce power of trades unions

Summary of policies :
• Belief in desirability of free markets over government
intervention. E.g. pursuing policies of privatisation and deregulation.
• Pursuit of supply side policies to increase efficiency and productivity.
• Reducing power of trades unions and increased labour market flexibility.
• Financial deregulation, e.g. building societies becoming profit making banks.
• Reducing higher rates of marginal income tax to increase incentives to work.
• Ending state subsidies for major manufacturing companies.
• Encouraging home ownership and share ownership.
 • Targeting money supply and monetarist policies to reduce inflation of late 1979. Monetarism was
effectively abandoned by 1984.

Monetarism

Context:

• Monetarism is the belief that inflation is caused by the amount of

money in the economy. Thatcher aimed to reduce the money
supply through cuts to government spending and higher interest
rates
• The theory was developed by Milton Friedman
• This theory had only been tested in the military dictatorship in
Chile
• Introduced in Thatcher’s first term
• “To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media
catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning!

Success
• Inflation reduced to single figures by 1982, never
rose above 9% for the rest of the 80s
Failure
• 1980 and 1981 budgets slashed government
spending - riots in several cities (incl. Brixton in
London)
• 1980-1981 manufacturing fell 14%
• 1980 inflation rose to 22% due to souring pay
demands
• 1982 unemployment at 3 million
• Unemployment benefits forced up
government spending
• By 1983 monetarism was phased out in favour
of more successful supply-side policies (tax
cuts + deregulation)
• 1979 inflation 10.3%. 1990, 10.9% - no change

Privatisation

• Aimed to cut government expenditure, reinvigorate the economy and incentivise workers
• Thatcher believe in popular capitalism - everyone in society should own property and shares in
companies
• Before 1983, British Aerospace, British Sugar and British Petroleum
• 1984 British Telecom sold
• 1986 British Gas sold - raised £5.4 billion, people were encouraged to buy shares with the advertising
campaign, ‘If you see Sid, tell him’.
• Shares sold cheaply to ensure a quick, wide take up

Thatcher’s legacy
• British rail privatised 1994-1997 - government continues to subsidise trains
• 1992 Private Finance Initiative under John Major - public-private partnerships. Private funding and
expertise used to provide a government service, which is then funded by the state in the long term

Success
• £19 billion raised - able to pay for tax cuts
• Number of shareholders went front 3 million to
11 million between 1979-1990
• Since the privatisation of the 10 state-owned
regional water authorities in 1989, the number
of customers at risk of low water pressure has
fallen by 99%.
• BT privatisation led to better customer service -
previously customers had to wait 6 months for
the installation of a BT line, today BT lines
installed within 15 minutes
Failure
• BY 1990 only 20% of shareholders were owned
by individuals - failure of popular capitalism
• Distribution of shares was uneven - only 9% of
unskilled male workers owned any shares,
compared to half of all professional males
• Privatisation led prices to increase faster than
inflation (gas)
• Harold Macmillan compared it to ‘selling off the
family silver’
• Privatisation led to job losses - 200 000 jobs
lost as the result of coal privatisation
• Privatisation of British Rail has not improved
the service - while government spending on rail
has doubled since 1994

Deregulation

• The removal of rules and regulation - Thatcher hoped this would encourage innovation and
competitiveness
• 1979 removal of exchange controls:
o Ended restriction on how many pounds could be converted and spend abroad
• 1986 ‘Big Bang’
o Relaxed rules of the ownership and trading operations of banks

Success
• Removal of exchange controls fuelled
greater overseas investment (with
profits returned to Britain)
• Big Bang - City of London grew rapidly,
became one of the major financial
centres in the world
• Lawson Boom - economic growth
reached 4-5% a year in late 80s
Failure
• Removal of exchange controls led to an increase in
spending on consumer goods, which drained money
from Britain, increasing the balance of payments deficit
on the current account
• Big Bang led to riskier financial schemes - unscrupulous
individuals made huge sums of money, this culture
contributed to the financial crisis of 2008
• British people became more accustomed to borrowing
money - not want Thatcher wanted, she supported
‘careful savers’
o Private household debt increased from £16
billion in 1980 to £47 billion in 1989
o Mortgage debt rose from £43 billion to £235
billion
o By 2003, personal debt was £1.3 trillion -
highest in Europe
Taxation

• Thatcher did not belief that taxation should be used to take money from the rich to subsidise the poor -
'The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.'
• She thought this led to a lack of incentive to work hard and bred dependence at the bottom of the social
scale
• Aimed to promote more investment, growth and therefore government income through tax cuts
• 1980 BUDGET - top rate of income tax cut from 83% to 60%
• 1988 BUDGET - basic rate of income tax from 29% to 25%, higher rate of income tax was cut to 40%. The
tax cuts were so large, the 1988 budget is often referred to as the 'giveaway budget'.
• Taxation cuts were subsidised by the discovery of North Sea oil
• However - average tax bill rose by 6% between 1979 and 1990 due to increase in indirect taxation
• 1979 VAT was increased from 8% to 15%

Success
• Tax cuts were a fiscal stimulus which helped to
increase disposable income and consumer
confidence. This led to a rise in consumer
spending and economic growth.
• Decline in tax avoidance schemes - wealthiest
5% paid as much tax in 1988 at the 40% rate as
they did in 1978 at the 83% rate
• Tax cuts contributed to the Lawson Boom -
4/5% growth in late 80s
Failure
• Increase of regressive taxes like VAT and
National Insurance Payments placed a higher
burden on the poor - increasing wealth
inequality
• Poll tax brought down Thatcher

Trade Unions

• In the 1970s, days lost to trade union strikes were at all-

time highs.
• It was feared that poor industrial relations and strikes
were key factors in holding back industry.
• Thatcher was determined to reduce the power of trades
unions and end industrial disputes from costing British
industry.
• Their power was reduced through a series of Employment
Acts
• 1980 Act - ended ‘closed shop’ and sympathy strikes
• 1982 Act - unions could be sued for illegal strike action
• 1984 Act - strikes had to be approved by a majority of union members in a secret ballot - Thatcher also
begins building up coal reserves
• After the strike further employment acts in 1988,1989 and 1990 further weakened TU
The miner’s strike

• NUM Strike lasted 1984-1985

• Thatcher branded strikers “the enemy within”
• NUM leader Scargill made tactical errors that undermined the strike
o Strike began after winter - UK needed less energy
o Scargill did not ballot members about strike action
o His provocative methods angered the public - he held 79% disapproval rating during the
strike

Success
• Unions became far more willing to work with
government after NUM defeat
• Total number of TU members fell from 13.5 million
in 1979 to under 10 million in 1990
• Total number of working days lost to strike action
fell from 10.5 million in 1980-84 to 0.8 million in
1990-1994
• Government subsidies for failing industries removed
Failure
• Unemployment: Between 1974 and 1991 the
number of miners fell from 200 000 to 10 000
• Communities in industrial areas were devastated;
they experienced mass unemployment, high crime
rates and emotional suffering
• Crime rate doubled during the 1980’s.

Was the state ‘rolled back’?

Government spending as % of GDP

Thatcher’s views

 Strong moral values rooted in Methodist upbringing

 Felt state intervention was to blame for Britain’s decline; high taxes discouraged entrepreneurship, state
ownership crushed innovation and competition, welfare state bred dependancy
 Welfare state = nanny state
 Wanted to break from consensus
 Inspirations:
o Keith Joseph - new right conservative
o Friedrich von Hayek - economist, published a book advocating against a large welfare state
 o Neo-liberalism - free market economic thinking, against state intervention and regulation,
became popular among conservatives in the 70s
 Aims:
o Reduce the size of the state - small government
o Reduce government interference in people’s lives
o Promote efficiency through privatisation and ‘contracting out’

Civil Service

 Originally 732 000 civil servants in Britain - 3x more than comparable nations
 Thatcher brought in business-minded people and advisors from outside the government to help slim
down the civil service
 Thatcher abolished the Civil Service Department in 1981 - she saw it as a trade union
 MINIS - introduced by the Environmental Minister, allowed him to closely monitor the cost and
responsibility of civil servants, inefficiencies could be uncovered and cut out (job losses)
 ¼ environmental minister workers were fired in 3 years
 MINIS was rolled out to other ministries
 By 1988 22.5% of civil servants had been sacked - saving £1 billion
 ‘Next Steps’ report of 1988 recommended a less centralised civil service + more flexible ‘agencies’ that
could work with the private sector
 By 1991 there were 57 of these agencies - by 1997 76% of the civil service worked in 100 different
agencies
 Brian Harrison - ‘ the most substantial revolution within the civil service since the 1850s’

Success?

YES - Thatcher slimmed down the civil service (by 1988 22,5% servants had been sacked), made it more co-
ordinated and efficient (use of agencies instead of centralised service).

Local Government

 Thatcher wanted to slim down local government and reduce its independence
 1985 Local Government Act allowed her to abolish councils - Greater London Council + 6 others city
councils abolished
 Wanted to cripple the labour councils who tried to fight her policies
 Cut central government payments from 60% to 49% of funding and introduced rate ‘caps’ to stop local
councils plugging the funding gaps
 ‘Community charge’ was rolled out in 1989 in Scotland and 1990 in England and Wales - became known
as the ‘poll tax’ and was hugely unpopular as the poor paid just as much as the rich (regressive tax), led
to riots and the tax was eventually abandoned
 Encouraged councils to use ‘contracting out’ to promote greater efficiency and reduce costs.
Wandsworth was an example - by 1985 staff numbers in Wandsworth had fallen by 1/3
 Nationally the total number of government employees feel from 2.5 to 2.1 million between 1979-1995
 ‘Right to Buy’ in 1980 intended to reduce people dependence on local government and promote pride
and responsibility through private ownership:
o Scheme hugely popular 200 000 council houses sold between 1982--83
o However lack of available council houses made it harder and more expensive for councils to
house the poorest in society
Success?

MOSTLY SUCCESSFUL - Thatcher was able to reduce power of local government and slim it down, however in
doing this she increased the power and interference of central government - against her aims

NHS

 Thatcher wanted to slash NHS just like civil service - would have loved to abolish tax funding entirely and
enforce private health insurance
 However NHS the ‘crown jewel’ of the welfare state - too beloved by the public to change radically
 Between 1980 and 1987 spending on NHS rose 60%
 Third election victory in 87’ gave Thatcher more confidence
 1989 ‘Working for Patients’ white paper called for creation of ‘internal markets’ with healthcare
 Free market elements introduced after Thatcher’s fall from power - reforms highly unpopular with
doctors and did not deliver cost savings:
o spending on NHS managers increased from £25.7 million to £383.8 million
o 1996 34 NHS trusts were in debt
o Quality of care decreased - 2% of hospital beds lost between 1990-1994
o Requirement to ‘meet targets’ disliked by doctors and nurses

Success?

FAILURE - NHS spending rose at a slower rate than previous governments, but Thatcher was not able to cut
costs (the NHS rose from 12% of government spending in 1979 to 15% in 1996) or improve efficiency with
free market principles (internal markets a failure)

Education

 Thatcher wanted to raise education standards and give more value for money
 Education Minister created a national curriculum and merged the O-level and the Secondary Leaving
Certificate into one GCSE
 New syllabus rolled out in 1986
 1988 Education Act made the National Curriculum compulsory, introduced the ‘Key Stages’ with
examinations
 Exam results used in league tables - to encourage competition, drive up standards and encourage
parents to pick the best schools for their children
 ‘Better’ schools were quickly oversubscribed, demand for schools drove up house prices in the
catchment area - poorer families were priced out of good schools
 Schools also allowed to get funding directly from the central government, reducing the power of LEAs,
giving head teachers and governors more control of budgets and spending
 1,200 schools became more independent this way

Success?

PARTIAL SUCCESS - Reforms did increase competition and drive up standards, local government power was
reduced, but poorer families were ‘priced out’ and central government power increased - state not rolled
back
 Overall:

Thatcher was successful in slimming down the state in some areas (civil service, local government) but
government spending was still significant in the Thatcher era, and the state was not ‘rolled back’

Thatcher failed to cut overall government spending and the total tax bill also rose throughout Thatcher’s
time in power from 38.5% to 41% (1979-1990). Average tax for each person rose from 31-37% of their
income

Political and Social Division

Political Division

Regional Divisions

Conservative lost support in Scotland:

1979 won 21 seats
1987 won 10 seats
1997 won 0 seats

Scottish Nationalism gained a boost -

led to devolution under New Labour

Thatcher lost support,

Welsh Nationalism boosted

Conservative did well in

the South-East, this area
most benefitted from
Thatcher’s policies

Divisions between Right and Left

1945-1970  Post War Consensus - centre ground shifted left, socialist policies prevail
1970-1979  Centre ground still to the left, but failure of post-war consensus and rise of
neoliberalism pushing things to the right, political titans Wilson and Health both
centrist, pro-European
1979-1990  Centre ground shifts to the right under Thatcher, conservatives support her free
market policies and reject the post-war consensus
1990-1997  Centre ground to the right, Labour adopt Thatcherite policies, particularly
regarding the economy

Special advisers and career politicians

 Thatcher accelerates trend to use outside advisers rather than career civil servants for policy advise
  Voter turnout fell - linked to the rise of elite, career politicians
 Number of politicians with a university degree rose from 40% in 1918 to 75% in 2010
 Fraction of Labour MPs from a manual worker background was 1/3 in 1945, but 1/10 in 2010
 Number of MP’s from legal background declined since 1979 from 70% in 1974 to 30% in 1997
 Number of MP’s who previously worked for political organisation increased from 3% in 1979 to 14%
in 2010
 Thatcher changed the rules of political organisations and caused other parties to change their
approach in order to succeed

Social Division

Gap between rich and poor

 Gap between rich and poor widened under Thatcher
 Regressive taxes took a larger percentage of the poor’s income than the income of the rich
 Policies aimed at cutting inflation cut spending on the poor and led to unemployment among
manufacturing work
 Cuts in income tax benefited rich more than poor - by 1989 bottom 10% paid £400 million less in
income tax, top 10% paid £9.3 billion less
 Proportion of pensioners living below the poverty line increased from 13% to 43%
 Income of the richest rose 61% between 1979-1992, while income of the poorest decreased by 18%
 Middle class divided by Thatcher - many against her attack on the public sector - only 55% of middle
class voters voted Conservative in 1987, fewer than any time since 1918
 However - the middle class grew, and one can argue than and increasing income gap between the
rich and the poor is a sign of a growing economy

Regional Divisions
 London and SE got richer and became more productive, while productivity declined the NE and NW
 North-South divide created
 Thatcher tried to address these problems through ‘enterprise zones’
o These were private areas where firms received government funds to move in and generate
growth
o Led to some impressive urban renewal projects (Albert Docks, Liverpool)
o Wider success was limited
 Number of economically inactive people in former industrial areas continued to increase between
1990 and 1997 - by 2001 1/5 men in former coalfields were unemployed, up from 1/10 in 1981
 Yorkshire, South Derbyshire and North Warwickshire bounced back but South Wales struggled

Wales
 South Wales suffered badly from the decline of the mining areas
 73 000 people were unemployed in Wales in 1979, rising to 166 000 in 1986
 Just 3000 people worked in mining in Wales by 1990
 90% of the workforce in the country was lost
 Unemployment led to social problems like drug abuse, homelessness and crime; 1, 308 drug offenses
were recorded in Wales in 1990, compared with 605 in 1979
 However economic growth was experienced in other areas of Wales
o Spending on the NHS increased from £500 million in 1979 to £1.5 billion in 1990
o GDP per person increased from £7000 to £20 300
 o Number of school-leavers seeking further education or training increased from 20% to 47%
between 1974 to 1991

Effects of politics and party development

Conservatives

UNITED PARTY: Gained support from a divided conservative party

 Careful not to criticise Heath’s U-turn before 1974
 Enlisted a ‘wet’ (one-nation tory) Willie Whitelaw, to her side - ‘everyone needs a Willie’
 Rallied the Conservatives around her free-marked, patriotic views before the 1979 election
 Was careful not to ignore the back-benchers

ENDING CONSENSUS POLITICS: introduced new political ideas of individualism, low taxation choice and free
market liberalism
 Ended conservative support for full employment and nationalised industries
 Fought to save Britain from ‘creeping socialism’
 These ideas continued to post Thatcher conservative governments.
- E.g. privatisation of British Rail 1994-1997
- Extension of trade union legislation – trade union and labour relations consolidation act of
1992
- Commitment to lower direct taxation – basic income tax reduced from 25%to 23% in 1997

NEW CONSERVATIVE ELITE: Changed the ‘social makeup´ of the conservative party
 ‘less posh’ – mp’s educated at public school dropped from 75% to 66% between 1974 and 1987
 ‘old conservative elite’ wealthy privileged, upper class, linked to aristocracy made up 75% of mp’s in
1974
 ‘new conservative elite’ Like Margret Thatcher – middle class grammar school, self -made success
made up 44% of Mp’s in 1987
 However mainly men – number of female mp’s only increased from 19 to 41 during her time as
Prime Minister

MODERNISED PARTY: new American innovation swiftly adopted by Conservatives

 Use of PR companies e.g. Saatchi and Saatchi for marketing in elections - Labour Isn’t Working
 Use of press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham to leak information to the press to damage opponents
 Use of computers to target potential voters in marginal constituencies - 1983 election a direct mail
campaign targeted 500 000 voters

Labour

WHY DID LABOUR NEED TO CHANGE: Thatcher challenged creeping socialism aggressively and successfully
Thatcher forced the Labour Party to readjust in order to be electable- Disastrous performance 1983: 28%
of votes. They had to change become of:
 Disillusionment with Labour
o Labour unable to deal with strikes in the 70s - 1979 Winter of Discontent
o Attacked by right wing as being ‘the loony left’ due to labour activism and Militant Tendency
group of extreme left wingers who gained control over the Liverpool branch of the party
 Policies
o 1983 manifesto described as the ‘longest suicide note in history’
 o Policy proposals included scrapping nuclear weapons, withdrawal from the EEC and more direct
control over bank lended
o These policies did nothing to deal with the problems facing Britain (high unemployment,
declining industries, riots) - Labour looked out of touch
 Leadership
o Leader Michael Foot was scruffy, held strong socialist opinions and was never able to appeal to
the ordinary voter
 Electorate
o Thatcher’s tackling of the unions and deindustrialisation diminished Labour’s traditional voter
base
o Right to buy increased Conservative support among the growing middle class - 60% of Labour
voters who bought their council house then voted conservative
 Split
o 1981 the ‘Gang of Four’ broke away from Labour and formed the SDP
o They were concerned by TU power, Euroscepticism and Michael Foot
o Labour then also had to compete with SDP for votes

KINNOCK’S REFORMS: became leader 1983-1992 split between Labour and SDP made it harder for Labour to
tackle the left wing of the party – Kinnock had to take action against Militant Tendency and had to get rid of
left wing ideas in order to gain support;
 Nuclear disarmament was rejected as Labour Party policy
 Labour moved to more pro-European stance
 1989 party dropped its support for unions
 Kinnock resigned after the 1992 election

TONY BLAIR: Became leader in 1994, described by Thatcher as her ‘greatest legacy’ Persuaded party to
embrace Thatcher’s ideas in order to gain votes – he recognised that the party needed to continue to move
away from traditional working class and trade union support to reach out the growing number of middle
class supporters.
 Ending and rejecting nationalisation if favour of privatisation - clause IV abandoned public
ownership
 Continue low direct taxation
 Big business would be embraces and free markets allowed to flourish – free market liberalism
 Limit trade union powers + abandon class politics
 However also aimed to promote ‘inclusiveness’ and reduce gap between rich and poor
- Aimed to promote equal distribution of opportunities for everyone (contrasted to previous
attempts to equally distribute wealth)
- Denounced ‘forces of conservatism’
- Committed to a minimum wage introduced in 1998
- Investment in education to create equal opportunities

Other Parties

SDP AND LIBERAL: saw that Thatcher representing the right and foot the left, there was a need for a centre-
left party
 Claimed members from labour party and disaffected conservatives unhappy with Thatcher
 SDP and Liberal party allied for 1983 election – alliance gained ¼ of popular votes
 SDP unable to capitalise and merged with liberals to form Liberal Democrats in 1988
  Lib Dems seen as socially liberal and pro-European

REGIONAL NATIONAL PARTIES: Realignment of economy under Thatcher control hit Wales and Scotland
hard. Coal mining practiced in both regions – Shipbuilding was the backbone of the Scottish economy
 SNP (Scottish national party): called for greater powers and later full independence for Scotland- SNP
seen as anti-thatcher – especially after poll tax introduction
 Welsh Nationalist part- increasing dissatisfaction with Thatcher’s policies made conservatives
declined and increased labour à welsh assembly