'The years between 1914-39 were marked by extensive social change and improvement"

P1 - Improvement in Women’s representation (YES)

• ROTP Act 1918 extended franchise to property-owning women aged 30, 1928 Equal franchise act extended this to all women aged 21+; 52.7% of electorate were now women, outnumbered men by 2m

• Sex Discrimination Act 1919 allowed women to enter Parliament, enter most professions and serve on juries

• 35% of workers in industry during WW1 were female

• Oxford started awarding degreed to women in 1920

• Matrimonial Act 1923 allowed equal right to divorce

• However -

• By 1929 there were just 15 female MPs

• The informal 'marriage bar' prohibited many women from entering the professions (teachers, civil service etc)

• After WW1, 775k women dismissed from industry and replaced with men

P2 - Improvement in living standards for WC (NO)

• Extra Housing under Addison Act 1919, Wheatley Act 1924 & Greenwood Act 1930, Extra education (provided by extending number of schools & school leaving age) under Fisher Act 1918, Education Act 1921 & Education Act 1936 —> ALL CAME IN CONFLICT DUE TO Getty Acts 1921 where major cuts were made in public expenditure & curtailment of projects like Council Housing programme

• However →

• 1937 ½ million able to buy new homes due to low interest rate

• Health improves: 1930-40 infant mortality falls from 67/1000 to 61/1000

• Real wages rose from 1930-39 from 100 (base figure) weekly to 107.7 → 1939 Consumption of fruit up 88% fresh vegetables 64%

• 1b cinema tickets sold in 1938; primary form of working-class entertainment

P2 - Improvement in living standards for MC

• Car sales increased from 140k to 2m throughout the 1930s

• Interest rates down to 2% → MC could afford to buy houses in growing suburbia, 2.5m houses for sale built in 1930s

• Tennis played on rising number of suburban golf courts, lawns of large private houses/newly built municipal courts

• Golf clubs expanded: 1224 clubs by 1914 adding another 373 by 1939, total club membership was 352k by 1939

• However →

• MC found that their living standards had fell & seen as unable to maintain such large households since taxation increased for them (1914 6% to 30% in 1918
  

Conclusion

• Extensive improvement made conveyed through growing materialism for all classes/substantial representation for women

• Accelrated radical change as a result of war

• Despite there being evident stagnation in social provisions for WC, conditions was acceleratingly becoming better rather than gradually as conveyed before war since their leisure, health etc was advancing