Studied by 14 people
HA - Herbert Asquith DLG - David Lloyd George BL - Bonar-Law SB - Stanley Balwin RM - Ramsey Macdonald NC - Neville Chamberlain WC - Winston Churchill CA - Clement Atlee AE - Anthony Eden HM - Harold Macmillan DH - Douglas-Home HW - Harold Wilson EH - Edward Heath JC - James Callaghan MT - Margaret Thatcher
Who was in power by the end of the war?
David Lloyd George (Liberals)
Why did the Liberal come out of the war divided?
Gov intervention (e.g rationing and conscription) Asquith against, DLG for
DLG dependant on con support
weakened by 2-party system
Why did the cons come out of the war strengthened?
Plural voting
Changing constituency boundaries (more in home counties)
Lib decline
Family values attracted new female voters
Why were the labs emerging coming out of the war?
Financial support from TU
ROPA x3 electorate (although debate on ^ of wc voters)
Commitment to Clause IV (socialism)
How did the 1918 ROPA change the electorate? Did this benefit lab?
Tripled (7 mil → 21 mil)
Wc made up 80% of electorate now HOWEVER many wc women vote con and the ROPA only ^ wc % of electorate by 14%
Who won the 1918 election? What was the nickname for this election?
David Lloyd George (Liberal-Conservative coalition)
‘Coupon election’
Why did the DLG libs and cons form a coalition?
Cons needed man ‘who won the war’ and DLG lib needed cons support (within the coalition landslide the con won 3x more votes than the DLG libs)
Who was the head of the conservatives at the time of the Lib-con coalition?
Andrew Bonar-Law
DLG face many problems including an economic slump.
How many were unemployed in 1921?
What was the gov’s solution to this in 1922?
1 mil unemp by 1921
Geddes Axe 1922 - £100 mil cuts in edu, housing etc. (edu cuts Would lead to class sizes of 60-70)
DLG faced accusation of being corrupt. What two things led to this accusation?
Affair with secretary Francis Stevenson
Selling 1,500 knighthoods of £10,000-£12,000 each and not sharing the £ with the party (weaken libs and labs had TU, cons has wealth members, libs had nothing)
What happened at the Carlton Club meeting of 1922?
Cons decided to end the coalition with the liberals, no longer wanting to be associated with DLG
Who won the 1922 election?
Andrew Bonar-Law (conservative)
Why was the 1922 election significant for Labour?
They overtook the liberals, almost x2 the votes of Asquithian libs. Labour was now a viable option (benefitting from FPTP 2-party system)
BL resigned in 1923. Who became PM after him?
Stanley Baldwin
Why were the cons divided under SB’s first gov (1923-24)? What did this lead to?
SB wanted protectionist tariffs but BL had pledged lassaiz-faire → SB calling election to reunite the party but lost vote of no confidence
Who led the first labour government in 1924?
Ramsey Macdonald (First Labour government for 9 months) with Asquithian lib support
What significant Act did the first lab government bring in? Why was it so significant?
1924 Housing Act - built 500,000+ houses
Significant as it reversed Geddes Axe and did what the cons promised but failed to do
Why was RM more radical despite Lab wanting him to be?
To keep support of Asquithian libs
Who won the 1924 election?
SB (conservatives)
What did SB promise when the cons won in 1924-29?
Safety first
How did Labour fair in the 1924 election?
Although lost to cons the party didn’t collapse (unlike libs votes falling by 12%)
Who won the 1929 election?
What was the elections nickname?Why?
RM (Labour)
‘Flapper election’ - After the 1928 ROPA allowing women to vote equally to men
Under RM’s 2nd premiership came the crisis year of 1931
How many were unemp?
What led to £33 mil withdrawn from ldn?
2 mil
Rumours of and unbalance forthcoming budget → foreign investors confidence decr
To help the economic crisis of 1931 what did RM and chancellor Snowden propose? What effect did this have on the party?
Proposed spending cuts (incl 10% cut in unemp assistance) and tax ^
Divided lab → RM going to resign
The … urged RM not to resign in 1931 and instead form the … …
The king urged RM not to resign in 1931 and instead form the national government
What policies did the nat gov manage to introduce to stimulate and economic recovery?
10% public sector cuts that previous gov wanted to pass but couldn’t
Tariffs
Low interest rates
Ending gold standard
Who was Oswald Mosley? What organisation did he create in 1932? What did they do? What Act stopped him?
Charismatic leader of the New Party in 1931. He was inspired by Mussolini. He had supporters until he established a violent group called ‘Biff Boys’
In 1932 he created the British Union of Fascists (BUF)
They taught skills e.g ju-jitzu (even gaining support from suffragettes), led the Battle of Cable street in 1936
1936 Public Order Act - banned group from wearing uniforms and required permission to march
What was the max % of votes the Communist Party of GB had?
0.4% (very regional e.g Clydeside)
Why doesn’t Britain turn to extremism?
Lab socialist alternative
Suffering isn’t as extreme as Ger for example
New Welfare
Won WW1
Many communists away fighting against Franco in Spanish Civil war
Nazi-Soviet Pact decr credibility of communism and fascism
1936 Public Order Act
When RM resigned who becomes next PM of Nat gov?
SB
What did Br do when Hitler invaded the Rhineland breaking ToV?
Nat gov dived but ultimately took no action on ger (did continue to rearm though)
Who became PM in 1937?
Neville Chamberlain
When/What was the Munich Agreement?
Public desire for peace → NC trying to appease Hitler and giving him all his demands. Wanted ‘peace in out time’
Who became PM in 1940?
Winston Churchill
WC was a good public speaker. What was his first famous speech?
‘Blood, toil, tears and sweat’
Who won the 1945 election? Was is a minority or a landslide?
Clement Attlee (Labour) won a landslide
Why did Labour win a landslide in the 1945 election?
Cons leadership during the Hungry 30s
Lab had ministerial experience (5 key war time minister including CA)
Cons adopted War-time socialism
Desire for welfare state (Lab would provide)
WC likened lab to ‘gestapo’ vs CA response was calm a
Lab manifesto ‘let’s face the future’
How many Act did the post WW2 lab gov pass? Give some examples.
347 acts e.g.
NHS
National Insurance
Br Nationality Act
How was the post WW2 lab gov limited?
No investment in new industries too focus on unemp
Still housing crisis - 750,000 fewer homes then households
Tripartite not achieved
NHS not free
Why did Labour become so divided?
Cost of the Korean War → need for charges on NHS imposed by chancellor Gaitskell. Bevan walks out. → Gaitskellites (‘middle way’) and Bevanites (left)
Who won the 1951 election?
Churchil (conservatives)
Why did the conservatives win the 1951 election? (what did cons do right? what did labs do wrong?)
Con did right:
Industrial CHarter
Promised 300,000 house a year
‘More red meat’
Young, modernised, reorganised party - one nation
commitment to nationalisation
Labs did wrong:
divided on NHS charges (Bevan walks out)
Lab overworked
Taxation at 90% for top earners
Who became PM in 1955?
Anthony Eden (conservative)
What was the state of unemp in 1955?
Lowest in the period. 1% unemp
How did the Suez crisis lead to Eden’s downfall?
2/3 of Europes oil comes through Suez but Egypt’s leader wants to make Suez Egypt’s
Secret plan that Isreal will invade the canal → Br and Fr kicking them out and claiming it.
USA isn’t told
Eisenhower tells Br to leave suez if they want continued US support
Br forced to retreat - humiliation
Who became Pm in 1957? What was his nickname?
Harold Macmillan ‘Supermac’ (conservative)
What successes did HM oversee?
Mixed eco
Low unemp
Equal wages and living standards
Explain the ‘dissent on the right’
1959 - Thorneycroft, Birch and Powell walk out. They want monetarism (focus on inflation rather than post-war commitment to unemp).
Divergin from one-nation torism → ‘new right’
Explain the night of the long knives.
HM sacked 7 ministers. There were 35 etonians in cabinet and HM didn’t want to seem out of touch.
What led to a sense of distrust with cons and national security?
3 spy scandals during the height of the cold war
John Vassall
Kim Philby
Profumo
Who became PM in 1963? What was he ridiculed for?
Douglas Home (Conservative)
Ridiculed for aristocratic manner
Who won the 1964 election? Was is a minority or a landslide)
Wilson (Labour)
Minority - only won by 4 seats
What attributes → Labour winning in 1964?
Meritocratic and classless
Use of TV campaigns
What limited HW?
£800 mil budget deficit left by cons → forced to devalue the £ to continue social reform
Who won the 1970 election?
Heath (Conservatives)
What were Heath’s aims?
‘Quiet revolution’
Meeting at Selsdon park to make new manifesto - plan to leave consensus
£330 mil state cuts
Cut school milk
What led to Heath’s U-turn? What was the impact of this?
15% inflation → crisis and return to consensus
TU issues → 3-day-week and state of emergency
People at Selsdon meeting were unhappy
Who won the 1974 election?
Wilson (Labour)
HW compromised with the miners giving them 35% wage ^. What was the issue with this?
Not tackling root cause of inflation
How was Labour divided?
Centre - Wilson, Callaghan, Healey
Soft Left - Micheal Foot
Hard Left - Tony Benn, belief in ‘siege economy’
Who became in 1976?
Callaghan (Labour)
How did Callaghan abandon consensus? Who did he clash with frequently?
Believe Br had borrowed beyond its means. Frequently clashed with Benn
Post WW1
What was the financial cost of the war?
How much was Br in debt to the USA?
What was inflation at?
Was Britain on or off the gold standard?
£3.25 bil
£850 mil
25%
Came off the gold standard during the war
What led to the post WW1 boom?
War time restrictions → saving → spending on luxury items
What led to the recession in 1920?
Speculative boom on old, uncompetitive industries such as shipping, coal
Wartime industries struggling to return to civilian usage
3 reasons why Br was responsible for its own eco decline (and explain)
Power of TU - DLG generous pay and hours to prevent strikes (8hour day → 13% decr in hrs but same wages)
Underinvestment - compared to competitors. USA producing 2.5x steel
Deflation - 75% cuts to return to pre-war levels. Interest ^ 7%
How much £ did the Geddes Axe propose cutting from 22-23 budget? Give examples of sectors they were planning to make cuts in?
£87mil cut
Mostly from military but also, edu, housing, health and welfare
What major economic move did chancellor Churchill make in 1925? Why did he do it? Why was it bad?
Returns to the gold standard
Being off it is bad for Br pride and he believed he had to be harsh on manufacturers to be competitive
Interest rates were high → hard borrowing, hard for businesses to expand
What figure was unemp at in 1930 (after the 1929 Wall St crash)?
2.5 mil
What economic event led to a split in Lab and the subsequentcreation of the national government?
1931 -rumours or unbalanced budget → panic selling of the £ in USA. Lab proposed 10% cuts in unemp assistance to reassure foreign investors however many Lab were’t a fan of this.
In what 2 ways the did the National gov enforce spending cuts?
10% cuts that had divided the labour party
Means tests for unemp assistance
When/What was the Special Areas Act? Why was its impact limited?
1934 - giving financial aid to most depressed areas. However only provided £2mil overall (not enough)
What % of men in Jarrow were unemp? When was the Jarrow march?How was the Jarrow March Successful? How was it limited?
1936 - 77% of men unemp
Success - 200 men walked 300 mils to Ldn ^ public sympathy
Failure - SB didn’t meet with them, had little impact
Why could you argue Br was somewhat successful after the depression in compared to other countries?
The depression didn’t last as long as other countries. (Eco growth of 4% per year 1934-37)
When did Br come off the gold standard? What were the effects of this?
1934
‘Cheap money’ - decr interest rates → cheaper borrowing → ^ housing booms etc
Give 2 examples of proof of eco recovery 1934-37
Unemp decr by ½ in the 30s
Smaller families → ^ disposable income e.g ^ mass entertainment
Cheap money → housing booms e.g Metroland
Who gave Br huge amount of eco aid during the war as part of what agreement?
USA - Lend-Lease Agreement
… expenditure increase from 15%-51% during the war
Military Expenditure
How much was Br in debt to USA post WW2?
£4bil
What is the state of British economy post WW2?
Extremely damaged
When/what was Marshall Aid? How much did Br get? How dd Br fail with their usage of it?
1948 - loan from USA to prevent Europe turning communist, Br got £2.7 bil
What two costly international commitments was Br art of post-WW2?
Korean War, Malaya and Kenya
Army base in Germany
Labour nationalised a series of industries (e.g coal, transport). Why? Did it work?
Hope that it would create full employment. Yes it did there was full employment 1947-51. However money spent to buy the companies → little money to invest in them.
Post war economic consensus comprised of what two elements? Did cons and labs both follow this (at first)?
Keynesian economics - (injecting money into eco to stimulate jobs) → full emp
Mixed eco
Yes both parties followed this policy for a while.
Describe Stop-go Economics
Allowed excessive spending to stimulate eco
→ inflation
To counter this would^ taxes and interest rates to slow eco
Shows you can’t manage inflation and unemp at same time → unstable eco
When/What were the National Prices and Incomes Acts?
1966 - Statutory wage freeze for 6 months to curb inflation.
1967 - companies could ^ wages if proven that they were productive
Wilson was passionate about ^ technology. Give an example of his success here.
Ministry of Technology 1964
First supersonic passenger plane Concorde
When was Wilson forced to devalue the £? How much did it decr by? What did he promise the Br public?
1967
$2.80-$2.40 - 14%
It wouldn’t effect ‘the pound in your pocket
Give an example of a merger encouraged by Labour that failed.
Leyland Motors and British Motor Corporation → British Leyland. Couldn’t compete with foreign imports and associated with bad quality cars
What did Heath plan at Selsdon?
Break from consensus
Give examples of cuts Heath made? What was the nickname for his harsh approach to failing businesses?
Free school milk
subsidies of council houses
Overall £330 mil cuts
‘Lame duck’ approach
S… led to Heaths famous…, returning to f.. e… .R… … was even nationalised in 1971
Stagflation led to Heaths famous U-turn, returning to full employment .Rolls royce was even nationalised in 1971
What led to Callaghan going to the IMF? When? How much did he receive?
1976 - eco crisis, unemp 1.25mil, Inflation 16%
Received IMF loan in 1976 of £4bil
What compromise did Chancellor Healey have to make in accepting the IMF?
Agreement to £3bil cuts → being called the ‘traitor’ of the party
How many strikes had there been in 1917?
48
How many days were lost to strikes in 1919?
32 mil
Why in reality was there little chance of Br during to revolution in the interwar periods despite what the perception might be?
Few of the strikes were political - mostly with aims of ^ wages
The gov was able to offer concessions to strikers
Explain the events of Red Clydeside
1919 in Clydeside, Glasgow 90,000 demonstrators protested for decr from 54 → 40-hour week.
Rose a red socialist flag (time of Russian Civil war)
Tanks and soldiers sent
40-hour week never obtained
Explain the events of the 1921 Miner’s Strike with the following prompts:
MFGB
post-war privatisation
NTWF and NUR - general strike
Black Friday
20%
Miners Federation of GB was biggest union
Nationalised during war → privatised post war → mine owners decr wages
MFGB worked with NTWF and NUW hoping to cause a general strike. Miners didn’t include NTWF/NUW in negotiations
→ NTWF/NUW backing out - aka Black Friday
Miners did strike but didn’t last long - forced to accept wage 20% lower than 1914
Lack of investment from mine owners led to what?
Whilst other countries mechanising, Br lagging behind (still using axe)
Note
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