A changing political and economic environment

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 (weaken libs as 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 wasn’t RM more radical despite Lab wanting him to be?

To keep support of Asquithian libs

Why did the first Labour gov fail?

MacDonald accused of having communist sympathies by dropping charges against a known communist, Campbell

And torn between radical left and need for lib support

Who won the second 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 - manifesto ‘Mosley Memorandum’. 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)

What % of the votes did the New Party get in the 1931 election?

0.2%

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

Germany withdrew from the World Disarmament Conference in … wanting equal levels of arms to other countries e.g Br and Fr. Following this. Br started to … e.g the … … was expanded

Germany withdrew from the World Disarmament Conference in 1933 wanting equal levels of arms to other countries e.g Br and Fr. Following this. Br started to rearm e.g the Royal Navy was expanded

When RM resigned who becomes next PM of Nat gov in 1935?

SB

What did Br do when Hitler invaded the Rhineland breaking ToV?

Nat gov divided 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 our 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’

What were Churhill’s views of rearmament?

In favour of military spending and was worried Br would be a ‘slave state’ if it let ger get away with things

What was Churchill’s Wartime cabinet of 5 men?

A wartime cabinet of WC and 2 lab, 2 cons MP’s

Who won the 1945 election? Was is a minority or a landslide?

Clement Attlee (Labour) won a landslide

What was the 1940 Emergency Powers Act?

Extending off of the 1939 act, required all people to be at the disposal of the gov during wartime, the gov could puish those who didn’t cooperate

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

• Full tripartite edu 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?

Churchill (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

In 1954, what term did the economist use the describe the consensus over lab and con post-war economic consensus?

Butskellism

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) and felt that the gov wasn’t taking sufficient eco action.

Diverging 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 £ in 1967 to continue social reform.

How were the successes of Wilson’s gov undermined?

• Eco problems

• Sense of Br optimism in decline

• Wilson suspicious of popular government ministers → not trusting own party (e.g Roy Jenkins, Callaghan, Barbara Castle)

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? What is this evidence of i regard to Wilson’s approach after Heath?

Not tackling root cause of inflation

Wilson wanted corporatism over the ‘Quiet Revolution’ that Heath had wanted

How was Labour divided?

• Centre - Wilson, Callaghan, Healey (embracing monetarism by 1975)

• Soft Left - Micheal Foot (pro-union)

• Hard Left - Tony Benn (‘siege economy’

Who became PM 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

What caused Callaghan’s popularity to drop so drastically, having previously been expected to win the 1979 election?

Winter of Strikes in 1978

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)?

After the Wall St Crash, by how much did Br trade decr?

2.5 mil

50%

What economic event led to a split in Lab and the subsequent creation 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 miles 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 WW2

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 did Br fail with their usage of it?

1948 - loan from USA to prevent Europe turning communist, Br got £2.7 bil. Br failed to reinvest it in industry and instead used it to pay general expenses

What two costly international commitments was Br part 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) → commitment to full emp

• Mixed eco

Yes both parties followed this policy for a while.

Describe Stop-go Economics. When was stop-go economic used and by who?

• 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

Used by cons (Macmillan as chancellor) in 1950s

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

What caused a need for the National Prices and Incomes Act?

1963, highest unemp since war

1961, Cons refusing to devalue the £→ borrowing £7mil + from IMF

Wilson was passionate about ^ technology. Give an example of his success here.

• Creating a 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

Why were mergers encouraged?

Give an example of a merger encouraged by Labour that failed.

To ^ efficiency

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