1964-1970 key dates and examples

Component 2S: The Making of Modern Britain

When was ‘In Place of Strife’?

1969

When were the Seamen Strikes?

1966

When was a second application sent to join the EEC?

1967

When was the second EEC application to join the EEC rejected?

1967

Why was the second EEC application rejected?

De Gaulle didn’t was the UK to act as a trojan hourse for US interests

When was the DEA established?

1964

Why was the DEA set up?

created to handle long-term economic planning and industrial strategy

When was the ‘National Plan’ created?

1965 - aimed to achieve 25% increase in national output - target annoual growth of 3.8%

What and when was the Prices and Incomes policy?

1966 - ensured industries told gov when wages were being raised - to keep down inflation

When was the devaluation of the £?

1967 → devalued by 14%

When was the rivers of blood speech?

1968

When was the first race relations act and what did it do?

1965 → forbade discrimination in public spaces

When was the second Commonwealth immigration act and what did it do?

1968 - restricted the right of entry into the UK for citizens of the UK and Colonies who didn’t have a substantial connection - e.g. parent or grandparent

When was the Grosvenor Square anti-vietnam riot and how many people attended?

1968 → 25,000 people

When and what was the Theatres act?

1968 - abolished censorship in theatre

When was the death penalty abolished?

1969

When was the Divorce Reform Act?

1969 - support from Lab MPs

How much did divorces increase by following the divorce reform act?

1950 → 2/1000

1970 → 10/1000

When was abortion legalised?

1967 → PMB - David Steel

How much did abortions increase by following the legalisation act?

1968 - 4/100

1975 - 18/100

When was the Sexual Offences Act?

1967 → PMB - Leo Abse

When was the creation of the open university?

1969 → Wilson and Cabinet Member, Jenny Lee

When and what was the family planning act?

1967 → enabled contraceptive advice and supplies to be provided to women on the NHS + aided widespead availibility of the pill

When and what was the matrimonial Property Act?

1970 → recognised non-monetary contributions (like housework) to be recognised and reformed financial provision and property rights upon divorce

When was the equal pay act?

1970 - didn’t properly have an effect until 1975

How many people had a TV by 1961?

→ 75%

When did pirate station sbecome more popular with the youth?

1969

How much did holidays taken increase?

1951 = 27mil

1971 = 14mil

How much leisure time did TV account for 1969?

23%

What and when was the dangrous drugs act?

1967 → illegal to possess hard drugs

When and what was the Wacton Report?

1968 → recommened that the penalties on the possession/supply of cannabis be reduced

What and when was the Misuse of Drugs Bill?

introduced 1970, passed 1971

• increased the maximum sentense for supplying drugs to 14yrs

What were the results of a 1965 survey on race relations?

1 in 2 refused to live next door to a black person

1 in 5 objected to working with Black/Asian people

9 in 10 disapproved of mixed marriages

When were spending cuts introduced and what was the aim for the defence budget?

1964 → spending cuts to bring the defence budget below $2bn by 1970

What did a 1967 white paper do?

set a timetable for the withdrawal of troops

Why was the withdrawal from the east of suez sped up and when?

1967 → devaluation of the £

How did wilson respond to the Vietnam War?

refused Johnson’s request for Britain to send troops and only offered moral support to the US

What was Wilson’s attitude to the special relationship?

recognised its importance but avoided closely alligning with US policy

What was Wilson’s attitude to the EEC?

not keen - skeptical of free trade

→ applied on a purely economic basis

Why was the application to the EEC rejected?

De Gaulle → worrking the UK would act as a trojan hourse for US interests

When was the Unilateral Declaration of Independence and what casued it?

1965 → made by ian smith → declared independence

• White minority opposed Britain’s calls for Black Majority rulee

When did Wilson have talks with Ian Smith and where?

HMS Tiger - 1966

HMS Fearless - 1968

What are the main areas of foreign policy? (5)

→ EEC

→ Rhodesia

→ Vietnam War

→ Withdrawal from E of Suez

→ Wilson attitudes to the ‘special relationship’

how many women were on the pill by 1970?

approx ½ million

When was the Equal Pay Act?

1970

When and what was the Matrimonial Property Act?

1970 - introduced concept of both direct and indirect (keeping house) contributions

When and what was the Family Planning Act?

1967 - made contraception free on the NHS regardless of marital status

How many abortions annually following the abortion act?

75,000 by 1970

Divorce statistics by 1970

10 in 1000 marriages ended in divorce

When was the National Plan abandoned and why?

1966 - not enough funding from the treasury

What was unemployment by 1970?

600,000

How many strike days were there in 1964?

2.2 mil

How many strike days were there 1970?

11mill

When did the seamen go on strike and for how long?

1966 - 47 days

What did the seamen strike want?

working week - 56→40hrs

pay rise

Why were the conservatives more appealing by 1970?

Clear and tough approach to the economy and industrial relations

Who introduced the abortion PMB?

David Steel - Liberal MP

Who introduced the PMB to legalise homosexuality?

Leo Abse - labour backbencher

What was the ruth ellis case?

last woman executed in the UK - shot and killed her abusive husband

led to anti-hanging campaign gaining support

What did Wilson say was his biggest achievement?

The Open University 1969

When was Roy Jenkins the Home Sec?

1965-1967

When and where were there Mods&Rockers clashes?

1964 Brighton (76 arrests), Clacton → headlines ‘youth gone wild’

When and what was the Dangerous Drugs Act?

1967 - aimed to reduce the rising heroin and concaine addicts in the UK - make hard drugs illegal

When was the sentensing for supplying drugs introduced and to what?

14years → 1970

What was the avergae age for people to get married?

25 - still young - limited rejection of family structure

When was the rise of Hippies?

late 1960s → rejection of materialism and authority

how many young people in higher education by late 60s?

8-10%

Essay Plan - Extent of Permissive Society by 1970

Small → Limits of Change across society

• more common in younger and urban populations - 400,000 marriages per year and 8-10% youth in higher education - concetrated not widespread

Small → Traditional Value Persistance

• Sill held traditional values - homosexuality in private and 21+ - abortion and homosexiality still socially stigmatised - laws changed not attitudes

Large → Changing behaviour & social attitudes

• divorce rates rose to 10 in 1000 and abortions to 52 per 1000 by 1970 - behavioral change not just legal - more permissive and liberal

Large → Censorship & cultural change

• Pop culture promoted more liberal atitudes - youth culture=music fashion and media - 90% households had a TV (spead new ideas nationally)

• Censorship decrease - Theatres Act 1968, Obscene Publications Act 1959 - cultural shift to permissiveness

Large → Liberalising legislation

• Abolition of Death Penalty 1965, Abortion Act 1967, Sexual Offenses Act 1967, Divorce Reform Act 1967

• laws = shift to greater individual choice and tolerance - sociey more permissive