A-LEVEL COURSE BRITAIN

Theme 1: A Changing Political Landscape & Responding to Economic Challenges
Changing Party Fortunes 1918-31

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How did Lib. Party develop in interwar GB politics?


Coalition + Lib. split

(^^1910^^) Lib. retain power & form govt. PM Asquith.

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(^^WW1^^) Lib. had 💪 representation on coalition wartime govt.

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(^^1916^^) Lib split + Lib.-Con. coalition govt

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Lib. lose 1922, 24, 29 & 31 GE by large margins - 1922 Lab. gain ↑ seats than Lib. & --> main opposition to Con.

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Lib. supported minority Lab. govts 1924 & 1929-31.

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

1. collapse party unity + econ. problems ∵ WW1 (Asquith, econ., franchise)
2. electoral system: impact 1918 ROPA
3. impact 1918 GE
4. conduct DLG

**Why did Lib. decline?**

How did WW1 damage Lib. **unity**?

==__Its ideals &__ __**values**__ __had been ignored in quest for military victory.__==

* WW1 👓 govt implement 1914 DORA - gave govt extended powers (conscription & rationing) to ensure victory
* Cast aside Lib. concerns for indiv. conscience & liberties citizen

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==__Facilitated__ __**split**__ __→ whilst Lib. exited war divided & weak; Con. & Lab. strength.__==

(Dec. 1916) DLG, in favour of such illib. measures & losing faith in Asquith’s ability win WW1, **ousted** 🡹 trad. Lib. Asquith & formed **new coalition govt** w/Con. backing

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Asquith's ousting outraged many trad. Lib. who 👓 DLG as traitor & contin. supp. Asquith, who cont. leader but refus. serve in DLG’s new cabinet → split bet. Asquithian & Nat. Lib.

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Split crystallised in ^^1918 Maurice Debate^^: Asquith publicly attacked DLG ab. no. troops Western Front in Parl. & demanded enquiry.

* Cemented personal bitterness bet. DLG & Asquith.

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**Why did Lib. decline?**

How did WW1 damage **econ**.?

==__Unemployment remainedEcon. burden & legacy of war forc. DLG abandon electoral pledges.__==

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^^**1922 econ. slump**^^

* unemployment 12% working pop.
* inflation 25% - leapt above wage levels
* GDP ⬇️ 22%

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Exist. social services stretched beyond capacity

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1922 '**Geddes Axe**' → spending ✂ £18 mil. on educ. + £24 mil. for 🏠ing + £79 mil. for defence.

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* DLG had prom. '🏠s fit for Heroes'.
* Diverted

**Why did Lib. decline?**

1918 ROPA

%%__Significant Damage__%%

Extended electorate by 13 mil. to include all 👨 🡹 21 + 👩 w/own 🏠 & 🡹 30

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🡹 no. WC voters which Lib. failed win over, unlike Con. & Lab

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Lib. electoral failure v Lab. electoral succ. 🎭new influx votes 🡹 → power Lab. & decline Lib.

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==__Limited Damage__==

WC vote alone did not 🡹 to extend where it could have → such a decline in Lib.💺

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**Even w/o actions DLG, Lab. going become sig. political force as 🡹 WC🧍enfranchised.**

**Why did Lib. decline?**
impact 1918 GE

∵ Lib. split ~~heal in🕑~~, GE contested by 2 Lib. Parties: Nat. Lib. + Asquithian Lib.

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'coalition coupons' = letters of support

**Why did Lib. decline?**
conduct DLG

__national hero after WW1__

Made his name as champion limiting rights privileged + the 'man who had won the war'.

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__1918: split Lib. (coalition Lib. vs Asquithian Lib.)__
Gained rep. as cynical politician who abandoned his Liberalism in pursuit of power.

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Decision to cont. wartime coalition after 1918 extend. the division of the party, mak. wartime split permanent.

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Made him dependent on Con.

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__June 1922 scandal: sale knighthoods & peerages__

Openly sold 1500 knighthood & alm. 100 peerages → 1922 Honours List: sev.w. crim. convictions fraud.

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Immense damage to credibility - portrayed as corrupt by Con., who used as **excuse abandon coalition**

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Ref. share funds until 1926, when Asquith stepped down as party leader & Lib **reunited** behind & fully supp. him

* W/o 💰, Lib. not afford maintain effective local party machine & field en. GE candidates → **unable challenge Lab. overtaking as opposition**.
* ∵ FPTP favoured 2 party system → too little, too late - by time received 💰, had been weakened to point political impotence

1922 GE

**Con majority**.

Lab 2nd (doubl. their seats ( 57 -> 142).

* Emerged as main opposit. party to Con.

Nat Lib 3rd, overtaken by Lab (lost 74 💺)

* Lib. now weakened to posit. of political impotence.
* DLG resigned & after alm. 17 years of service, never again held office.

**rise Lab**
1918 Lab.

Formed in 1900 - youngest major political party in GB.

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Had emerged

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

1. preserved party unity.
2. role TU
3. electoral system: ROPA
4. Lib. Split & MacDonald's Skill

**reasons for rise Lab**
How were the Labour able to preserve **party unity**?

💪 divisions ab. supporting war effort.

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(1917) Division healed when Lab ministers resigned

**reasons for rise Lab**
**role TUs**

War → TU membership doubled to reach 🡱 8 mil. by 1919 - ↑ power & influence

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Union backing provided bulk of party membership & funding.

* Allowed Lab. to run succ. nat. political machine & field many candidates in elections.

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Ideally placed to exploit the internal difficulties of the Liberals.

**reasons for rise Lab**

**Lib split** & **Macdonald's skill**

(^^post 1923 GE^^) Asquith feared los. sep. Lib. ident. as party oppos. Con. → backed minor. Lab. govt, thinking Lab. would do bad job & forced rely Lib. support

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Mistake ∵ Lab. est. rep. econ. prudence & competence in foreign affairs, prov. themselves effective in office - ~~like~~ Lib.

**Con Dom 1918-1931**
Why were the Conservatives dominant in interwar British politics?

1. changes to electoral system
2. weaknesses/divisions opposition parties
3. effective leadership & image

**reasons for Con.-dom.**
How did changes in the **electoral system** help the Conservatives?

**Plural voting** remained until 1948 which d**istorted impact trad. Con. voters**.

* Enabled **businessmen** who lived in 1 constituency & owned property in another to vote in both constituencies.
* Undergraduates to vote in their 🏠 & university constituencies.
* Con. extra 14 MPs.

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(^^1918^^) Constituency boundaries redrawn to reflect population movements. This change gave MC suburbs ↑ representation.

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(^^1921^^) Irish Free State gained independence --> loss 80 Lib-supp. Nationalist MPs. In contrast, Con. continued to rec. support

**reasons for Con.-dom.**
How did **divisions with the opposition** help the Conservatives?

Lib., main opposition to Con. pre-1918, plagued by division.

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(^^1931^^) Labour govt deeply divided over how to handle econ crisis + ruined in GE.

**reasons for Con.-dom.**

effective leadership & image

Con. portray. DLG as dictator over them ∴ they could absolve themselves

1923 GE

Faced w/econ. slump, Baldwin believ. protectionist tariffs on imports would revive industry & employm.

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But hav. pledged (^^1922^^) would be no change in tariffs in pres. parliament, concluded need. GE to unite party behind new policy.

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Party divided ∴ lost majority + B resigned after vote no confid. → Lab. minority govt w/Lib. supp.

evidence Lab. weak political force + why did they collapse

Coalition w/Lib. - dependent on Lib. supp.

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__**Govt. Collapse**__

* (1924) John Campbell publ. article -> socialist 📰 *The Workers Weekly*, **incit. mutiny** in armed forces.

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* (6 Aug.) follow. press.

1924 GE

Con. win w/large majority after Lab. election campaign marred by accusations Soviet sympathies

* Con.-supp. *Daily Mail* publ. forged letter

1929 ‘Flapper GE’

Lab. return w/minority govt supp. 59 Lib. MPs

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==Meant Lab. not strong enough weather 'econ. blizzard'== (MacD)

What did the 1929-31 Lab. govt try to do w/economy?

Had campaigned on issue of enemploym., critic. Baldwin's failed attempts to resolve it.

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BUT unable carry out major econ.📏s (↑ spending & taxation) to deal w/unemploym. ∵ …

* Lacked parliamentary majority (Lib. would withdraw support & govt would collapse)
* MacD used fact minority gov. to control left-wing elements of party to convince moderate & ‘fit to govern’

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∴ forced make harsh econ. dec.s affect. poorest voters + manage threat industr. action.

* Industr. unrest continued, showing MacD not in pocket of TUs
* (Dockers' strike) ready to use troops to unload🚢s should strike have cont.

MacDonald & American banks

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His govt. struggled to finance its spending commitments.

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(by 1931) came under intense pressure

Crisis Year 1931
formation of NG

🕑 of severe internat. econ. depression.

• (1931 summer) rumours forthcom. unbalanc. budget.

• Foreign investors los. confid. & made withdrawals

Theme 1: Change & Challenge in the Workplace Changing IR 1918-39

What was the pattern of change within interwar relations?

\-Brief post-war boom → 🡱 disputes bet. TUs & govt

* Legacy long-term industrial neglect + boom workers joining TUs

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1920s econ. slump weakened TU position ∵ many workers left TUs

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1921 Black Friday Strike

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1926 GS challenged govt policy but failed

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Overall 1921-39 marked by comparatively low incidents industrial action despite 1930s being period hardship & unemployment for many in trad. industrial 🫀lands.

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Strikers' grievances: repress. wages, 🡱 prices & 🍔 shortages.

* Minority: 🡱 polit. & ideolog. grievances.
* Govt able contain strikes by offer. concessions (Red Friday) - percept. nation close to revol. not ground. in reality.

What were the key changes in industry in interwar period?

Staple industries rooted in Victorian 🫖

* Key heavy industries = iron ore, coal & 🚢-building industries → Scotland, S Wales & N England
* By interwar period, outdated, suffered

Red Clydeside

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(31st Jan. 1919) Glasgow; George Square

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Clyde workers wanted hrs 54 → 40 per week: 🡱 job opportunities for unemploy. 👨 (many ex-service👨).

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90,000 - socialist red flag raised - incendiary act (gov. nervous about poss. revol. break. out (Western interventi. in Russian Civil War to 'strangle Bolshevism in its cradle'

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Tanks & soldiers attempt. put down organ. revolut. viol. & diffuse fights bet. protesters & police

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Scale viol. & potent. shed

(1921) Miners Strike

Miners Federation of GB (MFGB): largest TU, ↑ 900,000 members.
Dur. WW1, mines under state control.
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(March 1921) Mines returned priv. ownership ∴ hours ↑, wages ↓ to compete w. foreign coal imports.
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(triple alliance) MFGB joined w. NTWF & NUR to ensure strike action be ↑ powerful & effective (gov. have foreign coal imports but not be unloaded & transport. ↺ country).
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(1st April 1921) MFGB refused accept pay cuts --> mine owners locked our their workers.
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(15th April 1921) Black Friday: NUR & NTWF abandoned dec. strike in solidarity w. miners (∵ not include. in negotiations ∴ members reluctant strike & TU leaders wary about consequences for their members).
݀ ⤋
(15th April-28th June) Miners' strike but forced end walkout ∵ could not beat mine owners alone.

Miners forced accept pay cuts 20%. ⤋

Why was there a GS?

(1925) Baldwin gov. dec. return to 🜚 Standard left mine owners' profits depleted ∴ cut miners' pay.

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(July) Red Friday: govt. agreed to MFGB's demands to subsidise mining industry to maintain miners' wages (until 1st May 1926: 9 months), to put off GS.

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(March 1926) Samuel Commission reccom. 13.5% pay

✂ for miners

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Miners reject proposals - *‘Not a minute off the day, not a penny off the pay’*

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(1st May 1926) 1 mil. miners locked out of workplaces

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(3rd May 1926) TUC announced GS: 3 mil. on strike

What was the government response to the GS?

~~All workers ready~~ for a strike & ~~coordinate their efforts~~

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Govt had been prep. for strike since 1925 → in advance, had…

* Created Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies (anti-TU group volunteers stepped in to do essential jobs ~~done by striking workers~~)
* Publ. propaganda paper (the British Gazette) & used BBC to broadcast radio messages in supp. govt, turning public opinion against
* 📰 *Times* called strikers ~~patriotic~~ class warriors

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TUC limited viol. dur. GS - made it easier for govt to handle

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Expensive for TUC - cost £4 mil./12.5 mil. strike fund

* Govt spent £433 mil.

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After 9 days, strike collapsed ∵ transpired 1906 Trades Disputes Act did not apply (gave TUs legal immun.

What was the impact of the GS?

Failure GS → 1927 Trade Disputes Act aimed make anoth. GS impossible.

* **Outlawed sympathetic strikes**, mass picketing & use TU funds for political purposes unless indiv. member 'contracted in'.
* Hit hard @ Lab. funds - 1/3 chose opt out ∴ Lab.'s finances 🡳 35%.

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🡳 TU power compounded by mass unemployment - never 🡳 below 1 mil. → interwar period (1932: ↑ to 3 mil.)

* Much = long-term unemploym.
* (1929) 5% unemployed jobless ↑ yr
* (1932) 16.4%

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→ TU membership 🡳500%: (1922) 8 mil. (1932) 4.5 mil.

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Against this backdrop…

* Fighting against employers wanting make ✂s & improve productivity, workers → staple industries → ↑ militaristic for for their jobs & pay
* Government tried supply support for unemployed but ~~have resources to do this~~.

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(^^by 1939^^) Staple industries in terminal decline + working conditions remained poverty-stricken.

* Bitterness & distrust bet. employer & employee, TU & member + TUC & workers & govt.
* 🎭 WC solidarity & class divisions.

Theme 1: Responding to Economic Challenges Post-war boom, crisis & recovery, 1918-39

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What was the economic legacy of WW1?

**loss of trade**

* Had been 🌍's lead. trad. nation → unable recover prev. dom. market.
* 🫖🚢 occupied 🚢ping essential war supplies → 20% sunk in proc.
* Econ. rivals (🦬& Japan) filled gap left by decline in 🫖 exports, tak. over 🫖 markets.
* 🫖 unable trade with countries she was at war w/ - many these countries → 🡡 self-sufficient, prod. goods within country that they had prev. imported

What was the economic impact of the GD?

(Oct. 1929) WSC → collapse 🌍 trade.

Many countries unable to repay war debts to GB.

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Value GB exports 1/2 → collapse staple industries.

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unemployment (1929) 1 mil.

(1933) peaked '@ 3 mil.

**ineffective solutions to econ. problems**

interest rates + value £

Govt set **high interest rates** to curb inflation & ↑ value £ against other currencies

* Curbed econ. growth ∵ ↑ expensive for businesses to borrow & invest +🧍↑ likely to save than spend

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(1925) 🫖 returned to 🜚 **Standard** - restored £ pound to pre-war value $4.86

* Decision proved to be disastrous for staple industries ∵ high exchange rates made 🫖 exports ↑ expensive & even 🡣 competitive.
* In contrast, 🦬 set 10% 🡣 + low interest rates → 🦬 exports ↑ attractive than 🫖 ones, further damaging 🫖’s export market.

**ineffective solutions to econ. problems**

tax, spending & balancing budget

To ↓ inflation & repay war debts ASAP, taxes (1919) £18 per capita → (1922) £24

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Geddes Axe contrib. to unemploym. - never ↓ below £1 mil. dur. interwar yrs

**ineffective solutions to econ. problems**

govt policies protectionism

(1921, 25, 32) Intro duties & limited tariffs on foreign goods to protect staple industries (struggled after WW1

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Helped short-term but in long-term, created **lack incentive** to for industries to **modernise** to → ↑ **competitive** w/new foreign traders

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Incited other countries to elect own ‘tariff walls’ which further limited internat. trade

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__Impact__

Volume 🫖 exports (mid-1920s) only 75% its 1913 level

(1932) 60% 🚢builders unemploy.

* Failure to modernise → decline staple industries

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Newer industries (chemicals,🚗) neglected, ~~invested in~~

How did TUs impact econ.?

War → TU membership doubled to reach 🡱 8 mil. by 1919 - ↑ power & influence

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(1920s) ↑ TU militarism compounded by Lab. defeats

* (1926) 323 strikes → 162.23 mil. working days lost

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TUs → lack wage flexibility → employers firing workers in bid to keep costs ↓

* ∴ unemploym. never ↓ below 1 mil. (^^interwar yrs^^)

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* TUs halted prog. certain industries, partic. ∵ their foreign competitors had ↑ access to cheap manual lab

Why did the staple industries suffer so much in interwar period?

heavily reliant on exports

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Suffered ∵…

* loss trade post-WW1
* return to 🜚 Standard
* competition

Hungry 30s → regional varieties in unemployment

Emergence ‘two Englands’ differentiated by older & newer industries → impact slump ~~even~~

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Slump hit hardest areas centred on staple industries (coal → N & S Wales; textiles → Yorkshire; 🚢building → Scotland & the Tyne → ↑ **unemploym**. than nat. average (**25**% workforce - 2.5 mil.) & ↓ **productivity**

* 🚢building: (^^1920s^^) 1 mil. tonnes new 🚢ing yearly (^^1933^^) 133,000 tonnes
* Older industries lost 1/3 workforce
* (^^1932^^) 60% 🚢builders unemploy.

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In contrast, London, SE & Midlands remained prosperous as light, consumer & service industries boomed

* New methods production (e.g. assembly line & use electrical power) → goods creat. ↑ cheaply.
* (1939) motor industry employ. 1.4 mil ==but 🏭→ Midlands & SE== (***motor. revol.***)
* %%Trafford Park, near Manchester = 1st planned industrial estate, attracting a diverse range of light industries & employing nearly 50,000 by 1939.%%

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(^^1934^^) GB: 10% insured pop. unemploy.

* Jarrow (NE) 70% after coal mine, steel works & Palmer’s 🚢yard closed
* St. Albans 3.9%
* Electrical industry ↑ workforce 250%
* Service + building industries ↑ workforce 40%

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(^^1944^^) Beveridge calculated 85% all long-term unemploym. → S Wales, Scotland & N England

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Migration of workers to ↑ prosperous districts Midlands & SE (1931 census - movem. to London - pop. ↑ to 8 mil.)

1936 Jarrow March

Response to severe unemploym.

Why was the £ devalued in 1931?

.GD → (by 1933) ↓ exports by 50% + unemploym. ↑ to 2.5 mil

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Govt ✂️spending by £56 mil. + maintained high interest rates to maintain value £ (still attached to 🜚 Standard)

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(1931, Invergordon, Scotland) 12,000 soldiers mutiny in opposition to pay cuts → change govt policy

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(5 days later) Lab. removed £

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

Enabled quicker recovery

**What economic measures did the NG take & what impact did they have?**

1934 Special Areas Act

Implemented public spending ✂️s.

* 10% ✂️ employ. benefits & public sector worker's pay.
* Means test for unemploym. assistance.

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^^**1934 Special Areas Act**^^ = 📏 to attract industry to relocate to most depressed areas & ∴ ↓ unemployment.

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Gave grants to local authorities most deprived areas (Tyneside, SW, W Cumberland & S Scotland)

* (^^1937-40^^) est. 10 trading estates & ↑ 300 factories in SAs.

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==~~adequate~~==

* Level investment (capped @2 mil per SA). ~~high enough~~ ∴ ↓ **50,000** new jobs created
* Many old industrial areas w/high unemploym. (Lancashire) ~~qualify~~ & left outside scope legislation.

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==Token gesture, ~~well-considered~~ & half-🫀ed attempt to solve problems depressed areas.==

==Too little & too late to have any appreciable impact upon regional unemploym. problem.==

**What economic measures did the NG take & what impact did they have?**

✂️ **interest rates 6-2%: 'Cheap 💰' policy**

Cheaper & ∴ ↑ borrowing…

* Facilitated business expansion & ↑ job creation
* Triggered morgage & 🏠ing boom
* (1918) 610,000 ↓ 🏠s than families → (1938) theoretical surplus ↑ 500,000 🏠s
* (1930) Total value mortgages: £316 mil. (1937) £636 mil.

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**Govt** ~~**have worry about inflation**~~ **∴ invested new industries**

* Invested road build., stim. 🚗 industry.
* (^^1929-39^^) Output motor 🚗s doubled → 🫖 2nd largest 🚗 maker globally.
* (^^1939^^) Employed 1.4 mil. - ~~expanding fast en.~~ to absorb all workers

Theme 2: Provision of Social Welfare Social welfare provision 1918-39

**unemploym. + health**

1911 NI Act

*Employm. = most pressing issue for interwar govt*

* *Never* ↓ 1 mil. interwar yrs (10% workforce)
* *(*^^*1933*^^*) peaked @ 3 mil.*

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Prov. ~~**employm**~~**. insurance** + **compulsory system health insurance** (free medic. treatm. & sick pay) for ==low-paid workers earning ↓ than £160 PA in 6 designated staple industries==

**unemploym.**

1920 Unemploym. Insurance Act

Developed to offer longer-term sol. + cover those ~~covered~~ by 1911 NI Act.

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2/3 workers eligible to claim insurance + ~~have to contrib.~~ to receive.

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==Act passed beg. post-war slump.==

* Rather than creating self-funding system, ↑ no. eligible claimants quickly drained accumulated funds.
* (^^March 1921^^) Govt forced give out dole 💰 & intro seeking-work test.
* (^^by March 1930^^) 3 mil. claimants rejected

**unemploym.**

1931 Nat. Econ. Act

Intro **means test** for unemploym. benefits to limit overall benefits bill in response to GD.

* To qualify, local PAC (Public Assistance Committee) req. recipients of relief to have exhausted all savings (combined 🏠hold income into account) & to have sold all valuables.
* ==Hated ∵👓n as invasion privacy + ~~fair~~ (some PACs ↑ stringent than others) + forced working 🧒to leave 🏠 so family could qualify.==

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Disqualified 'short-🕑 workers'.

* Dramatically affected 👨who worked occasional days in collieries/ 🚢yards but dependent on welfare payments rest of 🕑.
* ==Created poverty trap: better off if nemployed.==

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(^^by end 1931^^) 400,000 rejected/ reduc. claim

Why was long-term unemployment not solved until after 1936?

Prevailing wisdom **retrenchment** (spending ✂️s + tax ↑s) ~~could stimulate econ. growth~~.

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Only when huge👾spending poured into **rearmament** after ^^1936^^ that long-term unemploym. finally tackled.

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(^^1939^^) 9%

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**pensions**

1908 Pensions Act

* Introd. 👾 pensions
* Hugely pop. w/eligible ↑ 70s lived UK over 20 yrs.
* ==Means tested + ~~support~~ for widows & kids of deceased==

**pensions**

1925 Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act

Addressed criticisms 1908 Pensions Act

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Prov. pension 10 shillings week for 65-70 yr-olds + prov. for widows, their🧒& orphans.

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Funded by compulsory contributions, ~~taxation~~ ∴ ↑ efficient.

* Initially ~~pop.~~ w/Lab. ∵ felt ~~fairly~~ penalised poor
* Tough econ. conditions + ageing pop. → gen. acceptance

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(^^1937^^) Self-employed workers both sexes allowed to join scheme.

🏠**ing**

1919 🏠ing & Town Planning Act

To alleviate 🏠 ing shortage, gave local authorities subsidies to build low-cost rental accom. for WC.

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Only 213,000/600,000 🏠s needed built before recession & Geddes Axe → worsening 🏠 ing shortage

* (1923) Estim shortfall 🏠s: 822,000.

🏠ing Acts 1923, '24, '30

Used subsidies to incentivise construction of private & state-owned 🏠ing → 🡱 🏠building.

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(^^1919-40^^) 4 mil 🏠s built, 1 mil. in 👾 sector

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(1930 Act) Used 👾 funds to clear slums + re🏠 🧍liv. in overcrowded cities

* (by 1939) 3/4 mil. slums replaced w/modern 🏠s (1932-9) 4/5 slum dwellers re🏠ed

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Started precedent for 👾-funded 🏠ing.

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Generous 👾 subsidies for each 🏠 improv. qual. 🏠ing.

* 2/3 electrified ↑ demand for domestic goods (e.g. hoovers), further stim. econ & help. ↑ liv. standards

Theme 2: Public Health

health provision 1918-39

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healthcare in 1918

Access to healthcare **depended on wealth** - ~~like~~ wealthy, poor ~~could afford healthcare~~ & often → ill after using ~~effective~~ self-medication

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__Priv. & philanthropic groups funded healthcare for poor.__

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Work🏠 infirmaries could treat poor but if ~~exist~~, poor had to rely on **friendly soc**./

* Offered some affordable HI schemes.
* Collected subscriptions to pay for medical costs.
* But some were so _ they ~~could afford their members’ medical treatm.~~ → bankrupt.
* If friendly soc. collapsed, poor would be left w/o any access to healthcare.

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**Voluntary 🏥s**

* Charitable organisations that treated immed./life-threaten. conditions.
* Uni/medical 🏫 hospitals, specialist hospitals for partic. illnesses & cottage hospital serv. small rural communities.
* Many of doctors & surgeons worked voluntarily.
* As secure as the donations they received.

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1**911 NHI system**

changing ideas over government's role in healthcare

Consensus in favour of govt planning & co-ordin. of regional health services BUT ~~agreem~~. over how nationalised health system should be.

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(^^before 1918^^) Fabian Soc.

* advocated centralised, state-planned healthcare was only way to signific. improve healthcare.

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^^1926 Royal Commission on NHI^^

* Suggested separating the medical service from the insurance system & setting up instead, a service, which encompassed all public health activities paid for by public fund.
* But recomm. regional, rather than nat. structure, for healthcare.

Gov. Reforms 1919-29 Ministry of Health + TB

War recruitment uncovered poor standard health - **2/3**%👨declared ~~fit~~ for combat → ^^1919 MOH Act^^

* Responsible for co-ordin. health @ regional level & administ. funds raised by NHI scheme.
* ==Lacked auth. & political will to drastically reform healthcare system==
* ==Medical services like 🏫Medical Service + 🏭Health Inspectorate still controlled by other authorities==

\+ creat. MRC to research causes TB.

* Major problem ∵ poor 🏠ing conditions - alleviat. by slum clearing.
* (^^Tuberculosis Act 1921^^) provision of TB sanitoria by local authorities compulsory.
* ∴ (^^1928-38^^) no. cases TB ↓ .
* state investment in TB sanitoria

What did 1929 Local Govt Act do to supp. healthcare?

Poor Law 🏥s now in ✋ local govt, who convert them into local 🏥s (==still have stigma==)

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Local govt now responsible for running key healthcare services, (dentistry, venereal disease clinics, 🏫 medical services).

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Made local govt responsible for co-ordinating healthcare provision

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Led to reorganisat. healthcare on regional basis.

* Created single health authority that co-ordin. healthcare in each county/ borough.

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Enabled local authorities to prov. medic. services to entire popul. of the area.

How did healthcare provision expand after the Local Government Act?

Various forms 🏥 care developed (specialist teaching 🏥s).

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👾 → ↑ involved in healthcare

* (^^by 1938^^) England & Wales prov. 75,000 gen.🏥🛏s.


* GPs treated ↑🧍via NIS - (^^by 1938^^) 43% popul. insured
* ==↓ than 1/2 popul. insured against illness==
* ==Many relied upon trad. remedies & over the counter medicines.==

Healthcare improved but large regional variations

* (^^1900-22^^) IMR 1/2
* (Wales) 5.17/1000
* (Kensington) 0.86/1000
* life expectancy: (^^1910^^) 55 → (^^1938^^) 66 (consid. ↑ than US & Australia)
* ==MC 👨 lived 12 yrs longer than WC 👨 👩 19==

(by 1939) ↑ groups (writers for *The Lancet*) advocating NHS

Healthcare in GD & attitudes to it

GD → ↑ importance affordable healthcare services.

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Uninsured forced rely on priv. HI - often not pay out en. to cover medical costs.

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Extreme poverty → ↑ no. illnesses & premature death.

poverty🔗poor health.

⤋

Debate on best way to prov. healthcare.

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New consensus existing provision ~~efficient~~, varied widely in terms of quality & failed to meet medical needs of all patients.

Peckham Health Centre

* (^^1935-50^^)
* Local residents paid subscription (1s) a week to join clinic & rec. annual health check-up & access to leisure facilities.
* 950 residents signed up to scheme.
* 93% had 'abnormality' - anaemia & rickets prevalent in🧒.


* Guided patients to treatm., ==prov. no treatment itself.==
* Wide range facilities (e.g., solarium & lecture theatre).
* Inspired wartime planners & architects of NHS.

Tredegar Medical Aid Soc.

Lack universal coverage - many dependent on Friendly societies for health coverage.

\
* Supplied medic. needs 95% local pop.
* In return for contributions

Doctors in interwar period

~~Evenly~~ distributed - priv. 👨‍⚕️s had ↑ surgeries → wealthier areas

* 6x ↑👨‍⚕️s in 🏠Counties than NE & rural areas

\

Costs put treatm. beyond reach of many.

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Kudos relat. to having 👨‍⚕️ deliver 👶- used by MC & UC.

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Rushed ∴ passed on illnesses & tried deliver 👶before lab. complete.

👩 health

(^^1918 Maternity & Child Welfare Act^^) req. all local authorities appoint welfare committees & run clinics for 🤱s.

* (^^by 1938, England & Wales^^) 3580 infant welfare clinics & 1795 natal clinics
* Many local authorities prov. cod liver oil, iron & vitamin 🛍s for mothers & infants.

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(^^1936 Midwives Act^^) impos. obligation on local authorities to train & employ midwives.

* ==Few 👩 insured & no access to husband's panel doctor (1911 NI Act).==
* ==Put rest fam. before own health.==

🏫 Medical Inspection Service

(^^est. 1907^^) Free, compulsory medical checks for 🏫children & recommended any treatment.

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Free rickets treatm, 🌅light tream. & cod liver oil.

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Focus on nutrition.

What can we conclude about healthcare provision in the interwar period?

Treatment depended on location, class & nature of illness.

Theme 2: Education & Widening Opportunities Education policy 1918-43

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Education before 1918

Prov. by LEAs.

* Paid ‍🏫s' wages, prov. free 🏫 meals to child.

1918 Education Act

Based on **WW1's Lewis Report** (educ. underfunded).

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Aimed to widen access to education by:

* ↑ 🏫 leaving age

1926 Hadlow Report

Wide diversity quality educ. prov.

Recommended…

* Elementary 🏫s be replaced w/primary 🏫s for ages 5-11 (∴ would have to be new 🏫 for those who had previously only stayed on till 14)
* 🏫leaving age be ↑ to 15
* divided secondary 🏫s → grammar & modern

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✅

%%Great achievement in principle%%

* Recogn. entire pop. (not just 🧒privileged) entitled to some free educ. beyond elementary level

%%Influenced%% ==Butler==

* 1944 ideas not original but inherited

What were the advantages and disadvantages of grammar schools?

%%Charged fees but could get a scholarship.%%

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%%Offered academic curriculum based on that of fee-paying 🏫s & prov. excellent educ.%%

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==But poor 👪s not afford to keep bright 🧒 out of workplace beyond age 14. Even if they rec. scholarship; family needed their wage ↑.==

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==Transport & uniform costs - no maintenance grant for educat.==

How far did the war highlight the need for educational reform?

1942 Beveridge Report: ignorance highlighted as evil plaguing GB.

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Armed forces had to ‍🏫 basic literacy & numeracy to recruits so not be complacent against Nazis. Technological War needed an educated workforce.

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Uni still only for MC.

Theme 3: Class and Social Values
Class, social change & impact of WW1 1918-51

What was the impact of WW1 on social class?

__Decline in UC__

UC 😵 toll ~~proportionately~~ high.

* Whilst 12.9 % all 👨 → army 😵, 20.7% Old Etonians 😵∵ served as officers w/↑😵 rate ∵ led

WW2 impact

Mass Observation reported WC expressed desire for ⬆️equal soc. after WW2.

Class barriers diminished.

* Exper. --> homeless via bombing + hardships rationing causedof all social classes to co-operate & interact in new ways.
* WW2 restored trad. WC industries to full employment + maintained w/post-war nationalisation

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==Or reinforced war wartime experience?==

Wartime evac. WC inner-city children to ⬆️ affluent rural 🏠s →…

* %%↑ sympathy for poverty endured by WC%%
* reinforced class prejudices.
* Host families blamed widespread phenomenon bed wetting on poor standards of inner-city WC fams.

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__Post-War Attitudes__
Class system, privilege & deference rem. largely intact.

Attlee govt. did not abolish public 🏫s/ House of Lords.

* Their election not revolt against class system but recognition that 1930s' hardships not to be repeated.

Theme 3: The Changing Role and Status of 👩
The right to vote, political advancement, changes in family life & quest for personal freedoms, 1918-39

**Economic personal freedoms**

How many more women worked in WW1 & in what industries?

What was the catch & what was the result of this after the war?

what jobs did women take after WW1?

any important laws?

__WW1__
**Exployed extra 1.5 mil. 👩.**

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Jobs in trad. 👨 work

* (1914) 200,000 👩 engineers in metal & chemical industries
* (1918) ↑ 1 mil.

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TUs’ ‘dilution’ agreement w/govt: 👩 employed if…

* Employm. lasted as long as war did.
* No ↑ wages than 👨.

\

(^^1919 Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act^^) gave returning soldiers their jobs back --> 👩 workers sent 🏠 w. paid 🚂🎫.

* ∴ 👩 **employm. alm. returned to pre-war levels when WW1 ended (by 1920) 1 mil ⬇️👩 in employm.**

__Jobs__
(^^1920s^^) **Clerical wor**k: biggest growth 👩 employm.

* (^^1921^^) **1 mi**l. employed as typists/ clerks
* (^^1931^^) + **300,000** (artisan WC/ lower MC)

\

**Only for educ.: still clear class & gender roles in employm.**

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Only other opportunities for WC 👩 =

* 3/4 WC 👩 work done

**Social personal freedoms**

birth control

motherhood/woman’s place

divorce laws

self-expression

### Birth Control

(1918) Dr Marie Stopes publ. 📚 ***Married Love***: advoc. use BC & ↑ understand. 👩 sexual needs.

* Printers BC lit. liable prosec. for obscenity.

(1921 London) **Opened 1st BC clinic** → (late 1920s) 20 voluntary clinics operating.

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👨‍⚕️s ==who directed 👩 tow. clinic sacked==

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(^^1930^^) GMC allowed 👨‍⚕️s to advise ⚭ 🤱s w/🧒already, for whom another🤰would serious damage their health.

* WC 👩 not covered by NHI schemes not benefit = relied on help

Political personal freedoms

__Franchise Reform__
Allowing women to stand for Parliament did not swiftly result in large numbers of 👩 being elected. ↑ slowly.

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(1931) 👩MPs peaked @ 15

* (1945) 24 & it fluctuated ↺ this level for next 4 decades ∵…
* no. 👩 candidates for major party ↑ only slowly
* (GEs 1918-1983) ⬇️than 5% Con. & ⬇️ 8% of Lab. candidates 👩.
* in ⬇️ winnable seats than 👨. ∴ proportion 👩 MPs for each party even ⬇️ than their proportion candidates.

\

Petty restrictions - not allowed use Commons' dining room.

* MP Edith Summerskill: HOC 'like a 👦's school which had decided to take a few 👧s'

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**Nancy Astor** (1919)

* Won husband's former seat of Plymouth Sutton.


* 1st 👩 to sit as MP in House of Commons. Single mother & divorcee pre-marrying Waldorf Astor.
* Served in Parliament until 1945.
* Campaigned for 👩 issues (provision of nursery 🏫s, widows' pensions, 👮‍♀️& 📏s to ⬇️maternal mortality rates.

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%%👩↑ influential @ local level (health & educ.).%%

* ==👓 as extens. domestic sphere==
* ==Diffic. balance family life w. press. politics. → (1918-1939) 👩 made up only 5-6% of local councillors.==

%%**Grounding for nat. office.**%%

* Eleanor Rathbone
* (1909) 1st 👩 elected to Liverpool City Council
* (1929) Entered parliament as independent MP for Combined English Universities constituency.
* Contrib. passing ^^1945 Family Allowances Act^^

Theme 3: Race & immigration Immigration & attitudes towards ethnic minorities 1918-39

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Working rights: 'alien workers'

WW1 → influx 'coloured' seamen & workers **port cities**.

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(1919) **Race riots** port cities fuelled by resentful, ~~employ.~~ demobilised 👨

* 74,000 blacks & Asians attacked by white mobs +🏠s & businesses set ablaze - black seaman Charles Wotten lynched
* Despite several👮being 🎁, ~~arrests made~~.

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(1919) Aftermath riots, ~~govt compensation~~ - intensified **colonial repatriation scheme**; fear 'black backlash'.

* Govt offered resettlement allowance £2-5 + extra £5 disembarkment allowance.
* (1920-1) 3000 black & Arab seamen + their families remov.

Working rights: discrimination

Wage rates weighted in favour white workers.

* Asian chefs paid £5 month, white chefs £20.

\

Blacks ↑ likely be unemployed than whites.

* (^^1934-5^^) 80% black & Asian 👨 been unemployed for prolonged period, compared 30% white 👨.

**People/ groups dedicated to fighting anti-imperialism & antiracism**

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CPGB

__(__^^__1920s__^^__)__ __**CPGB**__

High proportion members

**People/ groups dedicated to fighting anti-imperialism & antiracism + educ. & health**

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League of Coloured People

50

Theme 4: Changing living standards
Impact of boom, crisis & recovery 1918-39

Why did living standards improve despite recession? stats

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(^^1921^^) Severe recession → wages for poorest ↓ until ^^1934^^

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But liv. standards still improved ∵…

* Prices 🡣 faster than wages
* ↑ use contraception 🡣 fam. size (^^1880^^: 4.6 → ^^1920^^: 2.2) ∴ wages shared bet. 🡣🧍∴ went further

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(^^1920-38^^) real cost liv. 🡣 by 1/3

(^^1932-9^^) real incomes ↑ 19%

(^^WW2^^) aver. wages doubled

🏠ing - good

__Lots__

* (interwar period) 4 mil. 🏠s built
* So many suburbs being built → theoretical surplus almost 500,000 🏠s (1938), compared to shortfall 610,000 (1918)
* (1932-9) 4/5 slum-dwellers re-🏠ed
* (1939) 1/3 families liv. modern post-war 🏠ing

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__↑ Quality__

* 2/3 wired for elec.
* 2x floor space as 19th C
* 80% WC happy in councils 🏠s

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__Affordable__

* (1936) council rents = 11 shillings per week.
* Typical 'semi' = £450, only 2x annual salary average professional

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high-standard, spacious, desirable, advanced

🏠ing - bad

(1935) still ↺ 300,000 slums ripe for demolition.

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Council rents still prohibitively expensive for poorest + cost tranport (out city centres) → remained in slums

* 1924-39) 20 'cottage estates' created on outskirts London. (new suburbs connected to centre by rail).

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(early 1930s) Glasgow & Birmingham, respectively, 200,000 & 68,000 lived more ↑ 3 to a room.

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(1943) 90% Stepney 🏠s no baths

(1946) 12% Birmingham no lavatory

health & diet

(^^WW1^^) 2/3 👨 fit for combat → (^^WW2^^) 1/3

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improved diet for all, even poor,

motor revol. (see prev. FC)

regional varieties reflected consumption - **consumer revol.**

(1925-39) Consumption electricity ↑ 4fold (1926 Nat. Grid)

* (1938)🧍→ N used 386 Kilowatts per hour; → SE: 861
* (N) mainly used for lighting
* (S) also used for labour-saving devices
* (1930) 200,000 hoover sales (1938) 400,000 - preserve MC
* Before 1950s' consumer boom, growing demand for consumer goods.

\

New chains (e.g. M&S & Sainsbury's) helped to create growing consumer demand for new 🛍s.

* Construction nearly 1000 chain stores ↑ service industries workforce by 40%.
* ↓ fam. sizes

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WW2 austerity

* Clothing rationing levelled fashion across classes
* Life → ↑ drab
* (1946) 25% consumer expenditure controlled by rationing → (1948) 30%

unemployment + poverty

How many WC in poverty in York in 1936?

Unemployment (throughout 1930s) Long-term structural unemployment. • 10% insured popul. unemploy. • Jarrow: ↑ 70% St Albans: 3.9%

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(1931) Cutting dole by 10% --> deteriorat. health standards of poorest communities - ↑ rickets.

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1/3 WC poverty.

Theme 4: Popular culture & entertainment Cinema 1918-45

how pop were they + why?

**Most pop. medium entertainment**

* 1/2 population → cinema @ least once a week
* (1914) 3000 cinemas (1930) 5000

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**Why?**

* Seedy → **respectable** ∵ 100s luxurious 'picture palaces' built & attracted affluence MC audiences (1928 London: The Majestic)
* **Cheap** - Special Saturday matinees offered to children for a penny entry
* Offered unemployed **escapism**

GB film industry

WW1 → collapse GB 🎥 cinema ∵ funding problems, disruption production & use of studios for propaganda.

British 🎥 industry came under pressure

Cinema 1918-45
What was cinema like in the 1930s?

Remained most pop. form entertainment.
- (1937-9) Cinema provided ⬆️50% all tax revenues of entertainm.

Offered unemployed escapism

Cinema 1918-45

content: 🎥s reflecting social issues

Main 🎥 types: westerns, gangsters, musicals, cartoons, romances.

\
But some had social commentary refl. experiences of everyday GB + divorce & ❤️less ⚭s.

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***London***❤️ (^^1926^^)

* Empowered 👩→ 🎥 star to raise en. 💰 to pay for her boyfriend's legal defence in a murder trial.

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***The Firstborn*** (^^1928^^)

* ~~Happy~~ 👰w/~~faithful~~ 🤵 adopts ~~⚭~~ hairdresser 💇's 👶, sav.💇

Cinema 1918-45
cinema during WW2

Pop. demand kept cinemas open (escapism).

British 🎥 industry prod. ⬆️500 🎥s.

Patriotic war 🎥 In Which We Serve (1942)
- approved by Ministry of Information

Let George Do It (1940)
- Moment comic actor George Formby smacked Hitler alleged by Mass Observation to be 1 of highest morale-raising boosts of WW2.

Ministry of Information 🔎 cinemas useful to promote ideas (how not to waste 🍔) in short 🎥s.

🎵 1918-45

Ivor Novello - slow sentimental 🎵

* (1914) Song Keep the Home 🔥s Burning appealed to families who had ❤️ed one stationed overseas.
* So pop., paid £15,000 by record company

\

(1930s) jazz & swing

* (1930) 20,000 dance bands in GB
* 🎭s immense pop. of dance hall
* Influenced by US jazz bands (Duke Ellington).
* (WW2) American musicians --> GB + AFN broadcast jazz & swing 🎵 across UK.
* (1945) BBC (prev. broadcast _ 🎵) created Light Programme to broadcast light entertainment. & 🎵.
* Ran as station until 1967 (replac. by Radio 2).

📻 1918-45 + how did BBC impact enertainment?

(1922-39) 🏠holds w/ receiver: 1% - 71% ∵ ⬆️ quality 📻receivers

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BBC founded in 1927 as a ‘quango’

* 2 radio services - Nat. programme & Regional Programme - aimed @ gen. aud.
* BBC established itself as a ‘public service broadcaster’ aimed to educ. & enrich listeners, ~~reflect their interests~~.
* Most staff

Theme 4: Leisure & travel
spectator sports, 1918-45

growth of spectator sports (1920s-30s)

%%__Accessible__%%

Availability cheap transport & ⬆️leisure 🕑 → ⬆️no. spectators.

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(1920s-30s) Possible to 👓 major events (🏇) for free.

* (Epsom, Aintree & Derby race courses) large free areas attracted crowds 200,000-500,000
* 22 mil. attended professional ⚽ PA.

\

**Greyhound racing**

* (1933) Walthamstow Stadium built (greyhound racing track).
* ⬆️to 100,000 would attend to bet on their fav. 🐶s.
* (1933) 6 mil. visited greyhound racing tracks
* Developm. major areas for sporting events 🎭s spectator sports as means leisure had → central to WC way of life.

\

==__~~Accessible~~__==

(GD) ⚽, 🏉 & clubs in most deprived parts country had ⬇️🎟️ sales → diffic. survive financially

* Alm. all 🏉 league clubs outside Yorkshire & Lancashire closed ∵ low attendance.
* Only matches that had ⬆️500,000 spectators were held after worst of econ. crisis passed.

\

In contrast, MC audiences' sports thrived.

* 🏌️attracted large audiences: (1933) 50,000 paid to attend Ryder Cup.

\

👩 domestic responsibilities → had ⬇️ 🕑 for leisure than husbands ∴ audiences alm. exclusively 👨.

* ==Preston North End FC had withdraw offer free 👩 tickets after 2000 👩 turned up.==
* Nevertheless, reflects culturally 👓n as 👨 realm.

sport & broadcasting

(1936) BBC began to broadcast live

example of sport as morale boost during WW2

international

(Sept. 1944, shortly after liberation) FA Services ⚽ team played France & Belgium in their capital cities.

tourism 1930s

Many went to **seaside** for good of their health.

* class divisions
* WC → Margate, UC → Bournemouth

\

__Acessible__

⬆️affordability 🚗s → developm. tourism not reliant on🚂 travel to seaside resorts.

* 72,000 visited Lake District PA

\

Growth of cheap hiking holidays.

* (1927) **Youth Hostel Assoc**. offered dormitory rooms & breakfast.

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**Butlins**

* (1936 Skegness) 1st holiday camp built
* (1939) 200 holiday camps (6 ⬆️ by 1960s) providing holidays for 30,000 a week
* Poor families could go away for 1st 🕑: ⬇️£4 per week ('*week's holiday for a week's wages*')

\
Few went abroad. Those who did went to exclusive locations (French Riviera)/ for tours of art galleries/museums in Italy/ Greece.

* Despite growth leisure industries & ⬆️accessibility, leisure remained a sphere in which social ~~equalities~~ were dramatically highlighted.

1938 Holidays w/Pay Act

💪ly suggest employers pay for 3 consecutive days holiday.

* ⬆️ no. entitled to paid holidays

🚗 1918-45

__Accessible__

Growth 🚗 ownership.

* cheaper & smaller → motoring affordable for MC
* (1922) small family 🚗 = £220
* (1932) £120 - cheaper & smaller
* (1939) 2 mil. private 🚗s on the road compared to 200,000 @ beg. decade
* ==Still too expensive; mainly the domain of the MC.==
* ==WC may buy 2nd 🚗 (£40-£70)/ form syndicates to share cost & usage of 🚗.==

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⬆️🛣️ **built**

* Mersey Tunnel (1934)
* Great North 🛣️ (1939)

\

Few restrictions (driving tests only introd. ^^1934 🛣️ Traffic Act^^, anyone physically fit could drive) → popularised cars.

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Still overwhelmingly 👨.

* (1933) 👩 held 12% all priv. driving licenses
* (1975) 29% compared to 61% 👨.

✈️ 1918-39
internat. travel

WW1 - rapid improvement in design ✈️.

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1919 - flight a commercially viable option for travel

* (Aug. 1919) 1st internat. air service
* Air Transport & Travel flew 1 passenger