Making of Modern Britain 1951-1964

Politics / Economy / Society / Foreign Policy

When was Churchill PM for what party?

1951-1955 → conservatives

When was Eden PM for what party?

1955-1957 → conservatives

When was MacMillan PM for what party?

1957-1963 → conservative

When was Douglas-Home PM for what party?

1963-1964 → conservatives

What was the post-war consensus?

Welfare e.g. NHS - ‘from cradle to grave’

Economic intervention

Support US & opposistion to USSR + communism

What did the Labour Party label the period at the end of it?

‘13 wasted years’

How many new schools were built?

6,000

What were the conservatives associated with leading to their success?

Elizabethan age of optimism and prosperity

What was unemployment in 1951?

1.5%

What was unemployment in 1964?

2.6%

How many houses were built under Churchill’s gov?

300,000

When was part of the M1 first opened?

1959

When did the UK explode their first atomic bomb?

1952

Who were the two main people labour party splits were around and where were they on the political spectrum?

Gaitskell - centre

Bevan - left

What did some in the labour align themselves with which lost them votes?

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

What idea did Gaitskell propose which worsened divisions and who did he face backlash from?

abolishing Clause IV - left & some unions

Why did Labour’s electoral strategy limit them?

unable to modernise & aligned highly with TUs

When did Gaitskell die?

1963

Who was leader of the labour party 1955-63?

Gaitskell

What was the limit of the conservative leadership towards the end?

leadership too old

When was the Night of the Long Knives and who was it under?

1962 - Macmillan

When was the Profumo Affair?

1963

Who was the woman involved in the profumo affair?

Christine Keeler

What position did John Profumo hold?

Minister for War

What emerged which mocked political figures?

satire

What was Beyond the Fringe?

satirical comedy stage revue

Which civil servant was investigated in 1962 and why?

John Vassal - caught spying for soviets

What % was Labour ahead in the opinion polls compared to tories?

20%

What tory safe seat constitueny did the liberals win in 1962?

Orpington

What was Wilson’s approval rating in 1963?

60%

What speech did wilson give in 1963 and what did it talk about?

‘White Heat Speech’ - modernisation

What did the appointment of Douglas-Home suggest to people about the tories?

out of touch

When was churchill’s housing policy?

1951

When was the Clean Air Act?

1956

When was the Homicide Act and what did it do?

1957 - restricted death penalty

When was the housing factories act and what did it do?

1959 - strenghten health and safety standards

When was the Wolfenden Report?

1957

When was the Suez Crisis?

1956

How many immigrants were entering the UK every year by 1961?

100,000

What was Britain’s economy like compared to other nations by 1959?

UK → 129

US → 133

West Germany → 225

What economic policy did the conservatives follow?

Butskellism

What were the aims of Butskellism?

maintain full employment & econ growth / continued development of welfare state / maintain defence commitments & nuclear weaponry

What from the US helped with the growth of the economy?

Marshall Aid

What was the BoP deficit in 1961?

£95mil

What was occuring with the economy?

stagflation

What kind of economics did the tories use?

stop-go

What were Britain’s debts increased to 1957 to 1961?

1957 - £540mil

1964 - £800mil

What did stop-go economics entail?

using interest rates to control econ growth

What happened regarding budgets towards the election?

manipulated

Example of a budget being manipulated towards the 1964 election?

1959 - introduced tax cuts when inflation meant financial restraint would have been better

When and what was the Beeching Report?

1963 -identified profitable and unprofitable services

How many route closures did the beeching report recommend?

55% stations, 30% route miles and loss of 67,000 jobs

When was the application to the EEC rejected?

1963

When did the UK make an application to the EEC?

1961

What did the Suez Crisis lead to regarding the economy?

run on the £

What organisation was the UK strongly tied to?

NATO

What did the UK hope the EEC would do?

boost industrial production & stimulate economic growth

What role did the US play in the Korea War?

supported UN in Korea

What was the special relationship strained by?

Suez Crisis / Burgess and McLean Affair

What somewhat rescued the special relationship?

Macmillan’s close relationship with eisenhower and kennedy

When was the Burgess and McLean Affair?

1951

What was the Burgess and McLean Affair?

G. Burgess and D. McLean - passed documents to the KGB - both escaped to the USSR - gov attempted to cover up until they held a press conference in Moscow 1956 which showed they defected

What was the impact of the Burgess and McLean affair on the special relationship?

US less ready to share classified info - CIA lost confidence in British Intelligence

How important of a role did the UK play in the Cold War as US’s ally?

geostratic importance - link to europe

support for containment

military engagements - e.g. korea

cultural diplomatic influence - promote western values through media and diplomacy

What did the Suez Crisis reveal regarding the special relationship?

UK dependency on US

When was Macmillan’s Winds of Change speech and where was it?

1960 - South Africa

When did Ghana gain independence?

1957

When did Nigeria gain independence?

1960