Living standards between the years 1918-1939 (copy)

Changing Living Standards 1918-39

• Authors J.B. Priestley and George Orwell charted England's changes in the 1930s.
• Priestley's '3 Englands' concept highlights regional affluence and poverty variations.
• Post-WWI boom (1918-20) increased living standards due to peacetime production recovery.
• Economic crisis in the 1920s led to unemployment and reduced living standards, unevenly impacting industries.
• Regional differences: Decline of heavy industries impacted living standards; the gap between rich and poor widened.
• London and the southeast had lower unemployment rates compared to Wales.
• Trade disruption during WWI led to rivals gaining a competitive edge with new machinery.
• Unemployment rose significantly by 1932-1933, with long-term unemployment becoming a major issue.
• Shipbuilding industry heavily impacted, leading to events like the Jarrow March.
• Improvements in the 1930s: Suburban housing estates, electrification, and household appliance sales increased.
• Consumerism grew, but a mass consumer market was limited due to affordability issues for lower-income families.
• Electrical (Supply) Act of 1926 encouraged electricity expansion, but usage varied across the UK.

Exam Question Analysis

• Measure living standard improvements by income, job prospects, and consumer trends.
• Improvements: Access to electricity, decreased cost of living, healthcare improvements (though limited for the working class).

Arguments For Limited Improvement

• Economic problems: Recession in the early 1920s, decline of traditional industries, and the economic slump (1929–33).
• Health provision was ad-hoc and expensive.
• High unemployment rates after 1920.
• The 'means test' discouraged people from claiming benefits.

Arguments Against Limited Improvement

• The emergence of a north-south divide.
• Increased purchasing power for employed people with new consumer goods.
• Higher wages for office and retail workers.
• Post-war housing initiatives improved living conditions.
• Increased wages led to an improved diet.

Housing After WWI

• Post-WWI government sought to provide council houses/suburbs.
• The Housing, Town Planning &c Act 1919 was partly a product of national solidarity.
• The Addison Act marked the start of whole-sale government intervention in the housing market.
• 1923 - Conservatives back in power - Neville Chamberlain (minister of health) changed housing policy.