British Politics Notes

Labour Party In Power 1945-51 * Labour had won 393 seats compared to conservatives 213. * Reasons for Labour large scale victory in 1945: * Conservatives handicaps – had not understood the needs of ordinary people. Poor economy and unemployment with previous conservative government, unconvincing election campaign. * Labours advantages – attractive image (zeitgeist), Labour better fitted to carry out post-war construction, leading labour figures gained respect from electorate during the war, first past the post worked in Lab favour. * Atlee’s government – Ernest Bevin, Stafford Cripps, Herbert Morrison, Hugh Dalton, Aneurin Bevan. * Labours creation of the welfare state : * Beveridge Report – laid foundations of the welfare state. Want, Ignorance, Disease, Squalor and Idleness. * Labours welfare programme: * National Insurance act, Industrial injuries act, The National Health Act (NHS), The National Assistance Act * Principles of universality and minimum standard * Seen as a social revolution * Resistance to into of NHS – resistance of the (BMA) – delayed NHS until 1948. Professionals feared a reduction in income and privileges. 4735 were for NHS, whereas 40,814 were against. Bevan had to ‘stuff their mouths with gold’ * Economy under Labour – 1945-51 * Nationalisation – fuel and power, iron and steel, transport. Conservatives opposed nationalisation of iron and steel but it was pushed through in 1950. * Keynesianism * Governments financial problems: * Debts of 4198 million, balance of payments crisis, manufactures had dropped to 60% in wartime, reduction in exports. * BUT: * Keynes go US loan – 6000 million = US dependency * Marshall Aid furthered support from USA * Led to Stafford Cripps ‘Austerity’ – devaluation, inflation, stop and go polices. Included Advisory Councils to improve production, productivity drives, targets, Union agreement on wage controls – ‘wage freeze’, rationing, import controls, devaluation of the £. * Result: * Balance of payments improved * Cost of living high as inflation following devaluation * Easing of controls on rationing by 49 * US money helped.

The conservatives in office 1951 – 64 * Winston Churchill – in office from 1951 – 55, but was quite old (77) and had a stroke in office. He was out of action for several months. * key events and developments from 1951-55: * Rationing was ended * Steel industry denationalised * Britain detonated first atomic bomb - 1952 * Korea war ended – 1953 * Butskellism – Butler was high up in the conservative party, and introduced economic policies concerning a mixed economy with large private industry as well as government intervention. Trying to maintain full employment and grow the economy and welfare state.

Anthony Eden’s government 1955 – 7 * Handsome man, 344 seats in the 1955 election * The Suez Affair – 1956: * Colonel Nasser announced the nationalisation of the Suez canal to raise finances. * Eden declared he was not allowed to and planned to bring nasser down. * Eden gained support from France and USA * Eden planned Israel would invade the canal and then Britain would call a seize fire and retain the canal. * USA furious with Eden, pulled out support. * Soviet union threatened to use rockets against the west and suggested that Britain was bullying Egypt. * Britain gave way and pulled out * Eden looked incredibly weak and Israel furious with Britain.
Harold Macmillan’s Government 1957-63 * Conservative economic policy: * Mixed economy – to recover from 564 million pound debts left by Eden and Churchill. * Initial tax cuts to encourage spending, however, to counter inflation, a rise in interest rates and increases in taxes. * by the end of 1964, balance of payments deficit over 800 million pounds. * Stagflation * Britain’s GDP rate was the lowest in western Europe with a growth of only 2.3. * Overspending in defence – 1.7 billion in 1964. * Living standards under conservatives: * Wages generally increased - £8 6s in 1951, to £18 7s in 1964 – increased inflation due to more consumption. * Availability of credit – enabled people to borrow large sums of money * Housing – 1951-54 – 300’000 homes built a year * Rent act – 1957 * 1963 – 878’000 unemployed – embarrassingly high, ‘Britain never had it so good?’ * Fairly negative response to economic and social policies – governments failure to invest, lack of financial structure * 1958-59 – Immigration riots – Notting Hill, over 600 white males tried to break into black-owned properties. There was much social tension. * Commonwealth Immigration act – Attempted to limit immigration by creating a voucher scheme, which restricted the right of entry to those who actually had jobs to go to. * ‘Mods and Rockers’ * With concerns at UK’s economics growth, Macmillan looked towards joining the EEC. – French veto UK’s 1963 application. * 1959 – Conservatives win election due to divisions in Labour party and powerful propaganda * 1963 – The Profumo affair – minister of war, john porfumo had sexual liaison with Russian spy – suggested that PM was loosing political grip * Resigned in 1963, replaced by Douglas-Home.
Harold Wilson’s Government 1964 – 70 * Reasons for Labour’s victory in 1964 include the following – lack of conservative support/spirit, humiliation of EEC rejection, Labour party presented younger image. * 1964 – national plan – modernisation of tech, economy * 1967 – Britain’s second application to join the EEC – France Vetoed the application (again) * 1969 – ‘In Place Of Strife’ – introduction of a series of legal restrictions on the right of workers to strike. members of the union would have to be balloted and would have to agree by a clear majority on industrial action before a strike would be recognised as legal. * Not successful, created large divisions * 1965-68 – Race relation acts * 1967 – abortion act * 1967 – sexual offences act, The office ombudsman * 1968 – Commonwealth Immigration Act, Theatre Act * 1969 – Abolition of the death penalty, Divorce Reform Act * Criticisms of Wilson’s first gov. – Rising unemployment, growing inflation, wage controls, attempted restriction of trade union freedoms, immigration controls, Failed attempt to join Europe, support of USA involvement in Vietnam War
The Edward Heath Government 1970-4 * Heath’s new right policies – ‘Selsdon man’: * Abandoning Keynesianism, Returning to wage bargaining and market forces * But, resistance from unions to Industial Relation Act and economics problems force a U-turn * Prices and incomes policy restored * 1973 – The UK joins EEC at the third attempt: * Gains offset by oil price rise crisis, inflation, strikes in key industries – Three-day week – 1973 * Heath losses 1974 election: * Rapid inflation, wage settlements and lost orders caused by strikes. Resulted in decline in productivity. * Unemployment reached new levels. * Three-day week suggested government had lost control. * Miners successfully defied the government.
Labour in Office 1974-9 * 1974 – Labour small majority, only 42 seats above conservatives, relied on Lib Dems and formed Lib-Lab pact 1977. * Inflation – 1976 – first time the pound dropped below $2 * 1976 – The IMF crisis * Growing tensions with the unions – unemployment, IMF crisis * 1975 – Europe referendum * 1976 – Wilson retirement – replaced by Callaghan * 1978-9 - The winter of discontent – 22nd Jan, 1.5 mill workers went on strike – No school meals, no gravediggers, and no rubbish collectors. * 1979 election – Callaghan weakness: * Economic and financial crisis * Rising unemployment * Belligerent trade unionism * Political misjudgements * End of Lib-Lab pact proved disastrous for labour * Door opened for Mrs `Thatcher’s conservatives
The Thatcher Revolution – The first stage 1979-86 * Methods: * Monetarianism * Trade union reform * Local government reform * Short term consequences: * Recession and rising unemployment * Social unrest * Aims: * End the post – 1945 consensus * Reverse Keynesianism * Cut government spending * Cut taxes * Restrict bureaucracy * Take government off the backs of the people
Thatcher Revolution * 1982 – Falklands war – disputed sovereignty over the islands. Huge success – Upsurge in Margret’s popularity, wrongfooted the opposition, prepared the way for 1983 election success. * 1984-5 – The Miners strike – Thatcher didn’t want to put public money into dying industry, Miners argued with proper investment would come profit. * Impact of miners strike – Violence, 65% of Britain supported government, failed strikes allowed planned closures to go ahead quickly. * Thatcher seen as strong – ‘the iron lady’
Thatcher’s Economy – Supply Side Economics * Deregulation – concerted effort to remove the financial and legal restrictions that prevented economic efficiency. * Privatisation – Over 50 industries – British airways, British steel, British coal, Cable and wireless, British Telacom * 1986 – Westland affair – showed Margret’s ability to bully the cabinet and her subservience to Reagan and the USA. * 1987 election – Conservative got 375 seats compared to Labours 229 seats * 1988 – Education Reform Act – education subsidies, national curriculum introduced
The Fall Of Margret Thatcher * 1989-90 – Poll tax – Tax on members rather than size or location of home. Massive tensions and opposition throughout the country. Millions of people refused or avoided payment. * Many pushed towards Labour who offered a n Anti-Poll tax federation. * Thatcher’s own party was slowly turning against her * The Poll tax cost 2 ½ times more to collect the money than the actual money received which decreased government spending and increased taxes further. * Margret Thatcher and Europe – wanted to distance Britain from Europe – agued that Europe was outmoded in a n age of economic globalisation