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Chapter 30: The rise and fall of consensus (1951-1979) - Coggle Diagram
Chapter 30: The rise and fall of consensus (1951-1979)
Governments
1964-70: Labour (H. Wilson)
1970-74: Conservative (A. Heath)
1951-64 : Conservative (Churchill 51-55, A. Eden 55-57, Macmillan 57-63) : people “have never had it so good”.
1974-79: Labour (Wilson 74-76, J. Callaghan)
What was wrong with British economy?
Why was GB so inefficient?
Government are blamed for not having spent more money to grant managers and industry in order to encourage modernization.
TU claim they were only defending their jobs and blame the management for the decline of the industries (inefficient and lacked vision, greedy, no invest)
Manufacturers claimed the ‘stop-go’ policies are to blame since they discouraged investors. Plus, the £ is said to have been over-evaluated => :arrow_lower_right: exportations.
Management blame the unions to have crippled the economy through asking high wages and going on strike. The Financial Times called them “the robber barons of the system”.
British industry was not producing enough goods to export, and they were not cheap enough, compared to foreign competitors => 1950-80: from 1/4 to 10% of world exports of manufactured goods
Era of consensus politics (1951-79)
=> since WW2 and coalition gov, the Attlee's gov (only clash = nationalization)
1951: conservatives = no dramatic changed => WS was safeguarded (even extended) + mixed eco accepted =>
Butskellism
(Butler = Churchill's Chancellor of the Exchequer) + Gaitskell = Labour leader 55-63)
YET, had breaches => Conservatives vs Macmillan's decolo policy/public spending => complete breach when Thatcher became leader of Conservatives (1975)
Conservatives governments
Macmillan => deep social consciousness (
The Middle Way
1938 vs. unemployment), true progressive => leaders and ministers were really close ("tight little world") + restored image after Suez, economy booming
BUT GB lost Empire, missed opportunity to join Common Market 57 (refused 63) => 60s = stagnating eco + 1Mion unemployed in 63 => M's failure in foreign policy => Labour
Eden's premiership = disappointing => lost control of his cabinet + mishandling of Suez Crisis
Conservatives policies
extensions of the WS
help for agriculture => grants and subsidies + convinced farmers to use new fertilizers + new machinery + tech of feeding
improvement of living standards => end of restrictions => :arrow_upper_right: living standards and wages (trade unions granted by Ministry of Labour W. Monckton 50s) => TVs, cars
expension of education => built schools and uni (recommanded by 1963
Robbins Report
// debate 50s => need of a comprehensive system (grammar/technical etc.)
Economic policies
Conservatives failed to gather a sensible inflation, a good commercial balance of payments and growth => only "stop and go" policies
1960s: several "stops" => discouraged investors + refused by France in EEC (61)
THUS: creation of National Economic Development Council 61 (Neddy) + National Incomes Commission => bringing together representatives of gvt, business and trade unions to
discuss
production targets and wages and generally to encourage more central planning.
not enough invest in industry => tradi industries were outdone (japanese manu) + new industries were good but too expensive (aircrafts)
new social services took a lot of money -> some areas were forgotten (the North of England or Scotland).
scandals and cover-ups
Macmillan chose Lord Home to succed him BUT E. Powell and I. Macleod (rising stars of the party) refused to join his cabinet
Wilson had succeeded in reuniting the party, which was divided because of the nuclear weapon issue (he was in favour of it)
ministers wrongly accused to cover-up John Vassal (russian spy), Min for War John Profumo = affair with Christine Keeler who had an affair with a Russian naval attaché
has been the years of the entrance in the "affluent society"
Wilson gov
James Callaghan (Chanc of Exc) refused devaluation (= boom in exportations) BUT failure => had to be enforced in 1967
Reliable father-figure + tackled many eco pbs
Trade unions became really powerful => started "wild-cat" strikes (no official proc) =>
In place of strife
published in 1969 (white paper) : strikes had to be planned 28 days before, voted at majority by TU BUT had to be abandonned bc division of Labour + TUC protested
new policies
The Race Relations Act (1968): any discrimination = illegal => :arrow_upper_right: equality, Open universities = created for everybody to be able to have university lessons at home at the radio + TV.
The Abortion Act (1967) and The Sexual Offences Act (2 gay people over 21 could legally have sexual relations), the Divorce Reform Act (1969) = no more need for proof to divorce
Cq : Global standards of life (fridge, washing-machines)
BUT However, many key industries (coal, shipbuilding, textiles, railway) continued to contract -> 0,6 M unemployed men in 1970, notably because of the absence of devaluation early enough.
Heath gov
emergence of a new type of Tory, the name of which being ‘Selsdon Man’ (in 1970 in the Selsdon park = conference of the Conservatives led by Heath)
One-nation tory (as Disraeli and Macmillan) + pro-WS (introduced Family Income Supplement for poor families) + pro-planning + reform TU
wanted to decrease state interv + reduce stop and go policies + entered EEC (1973) + taxes cut
Sharp U-turn policy by Heath = re-imposing controls and holding wages down. Rolls-Royce was even nationalized to avoid its bankruptcy.
Industrial Relations Act
of 1971 => power to enforce ballots for strike and a 60-day ‘cooling-off’ period before a strike begins. The unions opposed it bitterly. The TUC forced the other unions not to accept it.
1972: wave of strikes
=> biggest one =
miners
’ strike =>; they were asking for :arrow_upper_right: of wages (coal industry was declining)Plus their wages were lagging behind other industries =>
National Union of Miners
(NUM) went on strike=> Mass picketing => Heath eventually gave way to their claims.
Foreign affairs were troubled: and the oil crisis of 1973 (inflation) [new NUM strikes bc inflation] + Ireland issue.
Heath was unyielding -> he declared the state of emergency, and TVs had to be turned down at 10.30 p.m., which was very unpopular.
Heath organized general elections BUT lost (Enoch Powell urged the voters to vote against his own party) on behalf of the refusal of the Britain’s membership in the EEC.
Labour in pwr again
Labour gained pop (Foot, Barbara Castle, Tony Benn) and accused Wilson not to be a real socialist
Wilson wanted to get the eco right => M. Foot Secretary of state for Employment => gave way to all the wages claims (abolished Heath's reforms)
referendum => pro-entrance in EEC (right wing) / against (left wing) => The yes won => the left-wing was weakened.
1976: Wilson brutally resigned (health, tiredness) => Callaghan became PM => resisted well to the new Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher.
Enormous pbs
inflation
financial crisis (balance of payments deficit following the oil crisi)
unemployment
:arrow_lower_right: confidence in £ => Callaghan had to ask for a loan from the IMF => condition = huge spending cuts => very unpopular => can see
1976 crisis as the end of the Keynesian consensus
BUT eco prospects were better, inflation was handled
two major acts
The Devolution Act of 1978
: Wales and Scotland were proposed to have their own parliament if the referendum gave them 40% of the suffrages. Both referendum results were below 40%.
The Lib-Lab Pact of 1977
: Labour associated with the Liberals in order to keep an overall majority (Liberals voted for the gvt’s bills) => condition was that the Liberals should be able to first discuss the bills introduced by the gvt before it was sent to the HOC (kind of veto)
Winter of discontent (1978-79) => death of the gov (10% inflation but :arrow_lower_right: wages) + 1,4Mion unemployed => => lost the 1979 general elections, Thatcher became PM.
Thatcher (cons leader since 75, supported by Powell) => monetarist + reduce UT ("enemies from inside"), :arrow_upper_right: health, educ, police and defense => liked by middle-class
GB in decline?
loss of empire, humiliation of Suez etc/ )> Dean Acheson (former Secretary of State) => "Britain has lost an Empire but has not yet found a role"
YET the “affluent society” was born in he 50s => :arrow_upper_right: of standards of living =>1957 Macmillan: “we have never had it so good”.
George L. Bernstein in The Myth of Decline – The Rise of Britain Since 1945. A.