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Liberal Reforming Legislation - Coggle Diagram
Liberal Reforming Legislation
Private Member's bills
laws of moral questions = free votes
1960s saw backbench Mps bring reform via this mechanism
Jenkins was sympathetic and enabled enough parliamentary time for the reforms to be passed
The end of capital punishment
Anti-Hanging Campaign
Ruth Ellis (1955)
Backbencher Syndeny Silverman
campagined for total abolition (Tories reduced number of offeneces 1957.)
1965 - free vote. Abolished for trial period 5 years
1969 - abolishment made permenant
Jenkins
Refused beating of prisoners
1967 brought in majority verdicts (was unanimity before.)
Divorce reform
prior to 1960s
demanded evidence that one party had committed adultery
required private detectives = only accessible for rich
Divorce Reform Act 1969
'no fault' divorce
Couple could divorce if:
they had lived apart for two years and both partners agreed to a divorce
they had lived apart for five years and one partner wanted divorce
Opposition - e.g Victor Goodhew - 'gradual erosion of the standards of christian upbringing.'
Impact
Increase in number of divorces
1950 - less than 2 divorce decrees per 1000 couples, by mid 1970s nearly 10 in every 1000 marriages divorced.
The legalisation of abortion
Prior to 1967
abortion (except on strictly medical grounds) was illegal
100,000 - 200,000 abortions performed each year
35,000 women admitted to hosipital due to botched abortions
1958-60 - 82 women died as a result
The Abortion Law Reform Association
campaigned from 1945
Thalidomide disaster 1959-62 swayed public opinion
Opposition - 1966 Society for the protection of the unborn child
Abortion Act
permitted legal termination of pregnancy within first 28 weeks
needed written consent from 2 doctors, and 'mental suffering' from mothers
Impact
number of abortions increased from 4 per 100 live births in 1968 (35,000) to 17.6 in 1975 (141,000)
The legalisation of homosexual relations
1967 sexual offences Act
decriminalised homosexual acts as long as
both partners had to consent
both had to be over the age of 21
it had to be in private
educational reform
Development of Comprehensive Schools
1964 - 1 in 10 students educated at comprehensive school (10x as many as 1951)
Tony Crosland - Circular 10/65
requested all schools converted to comprehensive
1966 - many more schools did after funding enticement
by 1970 - only 8 authorities failed to due so// 1145 comprehensive schools catering for 1 in 3 state school pupils
Expansion of Higher Education
Robbins Report 1961
Britain lagged behind France, Germany, US in provision of univerity places
Labour reforms
Polytechnics replaced colleges of technology
nine colleges of advanced technology became full universities
'new univeristies' established and charters given to some )e.g Sussex.)
Impact
1968 - 30 polytechnics and 56 universities
The Open University
Univeristy of the Air
by 1980
used radio and television
rapid success
had 70,000 students and awarding more degrees that Oxford and Cambridge
Labour's initial attitudes
Did not set out liberalising agenda - no mention on manifesto
Labour Leaders (Wilson and Brown) conservative on moral issues
working class labour MPs suspicious of change