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social developments (1951-1964) PART 1 - Coggle Diagram
social developments
(1951-1964)
PART 1
rising living standards
men's weekly wages went up; £8.30 (1951) to £15.35 (1961)
massive increase in private savings
1952, most economic indicators pointed upwards
farmers did economically well, encouraged by continued govt subsidies
shifts in population as slums were cleared meant established traditional communities were broken up - intensified by impact of private car ownership
end of food rationing (1954)
new towns (planned by Labour) such as Stevenage, Crawley, Corby, Cwmbran, grew rapidly
increased homeownership, easy access to cheap mortgages
pre-war slums cleared, new towns build (Harlow and Kirkby)
but people living in council houses and rented accommodation still outnumbered private homeowners in 50s
desperate need for housing developments to replace war damage + deal with decay of housing stock neglected in previous decade
infrastructure was run-down, needed modernising
impact of affluence and consumerism
1957-1959, households owning TV rose 32%, by 1960, 10 million TV sets in use. 50% of population watched TV in evening
people had more time and money to develop hobbies: DIY + gardening
affluence enabled new leisure opportunities
boom in car ownership; rose by 25% (1957-1959)
visual symbol of affluence = advertising industry, especially after launch of ITV 1955
car ownership = demand for new roads including motorways
TVs, washing machines, fridges, furniture bought on hire purchase
car travel changed ideas of holiday and leisure, commuting by car began to push housing developments further outside towns and cities
most obvious sign of new affluence = ownership of consumer goods
1958, construction of motorway system
work on M1 commenced soon after
1957-1963, 1200 miles of new/upgraded main roads were completed
holiday camps reached peak of popularity in 1950s
60,000 people holidayed each week w/ Butlins, people had paid time off work + enough disposable income to afford holidays
foreign holidays possible but a luxury enjoyed by >2%
class and the 'establishment'
1960s - satire boom
Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, Jonathon Miller = 'Beyond the Fringe'
provided excuse for popular press to investigate the sexual behaviour - Keller + Rice-Davies became celebs
'Private Eye' magazine (1961) - rapidly established loyal following for witty disrespect of great and famous
Profumo affair showed decline in deference
'That Was The Week That Was' TV show (1962), debut on BBC - satirising and lampooning public figures
Britain = becoming individualistic + less conformist
critics believed Britain was held back by ruling elite
CND rise (1958), encouraged challenging authority
Suez exposed blatant lying + manipulation
Britain needed leaders who earned position through personal merit, who better understood modern, technical age
late 1950s = attitude shift, gradual breakdown of old social restrictions + loss of deference
late 1950s, group of writers ('angry young men') led the way using arts to attack establishment behaviour and attitudes
strong class loyalties; 1951 GE, 65% w/c = Labour + 80% m/c = Cons
e.g.:1956, 'Look Back in Anger' - John Osborne
1951 Britain = deferential + conformist + ingrained respect for authority
although these attacks led to some change in social attitudes, class system was not broken
social scientists (Hoggart, Sampson, Snow) provided evidence of 'class-ridden' society, entrenched attitudes + lack of social mobility
position of women
by 1964, number of women working had risen - was still uncommon, especially with children
TU tended not to support women working, believed it would lower wages
mortgages and bank accounts were in men's names, made women largely financially dependent on their husbands
many believed it would damage children if their mother's worked
welfare state based on nuclear family + full employment for men
some improvements for middle class women workers
family allowance ensured women didn't need to work
equal pay for teachers (1952) and civil servants (1954)
1 in 5 women went to work (1951)
women's lives improved by new labour machine devices
average age married = 21, 75% all women married
washing machine owning rose 54%, fridge owning rose 58% (1957-1959)
1950s, primarily housewives
by the end of this period, second-wave feminism, began in USA - spread to UK in 1960s