Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Britain booklet 1 the affluent society- 1951-64 - Coggle Diagram
Britain booklet 1 the affluent society- 1951-64
Social developments
Women
At home
75% of women were married with the average age of marriage being 21
Lives were dominated by domestic chores
Household appliances more common - between 1957-9 households with a washing machine increased by 54% and with a fridge by 58%. This made women’s lives easier but unfulfilled
At work
Women tended to be deterred from working, especially after marriage and children
Widely believed that working mothers were detrimental to their child’s development
Family Allowance benefit paid by the government encouraged women to stay at home
Trade unions discouraged women in the workplace as they feared the competition would lead to the decrease in wages for men
Some middle class women benefited from the introduction of equal paper for teachers in 1952 and the civil service in 1954
Youth
Emergence of youth culture
They dressed differently
Listened to different music
Went to new coffee bars rather than old tea houses
5 million teenagers in the uk by 1959 which was about 10% of the population
Young people had more money to buy records and fashion helping to create their own culture
By the late 50s there were tv shows and magazines aimed directly at the youth
Teddy Boys were the most obvious youth and subculture- linked with crime
Introduction of the mods and rockers
Race and immigration
Immigration
By 1958 210,000 Commonwealth citizens had located to Britain
75% were men supporting family back home
Majority from West Indies, then India and Pakistan
In the 1960s 1.2m came to Britain
Emmigration
Many moved to Australia and North America
Australia was keen to attract migrants and offered assistance with travel, jobs and housing
In the 1950s 1.32m Britons migrated
In the 1960s 1.92m migrated
Race
The Notting hill riots was a break out of serious violence in Notting hill 1958, an area with a high concentration of Caribbean people
Was a very run down area and many landlords exploited tenants with overcrowded and badly maintained housing
The violence was mostly white youths attacking West Indians
a reporter heard youth shouting "come on lets get the blacks and the coppers"
General living
Rise in living standards
Men's weekly wages were going up from £8.30 in 1951 to £15.35 by 1961
Massive increases in private savings and food rationing had ended by 1954
Homeownership increased
Surge in ownership of consumer goods such as TVs, washing machines, furniture etc
New leisure opportunities
Number of households owning a TV rose by 32% between 57-59 and by 1960 there were 10 million TVs in use
People had more time to develop hobbies such as DIY and gardening
Boom in car ownership which rose by 25% between 1957-59
Conservative governments
Economy-
Labour divisions
Gatskell= Right
Clause VI- Increasingly saw nationalisation as only one possible policy to be used where appropriate
Nuclear weapons- Against unilateral disarmament
Prescription charges- In favour of this to help tackle financial pressures
Bevan= Left
Prescription Charges- Not in favour as they believed in the free NHS
Clause VI- Wholly supportive of nationalisation
Nuclear weapons- Many in support of the campaign for nuclear disarmament
Leadership
Macmillan 1957-1963
Strengths
Calm, reassuring- good on TV
One nation Conservatism
Reputation from housing policy under Churchill
Super Mac- economic boom
Weaknesses
Lately suffered ill health
Became seen as old fashioned
Policies
Social
-
NHS and welfare funding
Government regulations: e.g. Clean Air Act 1956, Factory Act 1959
Some liberal reforms: Homicide Act 1957, Wolfenden Report 1957
Housing
- Promised to build 300,000 houses per year by 1953
Education
- Tripartite system (Grammar, technical, secondary modern) via the Butler Act 1944
Industry
- Many key industries remained nationalised (only steel and iron denationalised in 1953)
Theories
-
Mixed economy
Full employment
Support welfare and NHS
Anthony Eden 1955-1957
Strengths
Foreign policy expert
Experienced and acted as Churchills deputy
Charming and popular
Weaknesses
Inexperienced in domestic affairs
Ill health
Weak leader and indecisive- Issues with Sues crisis
Churchill- 1951-1955
Strengths
Wartime veteran- good reputation
Able minister in Eden, Butler, Macmillan
International Statesmen
Weaknesses
He was very old
Uninterested in domestic affairs
Had lots of health issues putting him away from actions
Foreign relations
Korean War 1950-53
Britain supplied 90,000 troops for the korean war, second only to the USA
Decolonisation
In 1956 Sudan gained independence
In 1957 Ghana gained independence
The impact of the suez crisis along with the economic burden of maintaining the empire lead to the decolonisation
Suez crisis 1956
It was an invasion of Egypt in 1956 by Israel, followed by the united kingdom and france
Britain's special relationship
Remained close despite
Attempts to join the EEC
Economic Developments
Stop Go Economics
After years of severe austerity there was a threat that consumer demand would result in imports outstripping exports.
= balance of payments problem
There was a danger the economy would grow at a faster pace than production
= inflation
The Suez Crisis 1956 triggered a downturn
The Stop-Go economic strategy employs a cycle of deflationary (Stop), and inflationary (Go) measures to curb inflation and maintain full employment.
The stop go economics being hard to control
In 1961 the UK went to the IMF for a loan and was forced to pause pay increases
National Economic Development Council set up for more stable future changes
1962 National Incomes Commission established to control future wages
1963 application to join the EEC was rejected
Beeching Report - large cut in stations/train lines
By 1964 a deficit of £800 million
The post war boom
1962 saw BALANCE OF PAYMENTS PROBLEM, economics of stop-go > Macmillan sets up NEDC (National Economic Development Council) in attempt to get economic cooperation between government, employers and unions.
End of food rationing
All exports rose between 1952 and 1962: Britain +29%, France +86%, Germany +247%, Japan +378%
Britain fell behind in productivity per person.
Productivity increased with full employment by 1955
After WW2 the global economy grew-
1951-1964 – Britain’s economy grew 40% (but France 50%, West Germany 250%, Japan 400%)
Tax cuts of £134m meant people were able to buy more goods
However despite all of this Britain was not doing nearly as good as other countries economies