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The End of the Post-war Consensus: 1970-1979 - Coggle Diagram
The End of the Post-war Consensus: 1970-1979
Heath's government 70-74
policies
selsdon park conference promised: tax reform, trade union reform, immigration controls, better law and order, cuts to public spending and subsidies to 'lame duck' industries
heath was one nation conservative
school leaving age raised to 16
decimalisation in 1971
barber boom
cuts in public spending
cuts in tax to encourage investment
rapid rise in inflation accompanied by a lack of economic growth, and rising unemployment created stagflation
'u-turn' in 1971 - rolls royce nationalised and upper clyde shipbuilders subsidised to stop bankruptcy
1973 - investment by govt. seemed to work as unemployment had halved
1973 oil crisis as result of yom kippur war prompted OPEC oil embargo, oil prices multiplied by 4 as exports suddenly stopped
oil crisis caused NUM to demand a huge new pay rise in 1973 - began tu struggle w govt.
economy
industrial relations act introduced to combat issues in industrial relations
set up ballot boxes
cooling off periods
industrial relations court
major strikes in 1972 by miners, ambulance drivers, firefighters, power workers, hospital staff, civil servants, engine drivers over TUC and CBI opposed industrial relations act
1972 saw highest no. of days lost since 1926 - nearly 24 million
arthur scargill led miners strike 1972 virtually stopped movement of coal around country - 1.2m workers were laid off
1972 industry act tried to manage wage demands with TUC and CBI and govt. discussions
3 day week introduced in 1974 to conserve electricity following all the strikes - energy crisis
Norther ireland
inherited when there was explosion of sectarian violence in NI
paramilitary organisations sprang up - IRA, INLA; UDA, UVF
internment policy in 1971 further alienated catholics - 95% interned were Catholic
IRA commander McVeigh said it was the best recruitment tool for the IRA
1972 NI Civil Rights Association march against internment became known as bloody sunday, when british soldiers open fired and hit 26 innocent civilians, killing 13 on the day
british embassy in dublin burnt down as result
heath suspended stormont parliament 1972 and gave direct rule from westminster to willie whitelaw
1973 sunningdale agreement negotiated between heath and whitelaw
power-sharing, new NI assembly elected under prop. rep., council of ireland have input from RoI
both sides denounced this as a sell-out
loss of tory support from UUP
480 peopled killed in 1972
1382 explosions 1972
10628 shootings 1972
state school educated
chief negotiator of EEC between 61-63
1974 general election revealed a hung parliament
Callaghan government 76-79
policies
devolution for scotland and wales acts passed in 1978 but defeated due to harsh criteria of referendum
Callaghan strengthened govt. through 'lib-lab' pact due to loss of labour majority by 1977
allowed him to defeat vote of no confidence from conservatives
1978 TUC rejected wage increase limit of 5% by govt.
growing unrest between 78-79 led to winter of discontent - greater psychological impact, low mood, than physical one of miners strike 1974
porters, dustbinmen, grave diggers
vote of no confidence in 1979 on basis of scottish devolution
Northern ireland
1975 elections for convention gave unionist majority who refused to power share with nationalists
convention dissolved in 1976
removal of special category status in 1976 for terrorist prisoners - treated as regular prisoners
1978 dirty protest of nakedness and poo in protest of SCS removal
economy
emergency IMF loan of £3bn
big spending cuts
reinforced Britain as in economic decline
North Sea Oil came on scene, with 9 oilfields in production by 1978
inflation fell to 10% and unemployment had started to fall
no. of days lost to strikes fell to a 10 year low
Wilson government 74-76
economy
inherited 15% inflation and £3bn BoP deficit
1975 healey's budget cut public spending and increased taxation
social contract wasn't limitign wage demands, so 1975 pay restraint policy introduced
intensified party divisions
NEB set up in 74 to monitor govt. share holdings in private companies
controversy of saving failing industries after nationalisation of British Leyland car manufacturers
1973 social contract negotiated in opposition with TUC - voluntary pay restraint in repeal of industrial act and pay board
Northern ireland
sunningdale agreement collapsed in 1974 due to opposition from both sides
direct rule reimposed as faulkner resigned as chief exec. of power sharing
wilson announced northern irish constitution convention to determine future of govt. in NI
Foreign relations
europe
1973 - british accession to the EEC on 3rd attempt
charles de gaulle was no longer president of france
heath was passionately pro-european
heath believed European cooperation was necessary to prevent any repetition of nazi horror
Georges Pompidou believed europe needed Britain as badly as we needed them
labour left very hostile to european integration, along with some tory MP's namely enoch powell
in 1975 17m voted yes to europe and only 8 said no
69 rebel labours helped heath to push for EEC join
USA
heath focused more on europe than atlantic alliance
rejected Kissinger, US sec of state, requests to use britain as a link with europe but heath told him instead to negotiate for himself with euope
heath got on personally well with richard nixon, and was more forthright with support over vietnam than wilson had been
callaghan had a strong relationship personally with kissinger and negotiated the replacement of polaris misslies with trident in 1979 with P jimmy carter
further strain on anglo-american relations in 1973 due to yom kippur war when Britain refused US to use NATO airbases to airlift supplies to israel
USSR
detente in 1970s as after cuban missile crisis us and ussr met and talked to prevent it reoccurring agreeing on limits to the build up of arms
china
Nixon announced a thawing of relations with china and met with them in 1972 in china
britain followed suit in march 1972 and ambassadors were exchanged
1974 onwards heath visited china multiple times and was awarded the highest honour any foreigner could be by the government - 'people's friendship envoy'
1979 a Chinese leader was the first to visit britain following the communist revolution
tensions remained nevertheless, and this was highlighted by the markov affair in 1978
a critic of the bulgarian communist regime was assassinated in london by a poisoned pellet from an umbrella - it was suspected by the KGB but never proven
Society developments
environmentalism
emergence of environmental pressure groups
friends of the earth formed in UK in 1971
1977 - greenpeace UK
1973 - animal rights protesters = violent attacks on pharmaceutical labs after beagle discovery of 30 cigarettes
1979 - david attenborough's "life on earth" series addressed the importance of nature conservation
1976 - animal liberation front formed and adopted violent tactics such as letter bombs to politicians (thatcher in 1984)
gender
high point of second wave feminism in the 70's
women's lib organisations disrupted miss world contest as it 'objectified' women
women's lib held demonstrations in march 1971 in liverpool and london demanding equal pay and free 24 hour nurseries
split into radical fems. who believed women were oppressed by a patriarchal society (favouring men)
and social feminists who fought to establish financial independence
pill more widespread in 1971 as available on NHS
1976 - first rape crisis centre opens in london
1976 domestic violence act enabled restraining orders against violent partners
reclaim the night marches across britain following yorkshire ripper murders
sex discrimination act 1975 - ban discrim. on grounds of gender or marital status
act set up equality opportunties commission to oversee EPA and SDA - ineffective only 9 hearings over 8 years
employment protection act 1975 introduced paid maternity leave and outlawed dismissal on grounds of prgenancy
womens wages rose from 59% in 70 to 70% in 77
race and immigration
1971 immigration act - restrictions on immigration
Heath made resettlement board for 28,000 expelled Ugandan asians - free from immigration act restrictions
1974 - over 1m commonwealth immigrants had settled in Britain
1976 race relations act - banned discrimination on basis of race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origins
commission for racial equality was set up under the 76 RRA - investigate complaints and compel witnesses before it
the national front became increasingly more popular throughout the 70's and opposed non-white immigration
assaults and robberies against asians and african-caribbeans rose by a third in the late 70's
anti-nazi league set up in 1977 to combat this increased racial violence
skinheads attracted by front ideas and joined in 'paki-bashing' , other young people fought against racism
rock against racism set up in 1976, and in 1978 100,000 people gathered in trafalgar square at a concert headlined by the clash
in 1976 only 70 of 22000 police officers came from an ethnic background in the MET
tensions between police and ethnics was common, notting hill carnival experienced lots, in 1976 this hostility led to a riot with over 300 people injured
youth
1975-76 = beginning of punk movement
punk was designed to be shocking - bondage gear, ripped shirts, safety pins and spikey hair/ mohawks
punk culture created moral panic due to behaviour - frequent scuffles and spitting at concerts
skinheads became linked to the national front
rise in football hooliganism - fights common - became known as 'english disease'