Edexcel AS/A-level History

Edexcel AS/A-level History

BRITAIN TRANSFORMED Series Editor Peter Callaghan Target success in Edexcel AS/A-level History with this proven formula for effective, structured revision. Key content coverage is combined with exam preparation activities and exam-style questions to create a revision guide that you can rely on to review, strengthen and test your knowledge. Written by an expert author, My Revision Notes Edexcel AS/A-level History: Britain transformed 1918–97 enables you to: l

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Edexcel AS/A-level History BRITAIN TRANSFORMED 1918–97

1918–97

BRITAIN TRANSFORMED 1918–97

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My revision planner   5 Introduction

1: A changing political and economic environment, 1918–79   6   8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28

Britain in 1918 Changing party fortunes, 1918–31 The National Government, 1931–45 Labour government, the rise of consensus politics and political   challenge, 1945–79 Responding to economic challenges: post-war boom, crisis and   recovery, 1918–39 Creating a managed economy, 1939–51 The response to economic challenges, 1951–79 Change and challenge in the workplace, 1918–39 Changing work opportunities and conditions, 1939–79 Industrial relations, 1939–79, and the reasons for their breakdown in   the 1960s Industrial relations in the 1970s Exam focus

2: Creating a Welfare State, 1918–79 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48

The extent and nature of social welfare provision, 1918–39 The impact of war, the Labour government and consensus, 1939–64 The reasons for increasing challenges to state welfare provision, 1964–79 Health provision, 1918–45 The creation and impact of the National Health Service, 1945–79 The challenge of medical advances, 1945–79 Education policy, 1918–43, and the 1944 (Butler) Education Act The development of comprehensive education to 1979 The growth and social impact of university education, 1918–79 Exam focus

3: Society in transition, 1918–79 50 Class, social change and the impact of wars, 1918–51 52 The emergence of the ‘liberal society’ and its opponents, 1951–79 54 The right to vote, political advancement and economic opportunities for   women, 1918–79 56 Changes in family life and the quest for personal freedoms, 1918–79 58 The struggle to improve the role and status of women, 1968–79 60 Immigration policies and attitudes towards ethnic minorities, 1918–39  62 The impact of the Second World War and New Commonwealth immigration 64 Policies on race relations and immigration, 1958–79 66 Exam focus

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4: The changing quality of life, 1918–79 68 The impact of boom, crisis and recovery, 1918–39, and the significance   of regional differences 70 The effects of ‘total war’ and austerity, 1939–51 72 The growth of a consumer society, 1951–79 74 The impact of mass popular culture, 1918–79 76 Popular music, radio and television, 1918–79 78 Youth culture, 1955–79 80 The growth in spectator sports from the 1920s 82 The development of mass tourism from the 1930s 84 The impact of car ownership and other travel developments, 1918–79 86 Exam focus

5: Historical interpretation: What impact did Thatcher’s governments (1979–90) have on Britain, 1979–97? 88 Thatcher’s economic policies in the first term, 1979–83 90 Economic developments of the second term, 1983–87 92 The extent to which state intervention and the public sector were ‘rolled back’ 94 The extent of political and social division within Britain 96 The effect of Thatcherism on politics and party development 98 The social and political impact of Thatcherism into the 1990s 100 Exam focus 105 Glossary 108 Key figures 110 Timeline 111 Mark scheme 113 Answers

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1 A changing political and economic environment, 1918–79 Britain in 1918 The First World War ended in November 1918. Britain had lost over 750,000 men, with 2,273,000 wounded, and owed £1 billion, mainly to the USA. The war had a huge impact on the political, economic and social landscape and would significantly influence post-war developments.

Political effects Britain in 1918 was governed by a wartime coalition of Liberals and Conservatives, led by David Lloyd George. There had not been a general election since 1910, so the biggest question was whether the coalition would continue. A new election was scheduled for December 1918.

Representation of the People Act The Representation of the People Act, passed in February 1918, had trebled the electorate from 7.7 million to 21.4 million out of a total population of approximately 41.6 million: ●● All women over the age of 30 had been given the right to vote – over 8 million in number. ●● All men previously unenfranchised were given the vote – about 6 million in total.

Many opposed the manner in which Lloyd George had defeated Asquith as Prime Minister in 1916, which they saw as devious and underhand. The result was a split in the party between supporters of Lloyd George and Asquith. Asquith remained leader of the party itself until October 1926, when Lloyd George took over. ●● Supporters of Asquith felt Lloyd George’s wing of the party had become too close to the Conservatives in policy. In particular, they had opposed conscription during the war. ●●

Labour The Labour Party had been created in the late nineteenth century to represent the interests of the trade union movement, from which it received most of its finance. The trade unions saw the Labour Party as the means by which workers’ pay and conditions could be improved through the work of Labour MPs in parliament. The Labour Party was expected to gain more MPs through the growth of the electorate.

Political parties

1918 election

Conservatives

The election saw an overwhelming victory for the wartime coalition – Conservatives and pro-coalition Liberals won 459 seats, with ten other MPs supporting them. The largest single opposition party was Labour, with 57 MPs. The new government, however, faced significant problems.

The Conservative Party had widened its appeal during the previous century as the party mainly of the middle and upper classes but with a substantial working-class vote – possibly as many as 25 per cent of the working classes voted Conservative. It had been part of the wartime coalition formed by Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Asquith since 1915. However, as a result of electoral success in the 1918 and 1922 elections, many Conservatives felt the party was strong enough to govern independently.

Liberals While Lloyd George had led the wartime coalition from 1916, the Liberal Party itself was deeply divided for various reasons: ●● Lloyd George was the Prime Minister and leader of those Liberals who supported the coalition while Asquith remained official leader of the party itself.

Maintaining unity The Conservatives held most seats among coalition supporters – at least 332. Clearly Lloyd George was dependent on their support, which could be withdrawn if they wished to form a government of their own. In addition, many Conservatives disliked Lloyd George’s use of the honours system by which he openly sold peerages and knighthoods to wealthy supporters to keep the Liberals in power.

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Look at the following sample exam question and a paragraph written in answer to this  question. Why does this paragraph not get into level 5? Once you have identifi ed the  mistake, rewrite the paragraph so that it displays the qualities of level 5. The mark  scheme on page 111 will help you. 

How far do you agree that the political landscape was transformed between 1918 and 1939?

The political landscape was transformed after 1918. In 1918, Britain was governed by a coalition of Liberals and Conservatives, led by David Lloyd George. Britain did not usually have coalition governments so the big issue was whether this one would continue in peacetime. The Representation of the People Act, passed in February 1918, had trebled the electorate from 7.7 million to 21.4 million: it had given the vote to all women over the age of 30 – over 8 million in number – and all men previously unenfranchised through lack of property qualifications – about 6 million in total. Many Conservatives wanted to see the end of the coalition. They felt they were strong enough as a party to govern themselves.

Complete the paragraph Look at the following sample exam question and a paragraph written in answer to  this question. The paragraph contains a point and specifi c examples, but lacks a  concluding analytical link back to the question. Complete the paragraph adding this  link in the space provided.

1 A changing political and economic environment, 1918–79

Spot the mistake

How far was the political landscape in the period 1918 to 1939 transformed by the Representation of the People Act 1918?

The Representation of the People Act was passed in February 1918 and trebled the electorate from 7.7 million to 21.4 million. In particular, it gave the vote to 8 million women over the age of 30 and 6 million men previously unable to vote through lack of property qualifications. The big issue was of course which party this new electorate would vote for. The Conservatives had opposed votes for women while the Liberals had formed the government which had fought the suffragette campaign. Labour on the other hand had supported female enfranchisement, while many of the new male electorate, coming from the poorer classes of society, might be expected to vote Labour. Overall therefore…

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1 A changing political and economic environment, 1918–79

The response to economic challenges, 1951–79 The years 1951 to 1979 saw a period of sustained economic growth which lasted until the early 1970s. However, within this there were signs of economic problems, notably: ●● under-investment in industry leading to relatively low productivity ●● a continuing trade deficit leading to weaknesses in sterling ●● inflation ●● worsening industrial relations (see page 24). However, despite temporary periods of improvement in the economic situation, by the end of the period Britain’s economy was experiencing serious problems from inflation and union unrest.

The post-war boom The period of Conservative government from 1951 to 1964 saw a period of economic growth and unprecedented rises in living standards.

‘Stop–Go’ Conservative chancellors followed a risky policy of ‘Stop–Go’. Macmillan’s entire team of Treasury ministers resigned in 1957 over these measures. They wanted to reduce government spending, for example on welfare.

Government economic strategies Planning economic growth Successive governments promoted planned economic growth. In 1961 the Conservative government set up two organisations to develop a planned economy: ●● the National Economic Development Council (NEDDY), in which representatives of employers, unions and government planned growth ●● the National Incomes Commission (NICKY) to regulate wage demands. Under the Labour government of 1964–70, a new Department of Economic Affairs was created. Its aim was to create a National Plan to guide economic development by encouraging competition between government, employers and trade unions. However, economic growth remained poor and by 1967 the plan was dropped.

Sterling Sterling, valued too highly, was in a continuous crisis. In November 1967, the government devalued sterling by 14 per cent. This improved exports, which became cheaper, but led to greater inflation at home as imports became more expensive – by 1968 inflation had risen to 18 per cent per annum. ▼ Table 1.4 Balance of payments deficits (in £ millions) Year

Deficit

1961

−95

1964

−382

1967

−301

Source: S. Pollard, Development of the British Economy 1914–1990 (Hodder Education, 1992)

The 1973 oil crisis Post-war prosperity was largely dependent on cheap fuel. The biggest providers of this were the OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) countries, located mainly in the Middle East. In September 1973, a major war broke out between Israel and its Arab neighbours. OPEC both reduced its supply of oil and raised prices as a response to perceived Western support for Israel – from $2 to $35 a barrel (between 1973 and 1980). This was the 1973 oil crisis.

Effects of the oil crisis There were severe shortages of fuel for industry and petrol for transport. ●● Imports became more expensive, and the value of sterling was further reduced. The value of £1 fell to $1.50. This led to huge budget deficits. ●● After having fallen slightly in the early 1970s, inflation grew again – to 16 per cent by 1974. ●●

In 1976, with the deficit continuing, the exchange rate collapsed from a high of £1 = $2.41 in March 1975 to $1.80 by May 1976 and $1.63 by October. In November, the government had to apply to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan of £3 billion. The condition was deflationary measures to reduce inflation, including reductions in government spending – by seven per cent in 1978.

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Look at the following sample exam question and timeline. Read the question, study the timeline and,  using three coloured pens, put a Red, Amber or Green star next to the events to show:  Red:  

events and policies that have no relevance to the question 

Amber:   events and policies that have some signifi cance to the question  Green:  

events and policies that are directly relevant to the question 

1  To what extent did governments respond to economic problems in the years 1951 to 1979?

Election of Conservative government 1951

Election of Labour government committed to economic modernisation Profumo Devaluation scandal

Retirement of Churchill as Prime Minister 1953

1955

1957

1959

Suez crisis Resignation of Treasury ministers over ‘Stop–Go’ policies

1961

1963

1965

1967

Creation of Failure of Setting up of NEDDY Department of National Plan and NICKY Economic Affairs

Oil crisis 1969

1971

Election of Conservative government

1973

Sterling crisis – IMF loan 1975

1977

Election of Labour governments (twice)

Now repeat the activity with the following questions: 2 H ow significant were continued trade deficits in the economic problems facing Britain in

1 A changing political and economic environment, 1918–79

RAG – rate the timeline

the years 1951 to 1979?

3 How far did British economic policy change in the years 1951 to 1979?

Eliminate irrelevance Below are a sample exam question and a paragraph written in answer to this question. Read the  paragraph and identify parts of the paragraph that are not directly relevant to the question. Draw a line  through the information that is irrelevant and justify your deletions in the margin.

How accurate is it to say that Britain faced continued economic crises in the years 1964 to 1979?

In some ways, Britain faced continued economic crises during the years 1964 to 1979. In particular, when Labour took office in 1964 it faced problems with sterling, which was valued too highly making exports expensive. The balance of payments deficit rose from −£95 million in 1961 to −£301 million by 1967. This led to devaluation, or reduced value, of sterling, which eased the problem of exports while making imports more expensive. This led to greater inflation of prices. However, it was the 1973 oil crisis which really caused problems as Britain had been dependent on cheap supplies of oil. Arab suppliers had limited the supplies of oil and increased the cost to Western nations because they blamed them for supporting Israel. There were fears that petrol might be rationed and drivers not be able to use their cars on Sundays. The rising cost of oil in fact made the trading situation worse and increased prices. Inflation rose again to 16 per cent by 1974.

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1 A changing political and economic environment, 1918–79

Changing work opportunities and conditions, 1939–79 Between 1939 and 1979 the availability and types of employment changed dramatically as the economy moved from manufacturing towards the service industries. The 1950s and 1960s saw almost full employment. However, the 1970s saw more challenging conditions, and the ending of the government commitment to full employment.

Second World War The movement to war production brought full employment by 1941 and the deployment of large numbers of women into factories and jobs previously designated for men. Factories which may have been underused during the 1930s switched to building weapons and munitions. By 1944 it was estimated that 33 per cent of the civilian population was involved in war work, including 7 million women.

Wartime employment Minister of Labour Ernest Bevin had issued an Essential Work Order in March 1941 which tied people to jobs considered essential for the war effort and made it difficult for employers to dismiss them. Even so there was a shortage of skilled workers, for example in engineering and shipbuilding. From September 1939 the Control of Employment Act was used to allow semi-skilled workers to undertake formerly skilled jobs. Skilled workers in essential war industries were also exempted from military service.

Bevin Boys One controversial policy, beginning in December 1943, was the conscription of ten per cent of young men into the coal mines rather than military service. ‘Bevin Boys’ often resented this enforced alternative to joining the armed forces.

The post-war period Full employment in the 1950s and 1960s Between the 1940s and 1970s, both Labour and Conservative parties maintained a commitment to full employment. This was in part possible due to favourable economic conditions throughout much of the 1950s and 1960s. Unemployment rose to above two per cent in only eight of the years between 1948 and 1970.

Working conditions Levels of low unemployment had a direct impact on industrial relations. Employers needed to offer attractive wages and working conditions to maintain their workforce.

Employment opportunities With better education and a buoyant economy, people had more employment choice. As technology developed, there were more opportunities, for example in electronics, light engineering and the provision of consumer goods. More managers were required. There was growth too in the service sector, tourism (see page 82), shops and restaurants.

Growth of unemployment in the 1970s As industrial problems developed, unemployment rose to 1 million by 1972. The decline in heavy industry meant that unemployment was more acute in industrial areas such as the North, South Wales, the Midlands and Scotland. In the West Midlands, for example, so much of the industry was geared to motor vehicle production and components that problems in motor vehicle production could have massive knock-on effects – a downturn in the car-producing factories, for example, led to short-time working in headlight manufacture. Firms involved in high technology, particularly the manufacture of computers, however, were largely immune from downturns in the economy. By 1976 the Labour government abandoned the commitment to full employment and accepted that market forces would have a greater role in determining levels of employment.

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Look at the following series of definitions, a sample exam question and two sample conclusions. One of the  conclusions achieves a high mark because it contains an argument. The other achieves a lower mark because  it contains only description and assertion. Identify which is which. The mark scheme on page 111 will help you. Description: a detailed account. Assertion: a statement of fact or an opinion which is not supported by a reason. Reason: a statement which explains or justifi es something. Argument: an assertion justifi ed with a reason.

To what extent did working opportunities and conditions change in the years 1964 to 1979?

Overall, working opportunities and conditions changed significantly in the period 1964 to 1979. One of the most significant changes was the abandonment of the commitment to full employment which had been a mainstay of economic policy since 1945. This was no longer possible as industrial problems developed and firms began to retrench or close down. This was particularly the case in heavy industries, centred in areas such as Northern England, the Midlands, South Wales and Scotland. In many cases British firms were no longer competitive in a growing global market; underinvestment and inefficient practices meant they could not continue to operate. By 1972 unemployment was 1 million. By 1976 the Labour government abandoned the commitment to full employment and accepted that market forces would have a greater role in determining levels of employment. However, this picture was not universal across Britain. Firms employing new technologies continued to perform well and often looked to expand their workforce.

As industrial problems developed, unemployment rose to 1 million by 1972. The decline in heavy industry meant that unemployment was greater in industrial areas such as the North of England, South Wales, the Midlands and Scotland. In the West Midlands, for example, so much of the industry was geared to motor vehicle production and components that problems in motor vehicle production could have massive knock-on effects – a downturn in the car producing factories, for example, led to short-time working in headlight manufacture. By 1976 the Labour government abandoned the commitment to full employment.

1 A changing political and economic environment, 1918–79

Identify an argument

Turning assertion into argument Below are a sample exam question and a series of assertions. Read the exam question and then add a  justifi cation to each of the assertions to turn it into an argument.

How significant were the changes in employment patterns between 1951 and 1979?

1 In the 1950s high employment rates had a significant impact on industrial relations because… ________________________________________________________________________ 2 The development of new technologies brought more employment opportunities because… ________________________________________________________________________ 3 Unemployment grew in the 1970s because… ________________________________________________________________________ 4 Employment patterns changed in the 1970s as a result of… ________________________________________________________________________

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