The Making of Modern Britain 1951-2007: September 2013

Changing social attitudes and the growth of a "Youth Subculture" in the 1960's

Growing affluence of society enabled some young people on good wages to feel independent and ready to ignore traditional ways.

Pockets of poverty did not share in the general prosperity - felt bitter and alienated.

Teenagers of the 1960's were the first generation to not have lived through the hardships and depression of WWII.

Advertisers targeted teenagers - sold them clothes, pop records and encouraged them to regard themselves as special and different.

Psychologically, the young were throwing off traditional restraints and act out their feelings and desires.

Britain was seen as "grey" and "backwards" - teenagers wanted more excitement in their lives.

Scandals from the Establishment (e.g. the Profumo affair) hardly set an example of responsible behaviour.

Boom time for satire - regular mocking on TV and theatre of politicians, deference was crumbling as a result.

Population boom - more young people around than before.

Affluent society - teenagers had more money and time (as working hours declined) to spend in café's and jazz clubs.

Music became a massive influence on teenagers - pop and rock and roll was first introduced.

Sexual liberation - legalisation of homosexuality, availability of the pill, explicit books were accepted.

Was there a Social Revolution in the 1960's?

Yes

Subcultures opposed to established society were developing e.g.: Mods, Rockers, Teddy Boys.

Emergence of youth culture.

An outburst of individualism.

Greater freedoms in fashion and self-expression.

Technological advances - TVs, Cars, Air travel etc.

Growth of "world news" and international media images.

Greater affluence and availability of credit.

Improvements in material life and the "consumer society."

Upheavals in immigration and class.

Sexual liberation - the pill was available for the first time, homosexuality was legalised, first explicit book was published.

There was changes in where people lived and transport systems.

Major changes in education and secondary school development.

"Conservative backlash" from the older generation.

Social change ebbs and flows - society is always changing.

Social change in the 1960's didn't effect everyone - depended on age, class and region of living.

The changes didn't last.

Middle classes instigated a backlash at the changes made - "class system was dented, but not broken."

Most people resisted a lot of the changes.

British Society in 1951

Britain was still visibly damaged from WWII.

Rationing had just ended.

Young men still had to do 2 years in National Service.

Class loyalties were still strong.

Population boom.

Increasing social tensions.

Start of mass immigration.

Increasing social mobility.

There was powerful debate about the organisation of education.

Birth rates was consistently ahead of death rates - NHS and welfare state only increased that gap.

There was inward migration from the Republic or Ireland, West Indies and countries that had just gained independence from Britain.

Also a lot of migration outward (mainly to Australia and America).

People were moving away from town centres and city centres to new towns ("green field sites").

Invention of cars - people could live further away from where they work.

Was there a "Golden Age" between 1951-1964 or "thirteen wasted years"?

Golden Age

Economy was growing.
Increase in wages and real wages - people can buy more for their money.
More people were buying TVs, washing machines, refrigerators etc. which people could not afford in the past.
Unemployment was low compared to present day.
Credit was given more freely - more people began to borrow money from banks etc.
More people were going on holiday abroad.
Inflation never rose above 5%.
Living standards were rising.
Industry was still growing (even though it was slow).
Britain recovered quickly to the financial problem after the Suez Crisis.

"Thirteen wasted years"

Budget politics - political parties declare tax cuts before the General Election, they get elected, consumer spending rises resulting in the increase of inflation.
Economic growth was poor compared to other countries (relative decline).
Conservative party did not have a economic strategy - "stop-go" economics was failing.
Unemployment was rising.
World trade was declining.
Shipbuilding and car companies had collapsed.
Companies were reluctant to invest.
Productivity in British industry was declining.
Devaluation of the pound.
Inflation growth.
In industry: poor management (poorly trained workers and managers), managers paid themselves a lot, frequent strikes among the workers slowed down productivity, machinery was inferior compared to other countries therefore produced less.
Britain tended to spend more money abroad and in defence - meant that cutbacks in domestic investment was necessary.
NHS cost more than expected.
Lack of technical and scientific education - British culture taught children to be gentlemanly instead of entrepreneurs.
People's attitude towards work was complacent and generally negative.

Why did the Conservative political dominance come to an end? 1961-1964

Economic growth in western Europe was leaving Britain behind.

Macmillan tried to get Britain into the EEC, which was rejected.

Cycle of "stop-go" economics continued.

Britain had a big balance of payment deficit - had to ask for a loan at the IMF.

In 1962, Macmillan did the Night of the Long Knives - he sacked seven senior ministers.

Beaching report: recommended cuts in Britain's railway network - caused public outrage.

Profumo affair: Macmillan's defence minister, John Profumo, had an affair with a prostitute who had links to a man in the Russian military. He talked about Britain's defence to her who would, in turn, tell her Russian friend. Profumo ended up lying to Parliament to cover it up but they found out anyway. This made the Conservatives look bad in the eyes of the public.

Macmillian fell ill and had to resign in 1963.

Alec Douglas-Home replaced Macmillan - was a "compromise candidate". He was old and very old fashioned.

In contrast, Labour had chosen a new leader - Harold Wilson - who was younger, a better leader and a good campaigner.

Labour party split had healed with the new leader.

Labour's slogan was catchy - "13 years of Tory misrule, 13 wasted years."

General atmosphere of the public - people believed it was time for change.

Satire (mocking comedy) became popular - Conservatives became targets.

1964 election saw the rebirth of the Liberal party - took votes away from the Conservatives.

Conservative Political Elites 1951-1964

Winston Churchill

Reputation gained during WWII.
Was not a great Prime Minister between 1951-1955
Named an "absentee" PM - was either abroad or ill.
Concentrated more on international politics, so left the day-to-day running of the country to Eden, Macmillan and Butler.

Anthony Eden

Rising political star from the 1930's.
Key role in Churchill's wartime government.
Eden was acting PM when Churchill was absent between 1951-1955.
He felt annoyed that Churchill hadn't already stepped down.
Churchill may have had doubts about Eden - they had a strained relationship.
Became PM in 1955 after Churchill resigned.
Eden was forced to resign after the Suez Crisis - his career ended in failure.

Harold Macmillan

Star politician
He was Churchill's military liaison officer.
He gained his reputation in 1951 when he became the housing minister - he built 300,000 houses per year.
Became foreign secretary when Eden became PM.
Macmillan took over the Conservative party when Eden resigned.
He was clever with the media who tended to be on his side.
Was the first PM to utilise TV.
Newspapers called him "Supermac."
He had a theatrical style and was in touch with public opinion.
Labour party was a mess during his time.
Famous for saying that Britain "had never had it so good."

Why were there internal divisions in the Labour Party leading up to the 1959 election?

Attlee had continued as leader until 1955, but the wartime generation of labour leaders were ageing and splits started to grow in the party over ideology and between personalities.

The key personality clash was between the leader after 1955 (Hugh Gaiskell) and Aneurin Bevan. Gaitskell was on the Right wing of the Labour party whereas Bevan was on the Left. The party became split into the "Gaitskellites" and the "Bevanites."

The 1959 election proved to be a crushing defeat. The splits in the party widened further over two key issues - the Trade Unions and Nuclear disarmament.

Britain had developed a nuclear bomb in the 1950's. CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) was formed as a result in 1958. CND became the most powerful pressure group in Britain and organised big demonstrations. Many left wingers in the Labour party joined them which may have turned some voters away from Labour in 1959. Hugh Gaitskell suffered defeats at party conferences over the issue.

At the same time, trade unions (who were always supporters of the Labour party) started to challenge the Labour leadership. Frank Collins became leader of the Transport and General Workers Union and was the most vocal critic of Gaitskell (particularly over the Nuclear Weapons issue). Bevanites were of the opinion that Trade Unions should be the major voice in shaping party policy. Gaitskell felt the need to resist this.

The Labour party was also divided over its commitment to Socialism/Nationalism. At the 1959 conference, Gaitskell put forward the idea of abolishing Clause Four of the party constitution that committed the party to nationalisation. Gaitskell was impressed by the way the moderate socialist party (the SPD) has done this in Germany. However there was fierce opposition from the left wing of the party and Gaitskell backed down without forcing a vote.

Conservative Political Dominance 1951-1964

How did the Conservatives dominate this period?

The Conservative party themselves:

Reorganisation of the Conservative party.
Internal disputes within the Labour party - infighting between the Bevanites and the Gaitskellites weakened the Labour party.
1951 marked the end of "austerity" and the start of the long post-war boom.
The Conservatives recognised the extent of public approval for the legacy of the Attlee government.
They didn't outright reject the welfare state or totally reverse nationalisation.
New attitudes towards the trade unions.
Recovered very quickly after the Suez crisis - managed to change leaders after Eden's downfall without a power struggle.

Economy:

Conservatives came to power just as the economy was recovering.
Men's weekly wages were rising, there was a massive increase in private savings and a boom in car ownership.
Harold Macmillan managed to build 300,000 houses per year as promised by the Conservative government.
Farmers did well financially.
Food rationing had ended.
Conservatives declared more tax cuts before the elections.

Social:

Butler was able to boost conservative election prospects through TV.
The national press where in favour of the Conservatives.
Voters were content and happy with their rising living standards.
"Feel good factor."

Individuals - Harold Macmillan :

Macmillan had great political success as the housing minister.
Was seen as a showman.
Had full control of political affairs.
Was very popular with the media - became known as "supermac."
Had a theatrical style.
Had a very good team around him.

Was there a post-war consensus between 1951-1964?

Yes

Attlee's legacy - Labour's welfare policies were too successful eradicate so many Conservatives changed their minds and were less hostile towards the welfare state.

Popularity of the NHS - Conservatives would commit social suicide if they revoked the NHS.

Feeling of national unity after the war - wartime coalition ministers from all the major parties were more willing to cooperate with each other.

"Big government" - many Conservatives were now convinced of the government intervention in social and economic policies. As a result, they were more in tune with public opinion and so accepted Labour's welfare policies, Nationalisation and Keynesian economics.

Wanted to maintain full employment - Conservatives wanted to avoid being seen once again as the "party of mass unemployment", a key issue that led to their loss in the General Election in 1945.

The Conservatives recognised the importance of the trade unions who had become very powerful and influential after Labour had nationalised key industries like the coal and railways.

Conservative leaders didn't feel that they were in a strong enough position to dismantle the Attlee legacy and even if they did, there was the fear that the electorate would swing in Labour's favour.

Labour proved that they did not want all-out socialism and accepted capitalism. Conservatives in turn saw the positives in nationalisation.

The Conservatives were quick to denationalise the steel industry and road transport in 1951.

Right wing Conservatives frequently challenged Labour's policies such as Nationalisation.

Left wing Labour Politicians disagreed with the fact that Attlee decided to side with the US instead of the Soviet Union - they believed that it was a wasted opportunity for Britain which could have became a communist state like the Soviet Union.

Labour Party in power between 1945-1951

Why did the Labour Party perform so well in the 1945 General Election?

Conservative Party did not understand the needs of ordinary people.
Churchill was unable to persuade people that he could be relied upon as a domestic politician.
People still remembered that the Conservatives were unable to manage the economy in the 1930s.
Conservatives's failed appeasement of Hitler.
The Labour party were seen as being better at post-war social and economic reconstruction.
The leading figures of the Labour Party had alot of experience from the war.
British electoral system was in Labour's favour.
Voters overlooked Labour's own failings.

Main features of the social security measures under Attlee's government:

National Insurance Act - everyone had to give a certain amount of money to cover unemployment, sickness, maternity expenses, retirement and widowhood.
Industrial Injury Act - Provided cover for work place accidents.
Free medical treatment - National Health Service (NHS)
Education Act
Family Allowance Act - 25p for every child given to the mother.

Problems with the NHS:

Many of the jobs created were managerial and administrative positions.
The dandruff syndrome - free medical care meant that more people were wasting time and resources on trivial complaints.

The Nationalisation Programme:

Was the common ownership by the means of production, distribution and exchange - basically government control.
Government began to take control over fuel and power industries, iron and steel and transport systems such as railways.
The government did this because they believed it would bring safety, productivity and efficiency to the nation.

Keynesianism:

Was the belief that economic depression can be avoided if certain steps were done.
John Keynes who first thought of it - he believed that it was the fall in demand of manufactured products that caused industrial economies to fall into recession, therefore the demands need to be kept high.
To do this, the theory requires the government to be willing to run deficit budgets, even if that means borrowing money.

Why was Labour experiencing internal disputes over foreign policy?

Some party members believed that Britain should follow the Soviet Union, Attlee disagreed.
Left wing Labour members were very socialist, so alliances with USA would reduce the chance of Britain becoming independent in international affairs.
However, right wing Labour members argued that the Soviets were dangerous and through the US, Britain can be sustained financially.

What was the legacy of the Attlee government between 1945-1951?