Summary of chapter 4 conservative domination 1951-64 for OCR Britain
86 views 0 purchase
Course
Britain 1930-1997
Institution
OCR
Book
OCR A Level History
Summary of Chapter Four: Britain's position in the world 1951-97. These useful pages summarise the key points in the chapter in as few words as possible. A great place to start revision from rather than reading through the huge textbook. These notes helped me achieve an A*. Apologies for any spell...
Britain 1951—1997 Revision Notes (Britain 1930—1997: History OCR A-Level)
Churchill 1930—1951 Revision Notes (Britain : History OCR A-Level)
Summary OCR A Level History - OCR A Level History: Britain 1930–1997 - Britain (Y113) - Full Revision Notes
All for this textbook (20)
Written for
A/AS Level
OCR
history
Britain 1930-1997
All documents for this subject (15)
Seller
Follow
niaburkinshaw
Reviews received
Content preview
Why did the conservatives win the 1951 election?
Labour weaknesses
▪ After war they were associated with austerity, rationing and high taxation
▪ Had taken Britain into Korean war in 1950, when still recovering from ww2
• Added to financial strain
• Allowed Churchill and conservatives to play up war hero status
▪ Party divisions over charges for dentists and glasses which undermined value of
labour part and NHS
▪ This culminated in labour only wining by a majority of five mp’s in 1950 under Atlee
• Mp’s concerned over economic and foreign policy, which widened part
divisions
▪ Nationalisation of iron and steel, ended up stupid things like sugar and cement made
conservative able to criticise
▪ Wasn’t effective as stayed the same just brought out the owner and still paid them
to run it
▪ Not supported by performance in elections
▪ Highest polls
Conservative Strengths
▪ Reorganisation of party finances under lord Woolton
• Young dynamic members like Maulding
▪ Embraced socialist ideals, remodelled party
• Promised to build 30,000 new houses
• Could exploit how labour failed to raise living standards
• Bread and eggs were still rationed even though not in war
Electoral system
▪ First past the post system means meaning based on seats in constituency’s not
proportional representation
▪ In 1951 polled over 20,000 more than conservatives but won 26 seats less
• Labour focused on getting votes in safe seats and conservatives focused on
marginal seats in 1945
▪ Representation of the peoples act in 1948 redistributed constituencies meaning
labour had to win 2% more of popular vote to gain same seats
▪ Decline in liberal part meant ex-liberals voted conservative
• Lib votes fell from 2.6 mil to 730,556
, Why did conservatives dominate British politics for so long?
Wages
▪ Rose faster than prices, so people could buy more with less
▪ In 1951- average living wage was £8.50
▪ By 1964 £18.50
Economic policies
▪ Income tax cut before each election in 1955- 2.5p and 1959-3.75p
▪ Reflected in more consumerism 500% rise in car ownership
▪ Availability of credit started consumer boom, coupled with tax cuts
▪ Economically risky as many in potential debt that cant repay
▪ ‘stop-go’ approach, responding to economic developments
▪ Eg is spending and wages rose than higher tax and opposite
▪ Doesn’t create consistent economic growth, stability or coherency
▪ STAGFLATION- industrial output increases, inflation remains
▪ Did not invest into industrial research, or important industries like textiles and ship
building
▪ Natural recovery after Korean war makes them look good
Living standards
▪ Reached 340,000 houses in 1954
▪ 1.7 million homes built while in office
▪ Number of people who owned property rose to 44% compared to 25% in 1945
▪ Rent act made prices go up, some struggled to pay
Other social policies
▪ Butler who was chancellor had particularly left, views
▪ Increased spending on welfare state
▪ GDP spent on it rose from 16.1 in 1951 to 19.3% in 1964
▪ Reforms to education system away from three tiered into comprehensive (no more
grammar and secondary-modern)
▪ 11 more universities
▪ 6000 new schools
▪ Unemployment never really fell instead steadily rose, figure never went below
250,000
Attitudes to welfare state
▪ Had to conform however kept key values like opposing nationalism
▪ Increased pensions- helps as conservatives tend to have older demographic
▪ Tested when confronted with payment deficit
▪ Rab butler instead of scrapping did limited reforms
• Eg. Dental and prescriptions
• Reduction of school building program
• No real harsh cuts though
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller niaburkinshaw. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $4.55. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
