The Sixties 1964-1970

• The Prices and Incomes Policy was introduced in 1967.
• The 'Prices and Incomes Policy' set limits on wages and prices in order to keep inflation down.
• The 'Prices and Incomes Policy' did not work because it led to the Sterling Crisis in 1966 which was a devaluation. This lead to strikes by Unions.
• Wilson was criticised on his attitude towards strikers during the 1966 Sterling Crisis which broke the Government and Union relationship.
• An outbreak of war in the Middle East affected oil supplies in the 1960s, leading to a rise in the price of oil. This led to a national dock strike and affected the balance of payments.
• After the National dock strikes, the pound dropped by 14% which led to higher interest rates. This chain of reaction looked like the stop-go policies (WPIDEC) which is what Wilson wanted to break out of.
• Roy Jenkins used deflationary methods by raising taxes and tightening government spending.
• Roy Jenkins' methods led to a Balance of Payments Surplus in 1964 and inflation was at 12%. This led to Labour's victory in 1970.
• During the 'Price and Incomes Policy', Britain's second application to join the EEC was rejected which made the Government look futile.
• BY the 1960s - 1970s, the political consensus began to break down and there were tensions between trade unions, workers and the Government.
• Due to the Post War Consensus, both the Conservatives and Labour saw the need for full employment and keeping unions happy. Both parties relied on union negotiation.
• In 1964, Wilson made the trade unionist, Frank Cousins, Minister of Technology in order to keep a good relationship with them.
• The Trade Union Congress was a collective group containing all the Trade Unions.
• Jack Jones and Hugh Scanion were known as the 'Terrible Twins'. They were against the Labour and Conservative attempts to restrict the power of the Unions. They led Wildcat strikes which were fast strikes with no warning beforehand.
• Barbara Castle was a Labour MP and Secretary of State. She introduced the breathalyser and Equal Pay Act for employment.
• Barbara Castle believed in the ideology Bevanism which was the belief that everyone needed healthcare, housing and employment.
• Barbara Castle was against Strife which restricted trade union power and described them as a 'Political Suicide' because they angered the trade unions.
• In 1966, Tony Benn took over from Frank Cousins as Minister of Technology and did better.
• Britain created the supersonic plane Concorde but was mainly used by wealthy passengers. Due to delays, the programme costed 1.3 billion.
• Housing policies in 1964-1970 meant that more council houses were built and towns were created and expanded.
• Housing policies in 1964-1970 meant that mortgages were cheaper and there was more house ownership by the working class. The 'Option Mortgage Scheme' in 1968 meant that Government grants were given out for more housing ownership.
• The Housing Policies in 1964-1970 failed because the commuter belts priced people out so more people moved to over spill houses. This meant that the main cities got more expensive.
• Tony Benn was a technocrat.
• Labour divisions in the 1960s was due to Wilson's paranoia. He paid too much attention on threats to his position.
• Northern Ireland suffered famine and massacre in 1921.
• Loyalists are supporters of the union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• Nationalists are also known as republicans.
• Nationalists / Republicans are people that prefer to be a part of a united Ireland against British rule.
• Dissident Republicans do not support peace agreements. The IRA would be an example.
• The Irish War of Independence was in 1919-1921.
• In July 1921, there was a ceasefire in Ireland and the partition of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State. 4 main provinces were established.
• The Black and Tans were the military group containing British troops that joined the RIC.
• The RIC was the Irish police force.
• The RUC was the Irish police force that was established after the partition.
• The Black and Tans were infamous for their attacks on civilians.
• The Irish War of Independence's tensions still continued into the 1960s.
• In the mid 1960s, Catholics were being discriminated against in terms of employment and housing.
• In Derry, a Protestant group was attacked by nationalists in a Catholic area which the RUC could not stop.
• In 1969, British sent forces to Ireland (by Wilson) to keep the peace.
• In employment, large companies owned by Protestant Unionists, refused to hire Catholics and believed in giving jobs to those loyal to Britain.