History DWR

• Decline of traditional industry UK

  • Competition from abroad by 1920s
  • Britain's economic rivals were USA, Japan and Germany
  • Britain's industry produced ships, textiles (cotton and wool), coal, iron and steel
  • British industry was only profitable if they could sell to worldwide markets
  • Foreign competitors were much bigger than their British counterparts, so they could produce goods cheaper than small British companies
• Finding new markets


  1. Difficult because Britain followed a policy of free trade in the 1920s, which allowed foreign goods to come into Britain for free

  2. British companies often had to pay import duties to foreign governments
• Obsolete methods


  • During the 1920s in the USA, mass production was pioneered in the production of the motor car and this was copied in many other industries
  • Britain's major industries were slow to move to new quicker and more efficient methods of production
  • Britain did not switch quickly to new emerging industries such as chemicals, rayon and automobiles
• Depression impacted major industries

  • Coal could be produced much more cheaply abroad
  • British coal was more expensive because it was more difficult to mine
  • Mines had not invested in up-to-date machinery
  • Britain had lost European markets because Germany was making reparation payments in coal
  • The French favoured buying US coal
  • Shipbuilding declined more rapidly than other industries due to a fall in world trade and international disarmament
  • USA and Japan could produce ships much more cheaply
  • Textiles made from wool and cotton declined as manufactured fibres like rayon became popular
  • Britain faced increased competition from Japan and USA during 1920s
  • Lancashire could not compete with cheaper Indian cotton
  • Iron and steel declined because there was less demand for ships and weapons after WW1
  • The USA and Japan regularly undercut British prices and their steel-making plants were generally larger, more efficient and modern than those in Britain
• Impact of Wall Street Crash

  • Panic selling of shares on Wall Street led to a loss of confidence in the financial markets
  • Share prices crashed, causing the collapse of the US stock market
  • Banks collapsed because loans were not repaid and businesses went bust causing very high unemployment
  • UK had a lot of loans from the USA which they were asked to repay and American banks stopped lending to businesses money, which added to problems that UK industries were already facing
• Impacts in Britain because of Wall Street Crash


  • International trade declined
  • Exports from Britain fell by a half between 1929 and 1931
  • Britain's balance of trade was badly affected - Britain imported more than it exported
  • Unemployment reached 2 million by 1930 and rose to over 3 million by 1932
• The Dole


  • Unemployment Insurance Act of 1920 created payments for unemployed workers to give them financial support whilst they found a new job
  • Some believed the dole would become too expensive as unemployment increased and that it would discourage workers from looking for work
  • The Labour government became split over the issue
  • The Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, resigned and then joined the Conservatives and Liberals in a coalition government known as the National Government
• Means Test


  In 1931 the national government introduced the means test to reduce dole payments. This meant a dramatic fall in living standards for families of the unemployed. Before they could receive the dole, people had to have their houses inspected to check all their possessions and savings. These tests were carried out by inspectors from the local public assistance committee (PAC). Families could be forced to sell possessions in order to receive dole. If a family had any other sources of income, such as a part-time job or pension of elderly relative, deductions were made from payments.
• Means Test


  • Maximum payment varied in areas
• Hunger Marches


  1. Columns of unemployed men marched across the country trying to bring attention to their plight

  2. The marches began in the autumn of 1931

  3. They were a way for working people to express their concerns about their living and working conditions to those who governed them

  4. This type of protest drew wider public attention to the sufferings of people who lived in areas that politicians seemed to ignore

  5. Politicians usually refused to meet with leaders of the hunger marches
• The Jarrow March was a famous hunger march in 1936 where two hundred men marched from Jarrow to London, led by the Mayor, the MP Ellen Wilkinson, and town councillors
• Jarrow March


  • They marched in their best clothes to impress the people watching
  • They covered over 280 kilometers in 22 stages
  • Everywhere they went they received great support and sympathy, being put up in church halls, given free meals, and having their shoes repaired free of charge
  • Yet when they arrived in London, there was little support or sympathy from members of the government
• Jarrow was one of the worst affected towns during the depression, with most people employed at Palmers Shipyard, which began to decline after WWI. By the early 1930s, orders had dried up completely and the yard became too small for the type of ships being built. In 1934, a group of shipyard owners set up a company called National Shipbuilder's Securities to buy up smaller yards and scrap them. Palmers was one of the first to go, and unemployment reached 80% in Jarrow.
• By the mid 1930s, malnutrition and poor health were widespread in Jarrow, and families were totally dependent upon support from the local community or government.
• The Jarrow March was organised from Jarrow to London to attract attention to the plight of the town by taking a petition to the government.
• The government was very suspicious of hunger marches because they sometimes had connections to communists, and the marches often led to clashes with the police. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Labour Party did not support these marches, believing it brought bad publicity for the plight of the unemployed. The National Unemployed Workers' Movement (NUWM) objected to the non-political nature of the Jarrow March.
• The means test was applied very harshly by some local authorities, while others refused to carry it out.
• The means test was a great strain on family life.
• The National Unemployed Workers' Movement (NUWM) was set up to try and put pressure on the government, and organised a march on London in October 1932, with marchers attempting to present a petition to parliament, though they were stopped by the police.
• Reasons the Means Test was unpopular


  • People thought the government cared more about saving money than helping the unemployed
  • People hated having an inspector go through their belongings and being made to sell possessions
  • People did not like having to make relatives live somewhere else
  • It was humiliating for families to have to reveal their earnings, savings and possessions
  • If the officials thought there was enough money in the house, they would stop the dole
• Self-help


  Unemployed people helped themselves, their families, others and their communities in different ways
• Self-help activities


  • Women created and operated credit mechanisms for paying, lending, buying food, clothing and borrowing money
  • Neighbours rallied around during times of crisis e.g. childbirth or intrusion by rent collectors
  • Communities would come down harshly on those who broke its unwritten conventions
  • Clubs for the unemployed were set up by the church and Mayors funds, often in church halls
• The British Institute of Adult Education called a conference that led to the establishment of the Central Advisory Council for Unemployed Workers, which led to an increase in educational programmes for the unemployed


  1932
• Jarrow Marches


  • The Jarrow petition was presented to the House of Commons and the men returned to Jarrow as heroes
  • The petition asked the government to provide work for the town without delay
  • The police praised the Jarrow Marchers for being well organised and disciplined
  • The marchers were given a lot of support by the public during the actual march
  • The non-violent march improved the public image of hunger marches
• The Jarrow march and petition did nothing to stir the government into action. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin ignored the Jarrow marchers' petition.
• Rhondda Hunger March


  • A nationwide hunger march began on 10th October 1932 with the aim of converging on London
  • From South Wales, 375 marchers set off from the Rhondda area
  • The intention was to present a petition to Parliament, demanding the abolition of the means test and the end of the 10% cut to unemployed benefits
  • The police confiscated the petitions so that the marchers could not deliver them to Parliament
  • The march achieved little
• Women were generally the first to be laid off, especially in the cotton industry
• Women sacrificed themselves to feed their children
• Poor diet led to higher infant mortality rate and poorer health of children in depressed areas
• In the 1930s, for every 3 children from richer families who died young, there were 8 from poorer families
• In 1936, a survey found 30% of people in York were unemployed and 72% of unemployed workers lived below the poverty line
• Families of the unemployed had less to spend and had to make whatever savings they could to make ends meet
• Buying cheaper food could lead to malnutrition
• In 1936, a survey showed that 5 million people had an inadequate diet and 85 million suffered from some form of deficiency, with 2% of the population being seriously undernourished, including 1 in 4 children
• The diet consisted mainly of bread, margarine, potatoes and sugar, but little meat, fresh fruit, vegetables and milk
• Poor children were ten times more likely to catch bronchitis and 8x more likely to catch pneumonia compared to children from richer families
• Poor children were 5x more likely to suffer from rickets compared to children from richer families
• The Depression led to high levels of unemployment in the centres of the old industries, the north-east of England, South Wales and Central Scotland
• Long term unemployment often led to a fall in the standard of living and health of the families of those out of work
• Between 1921 and 1938, approximately 440,000 people left Wales to find work and a better life elsewhere