The making of modern Britain 1951-79

• Affluent society


  A period of post-war economics marked by relative social ease and economic success
• Period of Conservative government control in post-war Britain

  1951-1964
• Conservative party leaders 1951-1964

  • Winston Churchill
  • Anthony Eden
  • Harold Macmillan
  • Alec Douglas-Home
• Winston Churchill


  • Wartime prime minister credited for Allied victory in WWII
  • Sickly and old (77) during his 1951-1955 premiership
• Anthony Eden


  • Responsible for the Suez Crisis in 1956, leading to his resignation in 1957
• Harold Macmillan


  • Prime minister from 1957-1963
• Alec Douglas-Home


  • Prime minister for a short period from 1963-1964, not enough time to implement policies
• There was generally bipartisan support and a post-war consensus between the main political parties
• Policies with broad consensus

  • Expansion of the welfare state
  • Importance of the NHS
  • Government intervention in the economy for growth
  • Supporting the USA against the USSR
  • Independence for colonies
• The Conservatives were successful

  Broad economic success, low unemployment, rising living standards
• The Labour party was unsuccessful


  Internal divisions, opposition to defence spending and nuclear weapons
• The Conservative government held power for so long due to public desire to maintain the post-war consensus and prosperity
• The Conservative government began to decline


  Lack of representation of women and young people, political scandals
• The "Night of the Long Knives"


  Macmillan's purge of his cabinet in 1962 to introduce younger figures
• The Profumo Affair


  A sex scandal involving the Minister of War John Profumo in 1963
• The rise of political satire

  Eroded respect for government and political figures
• The undemocratic replacement of Macmillan


  Alec Douglas-Home was chosen as the new leader, despite not being a popular candidate
• Societal attitudes towards the government, even today, and the replacement of MacMillan as a controversial aspect of the conservative government
• MacMillan retired as Prime Minister in 1963
• The method for which MacMillan was replaced was seen as an old-fashioned and undemocratic system
• The two most notable candidates in 1963

  • R.A Butler
  • Lord Hailsham
• Douglas Home, who wasn't seen as a popular candidate, was picked to be the next leader through an undemocratic procedure
• Douglas Home was not in power long enough to establish himself and mark his legacy as Prime Minister before the conservatives were replaced by the labour government
• In the next lessons, we will talk about the society, economy, immigration, and foreign policy during the affluent society of the conservative governments between 1951-1964
• The period of conservative governments between 1951-1964 saw a post-war economic boom and large economic growth
• Butskellism


  An economic policy combining ideas of the conservative and labour parties, aiming to maintain full employment, economic growth, welfare state development, and defense commitments
• Britain imported more than it exported, leading to a balance of payments deficit that grew to 95 million pounds
• Britain faced difficulties in committing economically to a competitive economy, nuclear weapons, and a strong welfare state
• Stagflation


  The idea that prices continue to grow while the economy doesn't, with stagnation and inflation
• British debt increased from 540 million in 1957 to 800 million in 1964
• MacMillan's 1957 speech stated that the British people "never had it so good"
• There were issues with the economy, including consumer spending on credit, gradually increasing unemployment, inflation, economic commitments, and balance of payments problems
• Stop-go policy


  An economic policy favoured by conservative chancellors to control economic growth by adjusting inflation rates through interest rate changes
• In 1957, MacMillan's entire treasury minister team resigned over measures enforcing the stop-go policy
• In 1961, the government announced a pay pause in the public sector to curb pay demands, but gave in to threats from striking electricity workers
• By 1963, unemployment had risen to 800,000 people
• In 1964, the chancellor adopted a free-spending budget to reduce unemployment, which increased the deficit back to 800 million
• While the economy was prosperous during this period, the cracks were starting to show by 1964
• The next lesson will cover societal issues during this period, before discussing foreign policy
• Installment purchasing

  Ability to put down a certain amount of money and then get the item straight away, then pay off the rest using weekly or monthly installments