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Y113: Britain 1930–1997

Conservative domination 1951–1964: the 1951 victory, affluence, immigration and the economy

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 1

Overview

Recall questions on the Conservative return in 1951, housing and living standards, Caribbean and South Asian migration, Notting Hill, the tripartite schools, Butskellism, stop-go and concern about industrial performance.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Explain why the Conservatives returned to power in 1951.

Numbers

Why did large-scale migration from the Caribbean and South Asia begin in this period, and how did the government eventually restrict it?

Key term

Describe the tripartite school system and its effect on social mobility.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Explain why the Conservatives returned to power in 1951.

    Model answer

    The voting system worked against Labour, whose surplus votes piled up in safe industrial seats, while the Liberals fielded only around a hundred candidates so most former Liberal voters switched to the Conservatives in the marginals; Labour was also visibly split after Bevan resigned over health charges imposed to pay for rearmament, and voters were weary of continued austerity, rationing and wage restraint.

  2. 2

    How did housing and living standards change under the Conservatives in the 1950s?

    Model answer

    Macmillan as Minister of Housing promised 300,000 new homes a year and delivered it in 1953, backed by slum clearance and rising owner-occupation, while full employment and rising real wages let far more families buy cars, televisions and washing machines on hire purchase; as Prime Minister he told a Bedford crowd in 1957 that most people had never had it so good, though he warned that inflation could destroy those gains.

  3. 3

    Why did large-scale migration from the Caribbean and South Asia begin in this period, and how did the government eventually restrict it?

    Model answer

    The 1948 British Nationality Act gave Commonwealth and colonial citizens the right to enter and settle, and labour shortages drew them to transport, textiles and the health service; the Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962 then limited entry to holders of employment vouchers.

  4. 4

    What happened at Notting Hill in 1958?

    Model answer

    Gangs of white youths attacked West Indian residents and their homes over several nights of rioting, exposing the racial tension created by settlement in poor inner-city housing.

  5. 5

    Describe the tripartite school system and its effect on social mobility.

    Model answer

    Children were allocated by the eleven-plus to grammar, secondary modern or technical schools; grammar schools allowed some able working-class children to reach university and the professions, but the great majority in secondary moderns were written off at eleven.

  6. 6

    Define the term Butskellism.

    Model answer

    It was the label for the broad continuity between the Conservative Chancellor Butler and Labour's Gaitskell, both accepting the mixed economy, the welfare state, full employment and Keynesian demand management.

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