4A - Changing Living Standards, 1945-1979

Question 1

What rationing continued and begun after the war?

Answer 1

Bread rationing introduced which hadn’t been rationed before the war. Other non food stuffs remained rationed; clothing was rationed until 1949 along with wood.

Question 2

How did rationing of wood affect PW furniture?

Answer 2

Designed to use as little wood as possible - called ‘utility furniture’ - restricted to newly married couples or people who had been bombed out

Question 3

Why was GB so brankrupt that rationing couldn’t stop when the war stopped?

Answer 3

• 55% of GB food was imported but GB did not have foreign currency reserves to pay for all imports
• Still feeding parts of Germany that were under GB control
• Men fighting in Greece
• Establishing GB control in Malaya
• Lend Lease Agreement ended 1945

Question 4

What was the gov spending 23% of GDP on after the war in 1950 and what effect did this have?

Answer 4

Korean War - made it difficult to improve living standards

Question 5

How did the Labour gov in the PW period try and boost living standards?

Answer 5

• Wanted a planned economy
• Accepted food shortages
  Thought it would eventually result in boosted living standards

Question 6

What did the 1944 Housing and Temporary Accommodation Act do?

Answer 6

Small two bed bungalows designed to last 10 years. Problems with the damp and the cold but provided satisfaction. Prefab housing to combat homelessness.

Question 7

Why were blocks of flats built in the PW period?

Answer 7

Easy solution to the loss of large numbers of WC houses in inner city areas. 1951 - Lawn Flats built in Essex. Seen as attractive and a scientific solution to GB’s housing needs.

Question 8

Why was the New Towns Act, 1946 implemented?

Answer 8

Invested in housing due to homelessness from WW2 and the belief that the gov had a responsibility to improve the standard of living in GB

Question 9

What did the New Towns Act, 1946 do?

Answer 9

Created fourteen new towns across GB, designed to relieve districts of big cities like London and Birmingham
E.g Telford, Stevenage

Question 10

What was the growth in standard of living due to in the PW period?

Answer 10

• Global economic boom throughout pw era
• GB’s welfare state = basic standard of living
• Low energy prices until early 1970s
• Commitment to full employment
• TUs able to negotiate high wages for their members
• Increasing availability of consumer credit
• Rise in average wages since 1945

Question 11

What did Harold Macmillan declare in 1957 and what did it reflect?

Answer 11

That people had never had it so good, reflected the fact that there had been food shortages 10 years earlier, how GB’s mixed economy, NHS, free education and booming private industry provided for people’s needs

Question 12

How did consumer spending grow between 1975-1960?

Answer 12

1957 - GB spent £1 billion on consumer goods

1960 - £1.5 bilion

Question 13

How did wages grow between 1950-1959?

Answer 13

Wages in 1959 twice what they were in 1950.

Question 14

How was the growth of spending on consumer goods evident between 1955-1966?

Answer 14

1955 - 17% of homes had a washing machine, 1966 - this rose to 60%

Question 15

How did relaxation of consumer credit in 1954 help the WC?

Answer 15

Allowed WC families to buy consumer goods such as furnishings, tvs, fitted kitchens and cars. Credit had previously been seen as immoral.

Question 16

What impact did the economic shocks of the 1970s have on consumer spending?

Answer 16

Didn’t slow it down or limit consumer choice. GB tastes for foreign food grew as well as drink - due to cheaper travel and access to overseas holidays amd supermarkets providing low cost foods and choice.

Question 17

What new towns were created between 1961-67?

Answer 17

1961-1964 Runcorn, Redditch, Skelmersdale created and more

1967 - Milton Keynes

Question 18

How did living standards affect the new towns of the 1960s?

Answer 18

Prices remained stable and real wages rose by 130% between 1955-1969 - People able to move to these towns were able to do so due to increased affluence.

Question 19

What were the praises and criticisms of the 1960s new towns?

Answer 19

Architects viewed new towns as artificial and lifeless. Central heating, hot water, gardens, green spaces, and access to shops and amenities made them attractive.

Question 20

What was Admass of the 1950s and 1960s?

Answer 20

Used to describe mass advertising and mass consumption which was viewed to encourage superficiality

Question 21

What are examples of Americanisations of GB culture?

Answer 21

Hoover and Heinz from America dominated GB.

Question 22

What evidence is there that there were pockets of deprivation?

Answer 22

1966 - Housing charity shelter founded in order to help the 12,000 people who were homeless and tens of thousands of people living in temporary accommodation

Question 23

How many people were living beneath the poverty line in cold, damp and dirty homes in 1967?

Answer 23

7.5 million

Question 24

What was revealed about Manchester in 1963?

Answer 24

Manchester still had 80,000 slum houses without running water, heating or inside toilets.

Question 25

Which demographic were the most vulnerable residents?

Answer 25

Elderly -1965 - 1.5 million elderly people lived alone, many on small pensions. Poor quality of life due to dirty, unsanitary living conditions, poor diet and loneliness.

Question 26

When did high rise flats replace terraced housing?

Answer 26

1960s - Described as streets in the sky. Many were flawed as they were cold and damp.

Question 27

What happened in 1968 in a high rise block of flats?

Answer 27

Explosion of Ronan Point Flats in London, killed 3 people. Found that builders had used old newspapers in certain parts of the building instead of concrete.