Britain Essay Plans
Table of Contents
1. The Affluent Society: 1951-64
‘The decline in deference was the most significant social change in the period 1951-64’,
agree or disagree?
‘Conservative political dominance, in the years 1951 to 1964, was due to divisions within
the Labour party’, agree or disagree?
‘The conservative ‘stop go’ economic policies in the years 1955 to 1964 fundamentally
weakened the British economy’. Valid?
‘By 1964 Britain could no longer consider herself to be a world power.’ Valid?
2. The sixties: 1964-70
‘The labour governments were successful in dealing with economic problems in the
years 1964 to 1970’, agree or disagree?
‘Liberalising legislation between 1964 and 1970 transformed British Society’, agree or
disagree?
‘In the years 1964 to 1979, society in Britain was transformed’, valid?
How effectively did British governments deal with the issues of race relations between
1965 and 1970?
‘The reason behind Britain’s attempts to join the EEC in the years 1967 to 1973 was that
Britain could no longer claim to be a power in its own right’, valid?
3. The End of Post War Consensus: 1970-79
To what extent did Edward Heath successfully deal with the problems faced between the
years 1970 to 1974?
‘Neither Wilson nor Callaghan was able to control the unions in the years 1974 to 1979’,
agree or disagree?
Women's lives were transformed in the 1970’s. Assess the validity of this view.
‘The special relationship between Britain and the United States collapsed in the 1970’s’,
agree or disagree?
4. The Impact of Thatcherism: 1979-87
‘The Conservative Party was politically successful in the 1980s because of the problems
in the Labour Party’, valid?
‘Thatcher’s economic policies created an ‘economic miracle’ in the years 1983 to 1987’,
valid?
‘It is wrong to blame Margret Thatcher’s policies for divisions in British society during the
years 1979 to 1990’, valid?
Without the Falklands war, Margret Thatcher would have lost the 1983 General Election’,
valid?
5. Towards a New Consensus: 1987-97
‘John Major’s government never recovered from Black Wednesday’, valid?
‘Third wave feminism had little impact on women's lives’, valid?
, Evaluate the view that the media were the most prominent cause of the Labour Party’s
election win in 1997
To what extent did the end of the Cold War lead to a decline in the special relationship
with the United States during the years 1987-1997?
1.The Affluent Society: 1951-64
`‘The decline in deference was the most significant social change in the period
1951-64’, agree or disagree?
Overall, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that while a decline in deference was a
significant factor in the period 1951-64, reflected by the decline in deference seen in youth
culture and in attitudes towards class and authority, it had less of a significant impact on all
of society than consumerism and affluence did. Women seeing the least social change in
this time is an example of how the decline in deference did not have a large effect on
everyone at the time and only affected the minority. The increase in affluence and
consumerism of the time also contributed to the decline in deference as people had more
freedom to question the values that they had been blindly following because of more leisure
time and less worry about surviving financially. This implies that the increase in consumerism
and affluence was the most significant social change of the time because of the effect that it
had on all people.
Para 1: The Social Effects of Affluence and Consumerism
- Wages increased from £8.30 in 1951 to £15.35 in 1961.
- The significant change in affluence and consumerism was also shown by a boom in
car ownership with an increase of 25% from 1957-1959
- Rationing ended in 1954 which meant that people now had more freedom with what
they bought.
- Normal people had more expendable income and therefore consumerism largely
increased as people weren't forced to spend all of their income on necessities.
- During this time the government also cleared slums and instilled 300,000 low-cost
houses allowing people to gain wealth and even get out of poverty by providing
housing options which were accessible to many.
- This was also a very significant social change as because of this newfound
affluence people were able to escape generations of poverty and live
comfortably.
- Holiday camps also reached peak popularity when 600,000 people went to Butlins
per week in the 1950s
- There was also a 32% increase in TV ownership by 1960 which meant that socially
people were more exposed to what was outside of the bubble that they lived in and
more connected to people from all over the nation and world.
Para 2: Decline in Deference
, - The first discernable youth culture in the period 1951-64 with 5 million teenagers
making up 10% of the population after a baby boom following WW2.
- Because teenagers were no longer subject to national service they had much more
time and leisure, allowing for youth subcultures to form like the mods and rockers
who were significant examples of the decline in deference at the time.
- The emergence of youth groups like the teddy boys and the mods and rockers.
- The Mods and rockers were two conflicting British youth subcultures in the
period 1951-64.
- Media coverage of mods and rockers fighting in 1964 sparked a moral panic
about British youth, and the two groups became widely perceived as violent,
unruly troublemakers
- Only white middle/working class boys though: small minority
- The Teddy Boys were the first youth group in Britain to differentiate themselves as
teenagers, helping to create a youth market and also representing the decline in
deference of youth as they too gained notoriety following violent clashes with rival
youth gangs as well as unprovoked attacks on immigrants.
- The most notable clashes were the 1958 Notting Hill race riots, in which Teddy Boys
were present in large numbers and were implicated in attacks on the West Indian
community.
- A shift in attitudes in the late 1950s hinted at the breakdown of old social restrictions
which resulted in Britain becoming more individualistic. Class was less seen as a
reflection of status and people began to reject traditional views more with meritocracy
becoming more accessible.
- Despite this, Britain remained overall conservative with the tory party being in
power throughout the whole period of 1951-64, suggesting that people still
held traditional views.
- Furthermore, this could be a result of affluence because it blurred class lines
Para 3: Women
- Introduction of equal pay for teachers in 1952 and the civil service in 1954.
- Despite this, it was mainly middle-class white women who had the freedom to
work these jobs, and this change only actually affected a small minority.
- 75% of women were married with the average age of marriage being 21, suggesting
that women were not expected to have a career and instead were taught to aspire for
marriage.
- Women did see a significant change in the accessibility of household appliances with
washing machine ownership increasing by 54% in 1957-1959.
- Also a product of affluence
- Reflects clear domestic gender stereotypes
‘Conservative political dominance, in the years 1951 to 1964, was due to divisions
within the Labour party’, agree or disagree?
Para 1: Prosperity
- Most important factor
- This prosperity heavily contrasted to Labour's post-war government, when the
country was still in the grips of rationing and shortages, and the public's
remembrance of this time would not be favourable.
