Social change

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  • Created by: bethany
  • Created on: 02-05-13 19:45

Social change 1951-2007 - consumerism

  • Rationing ended under Churchill in 1954
  • Macmillan's 'never had it so good' 1957 speech
  • Macmillan's give away budget in 1959 £370m tax cuts
  • Mark Abrams research identified that in 1959 young people had around £830m to spend, a new youth culture developed with clothes being aimed just at them, ie the mini skirt. 
  • 1955 - 35% households = tv, 1975 - 96% 1995 - 98%
  • 1955 - 8% households tv, 1975 - 85% 1995 91%
  • Homeownership 1970s 50%, right to buy scheme under Thatcher, 2 million could buy their council house

Hennessy "Golden age" 1951-64

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Social change intro

reference to victorian values

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Women

During the 1950s it was the belief that women were meant to be a good house wife and mother. In the 1960s feminist movements began to erode this stereotype, books such as Women: The longest Revolution released in 1966 and The Female Eunnch in 1970 furthered this movement. The arrival of the contraceptive pill was revolutionary, but it was only avaliable to married women until 1967, by 1970 only 19% of married couples were using the pill and 9% of single women. However, by the 1980s it became the favourable use of contraception along side the condom. 

The equal pay Act 1970

1980 women on average earned 73.5% of men's pay and by 2000 1/5 earned more than their working male partners, this had only been 1/14 in the early 1970s.

32 women were ordained, church of england at Britsol Cathedral in 1994

Thatcher as PM

Share of senior positions 7% in 1989, 14% in 1998

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Multiculturalism

Britain has witnessed a huge change in it's ethnic makeup, in 1956 34,000 immigrants came to Britian and between 1962-65 this figure ran at 50,000 a year. By the late 1960s Britain's non white population reached around one million. I would argue that at the first half of this period, 1951 - 80 Britain was a multi-ethnic Country, whereby people of different ethnic background simply lived along side one another and would further suggest it was not until the latter half of this period that we came a multi-cultural society. In 1967 the National Front was formed, thus showing the racial tension that stained this period, furthermore the death of Kelso Cochrane in 1959 and the immigration acts in 1962 and 1968 acted to largely reduce the numbers of non white immigrants coming into the UK, thus having a racist slant. Although events like this did occur in the latter half, notably the death of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 that highlighted instituional aggression I would argue that as a whole, we began to become more integrated as a nation. In 1950 there was 6 Indian resturaunts, by 1994 there was 7,500. The first Asian and Black mps were elected in Labour in 1987 and this followed five years later in the Conservative party. The 1976 Race Relations Act included the police, something that the previous acts had not. Therefore, i would argue that as a nation we changed greatly in the are of multiculturism and this is symbolised by Britain winning the olympic bid in 2005.

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Education

  • Tipartie system 1944  (SM 60,000)
  • 1950s this began to be eroded, churchill - Kidbrooke 
  • Between 1961 - 69 the number of students in full time further education almsot doubled from 200,000 to 390,000
  • more obvious in the 1960s under labour, circular 10/65
  • by 1970 1 in 3 children - comprehensive, under Heath this increased to 1 in 2
  • The open university under Wilson was also a new development, by 1980 there was 70,000 students. 
  • by 2007 43% of 16-30 going to uni
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Government policy

1959 obscene publications act, 1961 Lady Chatterly's lover

1967 The abortion act (52,000 illegal abortions a year)

Homosexuality was also legalised in 1967, 1980s gay scenes began to emerge in most major cities, eg canal street in manchester. Blair also repealed section 28 ensuring that schools needed to no longer worry about legal challenges if homosexuality was promoted in school. 

Roy Jenkins 'civilised age'

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