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Britain 1920-45. Inter-War Years. Britain after WW1. 1. The British economy was in depression during the inter-war years 2. The economic depression was caused by: The decline of older industries (coal, iron, steel, ships) - American competition - British wage costs
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Britain 1920-45 Inter-War Years
Britain after WW1 • 1. The British economy was in depression during the inter-war years • 2. The economic depression was caused by: The decline of older industries (coal, iron, steel, ships) - American competition - British wage costs - The decline of British trade 3. British shipbuilding declined because of the surplus ships after the war and the United States and Japan producing their own
4. British coal was more expensive to mine than American, German or Polish coal. • 5. The depressed areas of Britain were mainly Clydeside (central Scotland), Tynedide (northeast England), Lancashire and South Wales. • 6. These depressed areas had high unemployment, fewer women working and high infant mortality • 7. But the London and Midlands prospered because they had newer industries such as electrical goods and motor cars
8. Government policy did not help: • The government wanted to balance the budget so it wasn’t prepared to borrow money to help the depressed industries • The government also set the value of the pound sterling too high against the gold standard. This made British exports too expensive • 9. Unemployed workers were given unemployment benefits but this was too low to feed a family and they received the benefit for only 15weeks a year. After that they had additional benefits called the dole for which they had to queue.
General Strike of 1926 • Clashes between mine owners and coal miners led to the General Strike of 1926. • Mine owners wanted wage cuts but the coal miners’ leader said ‘Not a penny off the pay! Not a minute off the day!’ • A government commission-the Samuel Commission said there should be wage cuts and longer hours. When negotiations between Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the mine owners broke down, there was a general strike. • About 2million other workers in transport, building and electricity went on strike in sympathy with the coal miners
The government had plans to distribute food and transport people to work. The other workers went back to work when the government said it would not give in. • The miners gave up after 6 months and returned with lower pay and longer working hours • The General Strike was a defeat for the trade union movement and the government banned further general strikes
Case Study: The Jarrow March Oct 1936 • 1. Jarrow, a town in north eastern England was in a depressed state in the 1920s and 1930s. It suffered from poor housing, unemployment, poverty and high mortality. • 2. Its main industries, shipbuilding and iron and steel declined. The last shipyard, Palmers closed in 1934. • 3. Unemployment reached 72% in Jarrow. The unemployed depended on unemployment benefits, which was means tested. (The wages of all family members were taken into account) • 4. In 1936, the Jarrow Borough Council decided to present a petition to Parliament in London
The petition asked: • The government to provide industry for the town • It was signed by over 11,000 people from Jarrow and it was carried in an oak box by the marchers • The council was supported by Ellen Wilkinson, Member of Parliament for Jarrow. 200 men were selected to march to London, 300 miles away. • 5. The march was called a crusade to distinguish it from the ‘hunger marches’ organised by the National Unemployed Workers Movement (NUWM), which had connections with the Communist Party
6. The marchers carried a banner before them, ‘Jarrow Crusade’, and they were led by a mouth organ band. A transport van carried food and sleeping equipment. At the end of each day’s march, the men slept in town halls, schools or drill halls. Speakers explained the case of Jarrow to the people of the towns they stopped in • Ellen Wilkinson presented the case of Jarrow to the Labour Party Conference but the Conference criticised her because hunger marches were associated with Communist organisations
7. The march took 25 days.The marchers presented the petition through their MP, Ellen Wilkinson but the government did not do anything for the town. When the men returned to Jarrow by train their unemployment benefit was reduced because they had not been available for work • 8. But Jarrow’s economy improved shortly after this, mainly because of the coming of WW2, which gave a boost to rearmament and shipbuilding. The example of the march contributed to the setting up of the Welfare State in Britain after the war
Society in Britain during WW2 • Churchill became Prime Minister and the government directed all its efforts to win the war • By 1943-17 million involved in war effort including soldiers and those working in factories • 250,000 older men formed the Home Guard • Newspapers were strictly censored • Propaganda was used to maintain morale • 3million school children were evacuated to the countryside • Rationing was introduced • Shelters were constructed to protect against bombings • Shelter was also found in underground tube stations
Women during the War • Women ages 18-26 were called up to replace men who had gone to war • Women worked in either the armed forces or in the industries • Later women up to 51 years of age were included Factories: • In the chemical and explosive industry half the workforce were women • 1.5 million worked in engineering and metal industries • 7million were employed in total
Military: • Dec 1939- 43,000 women had volunteered for the Women’s Auxiliary Services of the armed forces • 1945- 450,000 were employed • Agriculture: • Women’s Land Army with 80,000 members by 1943 kept the farms running and provided food • Voluntary: • Women’s Voluntary Service had over 1million members who assisted at railway stations, helping people with their belongings and running centres for the homeless
