AS History₇₀₄₁

This option provides for the study in depth of the key political, economic, social and international changes which helped to mould Britain in the second half of the 20th century. It explores concepts such as government and opposition, class, social division and cultural change. It encourages students to reflect on Britain’s changing place in the world as well as the interrelationship between political policies, economic developments and political survival.

Building a new Britain, 1951–1979

The Affluent Society, 1951–1964

• Conservative governments and reasons for political dominance: Churchill, Eden, Macmillan and Home as political leaders; domestic policies; internal Labour divisions; reasons for Conservatives' fall from power
• Economic developments: post-war boom; balance of payments issues and 'stop-go' policies
• Social developments: rising living standards; the impact of affluence and consumerism; changing social attitudes and tensions; class and 'the Establishment'; the position of women; attitudes to immigration; racial violence; the emergence of the 'teenager' and youth culture
• Foreign relations: EFTA and attempts to join the EEC; relations with and policies towards USA and USSR; debates over the nuclear deterrent; Korean War; Suez; the ‘Winds of Change' and decolonisation

The Sixties, 1964–1970

• Wilson and the Labour governments: Wilson's ideology and leadership; economic policies and problems; devaluation; industrial relations; the trade unions; other domestic policies; Labour divisions; the beginning of the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland; the end of post-war consensus; loss of 1970 election
• Liberal reforming legislation: private members' bills and the end of capital punishment; divorce reform; the legalisation of abortion; the legalisation of homosexual relations; educational reform
• Social and cultural change: the expansion of the mass media; growth in leisure activities; the impact of scientific developments; the reduction in censorship; progress towards female equality; changes in moral attitudes; youth culture and the 'permissive society'; anti-Vietnam war riots; issues of immigration and race
• Relations with and policies towards USA, particularly issue of Vietnam; response to world affairs and relations with Europe; decolonisation including 'withdrawal East of Suez' and Rhodesia.

The end of Post-War Consensus, 1970–1979

• Heath’s government: Heath as leader; political and economic policies; industrial relations and the miners' strikes; the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland, including the Sunningdale Agreement
• Labour governments of Wilson and Callaghan: political, economic and industrial problems and policies; problems of Northern Ireland
• Society in the 1970s: progress of feminism; the Sex Discrimination Act; race and immigration; youth; environmentalism
• Britain's entry into and relations with Europe; the state of the 'special relationship' with USA; attitudes to USSR and China