The 1930's: Prosperity vs. Wasted Years

Page 1

Indicators of Prosperity

• Rising Living Standards → real income wages were higher

• Prices of goods fell faster than wages

Decline in family size

→ Woman in late 1920's on average had 2.2 children

→ Down to wider availability of contraceptives

→ Families therefore had more disposable income

• Middle-Class gained the most

- Financial Security was stimulated

- Suburban housebuilding boom of the 30's

Cars on the Road:

1930 - 1 million

1937 - 1.8 million

Surge in Radio Sets after creating of the BBC in 1922/1927

• 9 million licenses granted by 1937

Expansion of certain industries (electrical, motor [espec. in midlands], chemical) helped create more jobs

Food Processing increased the general health of the population

• More men fit to fight in 1939

• Incidence of infectious diseases decreased

Hours of work generally reduced

- People could now take day trips to the Beach

- First Butlins opened in 1937 at Skegness

Football/Cricket retained popularity, and this was helped by radio and press coverage that now occurred

Increase in leisure activities

→ Cycling

→ Hiking

→ Gambling

First paperback series in 1935

- Penguin Books

- cost sixpence each

Cinemas replaced Edwardian music halls as main source of cheap entertainment

• In Liverpool, 40% of the population went to the cinema at least once a week

Page 2

Indicators of Wasted Years

Mass Unemployment

- Although specific statistics are difficult since many sources use only those covered by National Insurance, which did not cover domestic servants and agricultural workers until 1937

1932 - 400,000 workers on long-term unemployment

1939 - 244,000 workers " "

•Shipbuilding always had had fluctuating unemployment levels since it was a seasonal job

However depression caused long-term 'structural' unemployment

Similarly, Car Manufacturing decreased in winter since there was less demand then

It was not the case that newer industries were completely immune

- Although they did recover more quickly

Staple industries were mainly in the North where unemployment was the highest -→ 85% of long-term unemployment was here

Page 3

Social/Economic Impact of Unemployment

Government increased the time in which unemployment benefit could be received - later required a means test (1931)

→ Means test was criticised for being too harsh

→ Known as "the dole"

→ If another person in the household had work, then benefit was reduced

In 1934 the Means Test was move to a specific Central Board

- This had even harsher tests

- The Government therefore had to intervene and replace it with the old levels

- Start of the Central Board was also delayed until 1937

Road to Wigan Pier [by George Orwell]

• His account of a visit to depressed North-West England

• Showed how unemployment had affected the regions

Unemployment had negative effects on nutrition causing unhealthy diets, since families replaced expensive foods with cheap "fillers"

Pilgrim Trust interviews with unemployed showed serious psychological effects of being unemployed

• Sense of Powerlessness

• Loss of hope + self-respect

• Fatalistic Approach

Extremist Groups failed to make significant impact [e.g. Mosely's British Union of Fascists]

= Fascists violence + anti-semitism repelled the law-abiding majoirty

= Communism was limited to small localities

The only significant extremist group which focused primarily on unemployment was the National Unemployed Workers Movement

→ But it was unable to overcome widespread apathy and suspicions of Communist associations