Britain in the 1930s

Britain in the 1930s

1. Unemployment in Britain

   • Unemployment 1929: 1.5mil 1930: 2.4mil
   • Only new industries (car and electrical companies) were highering
   • There were almost no jobs in the North
   • 1932: 3.4mil
   • 80% of all new factories build from 1932 to 1937 were in or near London
     • These ran on electricity so it did not help the coal industry
   • There were some people who were not affected

2. Government reactions to unemployment

   • Labour
     • Ramsey MacDonald was prime minister
     • The government needed money
       • This meant it had to borrow money
       • Had to cut workers' wages by 10-15%
       • Could not pay the 1929 unemployment benefits without borrowing
       • They considered cutting benefits by 15%
     • The government eventually collapsed
   • 1934 Unemployment Act
     • National Insurance was the right of everyone paying their NI contributions
     • The dole was a payment given to people who did not pay the NI or had 15 weeks of NU benefit

3. Marches to London

   • The marchers covered 291 miles in 22 stages
   • They would send people ahead in buses to set up camps and make food
   • They would stop a places to hold public meetings
   • The impact of the Jarrow Crusade
     • Government actions
       • Stanley Baldwin refused to see Ellen Wilkinson (MP from Jarrow)
       • While the march was in progress the cabinet released a statement disapproving of all the marches
       • The government stopped giving benefits to people whilst they were on marches
     • Effects
       • Many people were offered jobs outside of Jarrow (all but one declined)
       • One MP (Sir John Jarvis) took an interest and said he would set up a steelworks in Jarrow
         • It was opened in December 1937, it employed 200 people and let the government ignore Jarrow
       • Many people thought the march had failed