Changes in Class 1918/79 - Society in Transition 1918 - 1979

The Upper Class

Features of the upper class:

·       Hugely wealthy

·       Owned vast amounts of land

·       Privately educated in schools like Eton

·       Had and exciting social calendar, called ‘the Season’

o   The season was divided between country pursuits (hunting, shooting) from autumn to spring and a series of sporting and cultural events largely based in London during the summer months.

o   The London Season began with the presentation of aristocratic daughters of marriageable age to the monarch at the ‘debutantes ball’

o   Debutantes ball was ended in 1958

·       Attended events like badminton horse trials, horse-racing at Royal Ascot, rowing at Henley, sailing at Cowes which would also be attended by the royal family - these events gave the upper class a clear sense of identity

Changes to the upper class and causes:

WWI	·       Took a disproportionately heavy toll on the upper class; while 12.9 % of all men in the army died, 20.7% of all Old Etonians died - this was largely because they often served as officers, who had a higher mortality rate ·       Cost of war led to huge increases in income tax and death duties; estates worth over 2 million were subject to a 40% increase duty, tax on incomes over £2500 rose from 2% in 1914 to 57% in 1925, death  duties were continually increased ·       This put financial pressure on the upper class, and made it harder for them to pay for their country estates ·       The gentry sold off a lot of land; ¼ of all land in England was sold off between 1918-1920
Rise of Labour	·       The rise of the Labour Party accelerated the decline of the landed-elite power in the House of Commons - this was because Labour MP’s were more middle/working class ·       While wealthy landowners made up 40% of MP’s in 1910, this had fallen to around 5% by 1945
House of Lords	·       Parliament Act of 1911 meant the Lords could only delay, rather than block, legislation ·       From 1958 onwards, hereditary peers were increasingly replaced by politically nominated ‘life-peers’ ·       In 1910, 39 out of 43 Lord Lieutenants had been aristocrats, by 1970 this figure had fallen to 15 out of 46 ·       However rise of the new upper class (defined more by wealth than ancestry) meant there was no real decline in elite dominance of politics before 1951 - Macmillan’s government had 40 Old Etonian cabinet members
Rise of Satire	·       Rise of satire in the 60s and 70s undermined deference (unquestioned respect of Establishment figures)
National Trust	·       Many country houses were bought or  donated to the National Trust ·       1937 Country Houses scheme allowed families to live in their stately homes rent-free for two generations if they transferred ownership to the National Trust and opened the house to the public for at least 60 days a year ·       Millions of Britons paid to visit these homes - helping to preserve the landed elite ·       The country house lifestyle remained the ultimate goal for most rich Britons

The Middle Class

Features of the middle class:

·       Not upper class, not lower class

·       Low-middle class distinguished themselves from the working class through their cultural and leisure pursuits - they saw themselves as upright, moral people, often looked down on the working-class

·       After WW1 a £250 annual salary was considered middle-class

·       Home ownership became a defining characteristic of the middle class

Changes to the middle class and causes

WWI	·       Immediately after the war the middle class feared the distinction between them and the working class was being eroded ·       There was a (false) perception that working-class wages were increasing while middle class incomes stagnated ·       Wartime inflation contributed to this fear due to its impact on middle-class savings and incomes: something that cost £100 in 1914 would cost £276 in November 1920 ·       Middle class (unfairly) blamed the increased strength of trade unions for pushing up wages and prices - in reality inflation had more to do with the strains and increased costs of a wartime economy
Rise of middle class jobs	·       WW1 spurred middle class employment; 34% growth in commercial and financial jobs between 1911 and 1921 ·       Growth of respectable jobs in science, technology and engineering, the rise of salaried jobs in management and administration (from 700 000 in 1931 to 1.25 million in 1951), and the expansion of clerking jobs for women (from 170 000 in 1911 to 1.4 million in 1951) drove middle-class expansion. ·       Workers in such jobs saw themselves as modern, progressive and financially responsible
Home Ownership	·       Home ownership became a defining feature of middle class status ·       Interwar contemporaries spoke of a ‘new middle class’ who had bought homes since 1920. ·       By 1939, 60% of middle class were home-owners, compared to 20% of the working class ·       The suburban lifestyle and the geographical separation of men from their place of work also came to define the middle class

The Working Class

Features of the working class:

·       Comprised of skilled workers, unskilled labourers and criminals (the residuum)

·       Did manual jobs, often with irregular wages

Changes to the working class and causes:

WW1	·       Smaller percentage of working class fought in the war - partly due to the number of ‘reserved occupations’, such as coal miners, whose Labour was deemed essential to the war effort, and partly due to the poor health of the working class - in 1918 31.3% of men were classed as too sickly for combat ·       Rationing helped improve working class health - average life expectancy rose by 7 years for both men and women between 1911 and 1921 ·       ‘Home fit for heroes’ never materialised
Trade Unions	·       Between 1915 and 1918 trade union membership rose from 4.3 million to 8.3 million ·       Trade unions suffered loss of membership in the interwar years, but gained power again after WW2 ·       Trade unions protected the wages and rights of the working class (although only the ones who had jobs), and aided the rise of the Labour party
WW2	·       WW2 united the British population under a total war - which led to a greater sense of unity and equality among the population. ·       The evacuation of young, often poor city children to the countryside led to a greater degree of sympathy for the poverty endured by the working class. ·       The war also restored traditional working class industries (in steel, coal, textiles) to full employment, while maintaining these industries with post war nationalisation under Attlee’s government.
Welfare State	·       Atlees government also saw the introduction of a great number of welfare reforms. ·       The 1946 Industrial Injuries act provided cover for people who were injured at work, which greatly aided working class miners ·       The introduction of free universal healthcare in 1948 allowed the British population comprehensive and effective healthcare, which arguable had the most benefit for the working class, who previously had not been able to afford high quality care. ·       However many working class families still lived in poor, slum conditions until well into the 50s, and those in new housing often felt isolated.
50s and 60s Consumerism	·       Working class were able to take advantage of mass leisure activities in the 50s and 60s ·       Dissolved class boundaries between the working and middle class