UK Economic History

Main points
 Trading
• Lure of riches and exotic products
• Early stocks and shares
• England and the Netherlands
• The South Sea Bubble
• Corn Laws and free trade
 Empire and Industrialisation
• Controlling trading routes and franchises
• Setting up supply chains providing raw
materials for UK factories
• Laws set to protect UK producers at the
expense of colonies
• Industrialisation
– UK as workshop of the world
• Market economics
 1900 - 1925
• WW1 Caused by European power struggles
– Marks the beginning of the end of European dominance
• The League of Nations
– Attempting to prevent war
• General feeling of rights of working people
– Votes for women
– The Labour Party
– Soviet Union
• The roaring twenties
– US booms to full development
– Post war jubilation
 The Depression
• 1926 UK General Strike
– Loss of coal markets during War and due to high value of pound
– Unionisation
• 1929 Wall Street Crash
– The 20s speculation bubble burst
• End of prominence of industrialised nations
– Competition
– Use of devaluations and beggar thy neighbour policies
– Need for restructuring
• Keynes’ – General Theory
• Ends with WW2 and stricter financial regulations
 1945 - 1960
• UK still in rationing for much of the 1950s
• UK in debt to US
• Bretton Woods
– Sterling devalued
– Start of IMF and World Bank
• 1956 Suez Crisis
– Obvious end of British Power
• Wide Nationalisation
• Social system
• NHS
• Expansion of Education System
• Immigration
– To fill unskilled jobs
– Empire Windrush, restrictions in 1962 and 1972
• Cold War
 1960s
• Science and Technology take centre stage
– "the Britain that is going to be forged in the white heat of
this revolution will be no place for restrictive practices or
for outdated measures on either side of industry". Harold
Wilson 1963

• Social Revolution
– Feminism, End of Segregation (US), Gay
rights, Disability Rights (1970s)
 1970s
• 1973 Oil Shock
• Stagflation
– Inflation
– unemployment
• Sense of social decay
– 3 day week, strikes, power cuts
– Height of IRA mainland campaigns
– Punk
• UK entry to EEC 1974
 1980s
• Thatcherism, Reaganomics
• Yuppies
• Greed is Good
• Miner’s Strike 1984
• Widespread Privatisation
• Big Bang 1987
• Boom and Bust
• Collapse of USSR
• Japan takes centre stage
 1990s
• Thatcher leaves office
• European Union - Maastricht
• ERM and Black Wednesday 1992
• Good Friday peace talks
• Labour Victory 1997
– End of Clause Four
– Third Way
– Cool Britannia
– Independence of Bank of England
 21 st Century

• The Euro
• Steady and calm economic growth for 10
years
• The cracks appear
• Northern Rock
• Credit Crunch
• Financial System Panic