Assessing Living Standards Improvement in Britain, 1919-1939
TITLE
Assess the extent to which living standards improved in Britain in the period 1919–39.
ESSAY
In the period 1919-1939, Britain experienced a complex and varied picture in terms of improvements in living standards. The aftermath of World War I brought challenges to the economy, leading to a post-war boom that was short-lived. Long-term issues in agriculture and staple industries like coal resurfaced, aggravated by disruptions in trade and falling demand. Despite some recovery in the later 1920s, persistent problems of unemployment and underemployment persisted, particularly affecting women workers and unskilled laborers who saw their progress halted.
Geographical and sectoral diversity played a significant role in determining the extent of living standard improvements during this period. Areas heavily reliant on traditional industries such as coal, textiles, shipbuilding, and engineering saw minimal gains, exacerbated by the Great Depression following the 1929 crash. Communities dependent on declining industries experienced stubbornly low living standards, as seen in towns like Jarrow. In contrast, regions embracing new industries, services, and technologies fared better, with improvements in artificial fibers, consumer goods, light industry, and service sectors.
Agricultural diversification and growth in sectors like housebuilding contributed to higher living standards in some areas. The South and Midlands, offering a broader range of manufacturing opportunities and tapping into internal demand, saw a more positive outlook compared to depressed industrial regions. The expansion of credit facilities, consumer products, domestic appliances, entertainment options, and rising wages relative to prices benefited those in work.
However, challenges persisted for marginalized groups reliant on inadequate welfare support, leading to grinding poverty and ill health. Government interventions, such as encouraging mergers and marketing boards for farmers, subsidies, and a rearmament program, helped alleviate some of these issues by the late 1930s. Welfare expansions, slum clearances, and the elimination of workhouses were positive steps, although more significant welfare support had to wait until the post-1945 era.
In conclusion, while pockets of the population in Britain experienced improvements in living standards between 1919 and 1939, disparities persisted between regions and industries. The period was marked by a mix of progress and challenges, with government policies playing a crucial role in shaping the trajectory of living conditions for various segments of society.
SUBJECT
HISTORY
PAPER
A LEVEL
NOTES
Assess the extent to which living standards improved in Britain in the period 1919–39.
A post-war boom did not last and long-term problems in some areas of agriculture and the staple industries, particularly coal, returned and were exacerbated by the disruption of trade caused by the First World War and a falling off in demand from both the state as peacetime conditions resumed and foreign markets. Though there was some recovery in the later 1920s, there was a persistent problem of unemployment and underemployment, and some of those who had gained from the war, such as women workers and unskilled workers, saw progress halted by a return to pre-war working conditions.
Some areas flourished, and there was considerable geographical and sectoral diversity. This gap between areas dependent on Victorian staples of heavy industry, coal, and textiles and areas where there was greater diversity and flexibility in the development of new industries, services, and greater reliance on the domestic market and new technologies, for instance, in transport and consumer goods.
Living standards in areas dependent on textiles, coal, shipbuilding, and engineering saw fewer gains in the 1920s and then severe losses following the 1929 crash and the years of depression. Initially, there was a severe knock-on effect following the damage done to trade and financial and consumer confidence caused by the downturn and the deflationary policies in the early 1930s. But the effects of the depression were much less obvious in areas of new industries such as artificial fibres, consumer goods, light industry, and where service industries grew. Where agriculture could diversify, there was less hardship, and in some sectors, such as housebuilding, an expansion saw higher living standards.
In areas where the industrial revolution's dependence on coal had led to concentrations of heavy industry and whole communities depended on products for which demand was severely reduced, such as shipyard towns like Jarrow, living standards remained stubbornly low. In many areas in the South and the Midlands, which offered a wider range of manufactures and tapped into internal demand, there was a very different picture. Outside of depressed industrial areas, there were new homes, ribbon developments, more consumer products, more domestic appliances, more entertainment in the form of cinemas, dance halls, and more radios, and even early TVs. Credit facilities, cheaper clothes, and food, as wages rose higher than prices, helped increase living standards for those in work. However, for those dependent on ungenerous dole and unable to adapt skills to new demands, grinding poverty and ill health were common.
Government policies, which encouraged mergers and marketing boards to help farmers maintain prices, some subsidies, and finally a substantial rearmament program, meant that living conditions were better for many by the late 1930s, though problems persisted, and unemployment remained high in some areas well into the war. The expansion of welfare and slum clearance, and an end to the workhouse, must be seen as positive measures, though more substantial welfare support had to wait until the war and the post-1945 era.