Interwar unemployment and poverty in the United Kingdom facts for kids
Unemployment was the dominant issue of British society during the interwar years. Unemployment levels rarely dipped below 1,000,000 and reached a peak of more than 3,000,000 in 1933, a figure which represented more than 20% of the working population. The unemployment rate was even higher in areas including South Wales and Liverpool. The Government extended unemployment insurance schemes in 1920 to alleviate the effects of unemployment.
Causes
There were several reasons for the decline in industry after the First World War. The end of the war brought a boom. In the shipping industry, businesses expanded rapidly in order to take advantage of the increase in demand. However, the boom was short-lived and this rapid expansion caused a slump from oversupply. Structural weaknesses in the British economy meant a disproportionate number of jobs were in the traditional industries. A combination of a lack of pre-war technological development and post-war competition damaged the economy and the new industries which emerged employed fewer people. At the same time, Britain began to lose its overseas markets due to strong foreign competition. Some have argued that an overly generous unemployment insurance system worsened the state of the economy. The Wall Street Crash in 1929 was responsible for a worldwide downturn in trade and led to the Great Depression.
Apart from the major pockets of unemployment, Britain was generally prosperous. Historian Piers Brendon writes:
- Historians, however, have long since revised this grim picture, presenting the devil's decade as the cradle of the affluent society. Prices fell sharply between the wars and average incomes rose by about a third. The term "property-owning democracy" was coined in the 1920s, and 3,000,000 houses were built during the 1930s. Land, labour and materials were cheap: a bungalow could be purchased for £225 and a semi for £450. The middle-class also bought radiograms, telephones, three-piece suites, electric cookers, vacuum cleaners and golf clubs. They ate Kellogg's Corn Flakes ("never miss a day"), drove to Odeon cinemas in Austin Sevens (costing £135 by 1930) and smoked Craven A cigarettes, cork-tipped "to prevent sore throats". The depression spawned a consumer boom.
Legislation
- Unemployment Insurance Act 1920
- Unemployment Insurance Act 1921
- Unemployment Insurance Act 1924
- Unemployment Insurance Act 1927
- Unemployment Insurance Act 1930
- Coal Mines Act 1930
- Import Duties Act 1932
- Unemployment Act 1934
- Special Areas Act 1934
- British Shipping (Assistance) Act 1935
- Cotton Industry (Reorgainsation) Act 1936
- Special Areas (Amendment) Act 1937
- Cotton Industry (Reorgainsation) Act 1939
Unrest
There were several examples of unrest during this period, most notably the General Strike of 1926 and the Jarrow March of October 1936. There were also protests against the introduction of means testing and hunger marches organized by the National Unemployed Workers Movement.
