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History Quiz - Britain: British Society 1931-1951 - The 1945-1951 Labour Government's Domestic Policy (Questions)

As a part of their study of British society at different times in the past GCSE History students will look at the period of 1931-1951. One aspect that they will cover is the 1945-1951 Labour Government's foreign and domestic policy. This is one of two quizzes on the subject and it concentrates on the 1945-1951 Labour Government's Domestic Policy only.

The new Labour government came to power with a large majority, determined to carry out radical reform as promised in the party's manifesto. After 1948 most of this work was completed and the government was exhausted.

Test your knowledge of the time in this interactive quiz.

1. In 1947 the new Minister of Education raised the school leaving age to what?
[ ] 15 years old
[ ] 14 years old
[ ] 16 years old
[ ] 17 years old
2. In 1947 Hugh Dalton, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was forced to resign. On what grounds did he hand in his resignation?
[ ] He had been fiddling his parliamentary expenses
[ ] He had confided budget secrets to a journalist just as he was about to deliver his budget speech
[ ] He had been accused of having an affair with a female M.P.
[ ] He had been plotting to remove Attlee as prime minister and had been found out
3. "A sheep in sheep's clothing." - This rather cruel jibe by Churchill was made about which Labour minister?
[ ] Herbert Morrison
[ ] Tom Williams
[ ] Emmanuel Shinwell
[ ] Clement Attlee
4. Which Liberal economist and government supporter, the author of the "General Theory", urged a policy of full employment and state stimulation of the economy?
[ ] John Maynard Keynes
[ ] William Beveridge
[ ] Friedrich Hayek
[ ] Walter Balogh
5. Who was the only woman in Attlee's government?
[ ] Margaret Bondfield
[ ] Barbara Castle
[ ] Jennie Lee
[ ] Ellen Wilkinson
6. Which cabinet minister, the founder of the NHS in 1948, was ridiculed by Churchill, now Leader of the Opposition, as the "Minister of Disease"?
[ ] Ernest Bevin
[ ] Aneurin Bevan
[ ] John Strachey
[ ] Michael Foot
7. What proportion of British industry had been nationalised by Labour in 1951?
[ ] 35%
[ ] 50%
[ ] 20%
[ ] 40%
8. The coal industry was nationalised. By what named was its controlling body now known?
[ ] The Coal Corporation
[ ] British Coal
[ ] Carbogen
[ ] The National Coal Board
9. In 1948 the Representation of the People Act removed some anomalies from the electoral system. Which of the following reforms was enshrined in the Act?
[ ] The voting age was reduced to 18
[ ] The University seats were abolished, so that university graduates were denied their extra vote
[ ] Voting was made compulsory in parliamentary elections
[ ] The deposit required to be paid by parliamentary candidates was raised to £50
10. Labour's 1918 Constitution provided for the state control of industry in the interests of employees and the wider public. Which clause of the Constitution set out this intention?
[ ] Clause 4
[ ] Clause 231
[ ] Clause 95
[ ] Clause 101

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Depression, war and recovery, 1930-1954

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History Quiz - Britain: British Society 1931-1951 - The 1945-1951 Labour Government's Domestic Policy (Answers)
1. In 1947 the new Minister of Education raised the school leaving age to what?
[x] 15 years old
[ ] 14 years old
[ ] 16 years old
[ ] 17 years old
The Labour Party regarded free education as an intrinsic right and they were keen to keep children at school for as long as possible
2. In 1947 Hugh Dalton, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was forced to resign. On what grounds did he hand in his resignation?
[ ] He had been fiddling his parliamentary expenses
[x] He had confided budget secrets to a journalist just as he was about to deliver his budget speech
[ ] He had been accused of having an affair with a female M.P.
[ ] He had been plotting to remove Attlee as prime minister and had been found out
Dalton was replaced by the austere Stafford Cripps
3. "A sheep in sheep's clothing." - This rather cruel jibe by Churchill was made about which Labour minister?
[ ] Herbert Morrison
[ ] Tom Williams
[ ] Emmanuel Shinwell
[x] Clement Attlee
Churchill was very quick to make these half-amusing and half-abusive asides
4. Which Liberal economist and government supporter, the author of the "General Theory", urged a policy of full employment and state stimulation of the economy?
[x] John Maynard Keynes
[ ] William Beveridge
[ ] Friedrich Hayek
[ ] Walter Balogh
The government was keen to have intellectual support for full employment, partly as they criticised the Conservatives for the high levels of unemployment in the 1930s
5. Who was the only woman in Attlee's government?
[ ] Margaret Bondfield
[ ] Barbara Castle
[ ] Jennie Lee
[x] Ellen Wilkinson
Women MPs were still in short supply
6. Which cabinet minister, the founder of the NHS in 1948, was ridiculed by Churchill, now Leader of the Opposition, as the "Minister of Disease"?
[ ] Ernest Bevin
[x] Aneurin Bevan
[ ] John Strachey
[ ] Michael Foot
Churchill kept up a steady stream of insults against his political enemies
7. What proportion of British industry had been nationalised by Labour in 1951?
[ ] 35%
[ ] 50%
[x] 20%
[ ] 40%
Labour had promised to take into public ownership transport and the major utilities as well as the Bank of England
8. The coal industry was nationalised. By what named was its controlling body now known?
[ ] The Coal Corporation
[ ] British Coal
[ ] Carbogen
[x] The National Coal Board
The coal industry employed nearly a million miners and had enjoyed poor industrial relations in the inter-war period
9. In 1948 the Representation of the People Act removed some anomalies from the electoral system. Which of the following reforms was enshrined in the Act?
[ ] The voting age was reduced to 18
[x] The University seats were abolished, so that university graduates were denied their extra vote
[ ] Voting was made compulsory in parliamentary elections
[ ] The deposit required to be paid by parliamentary candidates was raised to £50
Labour was keen to retain power and believed that a further franchise act could give them more support.
10. Labour's 1918 Constitution provided for the state control of industry in the interests of employees and the wider public. Which clause of the Constitution set out this intention?
[x] Clause 4
[ ] Clause 231
[ ] Clause 95
[ ] Clause 101
This clause later became a bone of contention between modernisers who wanted to amend or abolish it and traditionalists who wanted to retain it intact
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