246. The sixties, swinging - high and low

246. The sixties, swinging - high and low

According to the English poet Philip Larkin, the sixties saw the invention of sexual intercourse. While that may not be quite the case, it was certainly a time when a lot of people decided that it was time to revolutionise the way society dealt with sex. The Wilson government saw in a lot of reforms in this direction.

There was a partial decriminalisation of gay sex. Abortion was legalised. Divorce was made easier.

And there were reforms too in other fields, such as the abolition of the death penalty for murder, the first steps to make racial discrimination illegal, and an explosion in educational opportunity, above all in higher education.

But there were plenty of bleak moments too. The Aberfan disaster in Wales was an appalling tragedy. Nor was the economy doing anything like as well as Wilson might have liked. Indeed, after resisting devaluation in 1964 and 1966, he finally had to give way in 1967, cutting the value of sterling by just over 14%.

That would be used against him. He’d fallen out with the press and devaluing after saying he wouldn’t gave it a cause on which to attack. Especially when he said that the ‘pound in your pocket’ hadn’t been devalued. Oh, boy, that would be used against him.

The end of the sixties wasn’t looking too good for him.



Illustration: The Swinging Sixties: Carnaby Street, London. From the National Archives, UK

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License



Jaksot(275)

10. Here today, no heir tomorrow

10. Here today, no heir tomorrow

Elizabeth was the virgin queen. And indeed she had no children, which would be a bit of a problem for when she finally popped her clogs and the survivors had to try to find a way to make the successio...

3 Tammi 20217min

9. Armada - the sequel

9. Armada - the sequel

England loves stories about its great victory over the Spanish Armada. But it talks far less about its sequel. And, boy, was there a sequel: England's own Armada, against Spain. From England's point ...

29 Joulu 20208min

8. The Armada. And the body of a weak and feeble woman

8. The Armada. And the body of a weak and feeble woman

Spain sent its Armada against Elizabethan England, and the expedition ended in disaster, though far more for its failures of planning and the lousy weather than for anything the English did. Meanwhil...

24 Joulu 20207min

7. Not Piracy

7. Not Piracy

They may have been preying on ships, attacking them, stealing their cargoes and holding their crews to ransom, but they knew for sure that they weren't pirates. They were loyal English sailors in Quee...

19 Joulu 20207min

6. God

6. God

You may have noticed that religion has been a pretty significant factor in the happenings of the first few chapters, as it will be in quite a few of the ones ahead. So it makes sense to pause a moment...

14 Joulu 20209min

5. Good Queen Bess

5. Good Queen Bess

An exciting moment! Anne Boleyn's daughter, bright as her mother, in sharpness of mind as well as redness of hair, has made it to the throne. She's sick of all those quarrels between Protestants and C...

9 Joulu 202010min

4. Bloody Mary

4. Bloody Mary

A Bloody Mary may be a fine drink, but Bloody Mary was hardly the most desirable of Queens. As the nickname rather suggests. She was England's last Catholic monarch, and she set out to undo her brothe...

4 Joulu 20208min

3. A bit of a mess

3. A bit of a mess

At last, Henry VIII's wish could be fulfilled. He left the throne to his son. A male heir, just what he'd always wanted. Well, it wasn't that simple, First of all, Edward VI was only 9 when he came to...

29 Marras 20207min

Suosittua kategoriassa Historia

olipa-kerran-otsikko
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mayday-fi
huijarit
mystista
rss-ikiuni
totuus-vai-salaliitto
tsunami
konginkangas
rouva-diktaattori
sotaa-ja-historiaa-podi
rss-sattuu-sita-suomessakin
rss-i-dont-like-mondays-2
rss-kirkon-ihmeellisimmat-tarinat
rss-peter-peter
rss-subjektiivinen-todistaja
apinan-vuosi
historiaa-suomeksi
tiedetta-ja-sirkushuveja-vanhojen-aikojen-podcast
maailmanpuu