British Housewives' League

Last updated

The British Housewives' League is a right-wing, non-party group that seeks to act as the voice of the British housewife, providing advice and encouraging active participation in society. The League seeks to defend the UK's independence and constitution, to promote Christian values, and to discourage excessive state control. In the past the League has campaigned against rationing, identity cards, fluoridation campaigns [1] in the 1950s and UK membership of the European Union.

Contents

The newsletter of the League has been called Housewives Today, and Home but now[ citation needed ] produces a magazine called The Lantern.

The League was founded by Irene Lovelock, [2] née Northover-Smith (1896-1974), who became its first chairman. As a housewife during the Second World War, Lovelock encountered the problems of rationing, shortages and queueing. In April 1946 Lovelock resigned from the chair of the League to become its president. Lovelock wrote an unpublished memoir of the League.

Another prominent chairman of the League was Dorothy Crisp, a journalist and writer of provocative articles in the Sunday Dispatch . Under her direction it developed a campaigning posture on women, the state and the dangers of socialism, similar to that of the Conservative Party in the 1940s. Crisp had been a member of the Conservatives and published books promoting both conservatism and Christianity. She had sought the Conservative nomination for the by-election held in Acton in 1943, and when unsuccessful, she stood as an independent candidate. However the Housewives' League has as a founding principle that it is not party political and will not be used to promote any political party. Crisp was subject of a patronising article referring to her as "the buxom, brown-eyed, voluble little woman", by Gordon Beckles, [3] [4] published in the 12 July 1947 issue of Leader Magazine [5] under the title of "Housewife of England!". It featured a photo of her giving a speech on behalf of the League. It has been said that Dorothy Crisp is the historical figure who most resembles Margaret Thatcher. [6] The League's membership was more than 70,000 in 1948. [7]

After the Attlee government the League declined in numbers but continued, opposing the European Economic Community and the permissive society while supporting apartheid-era South Africa. The League became associated with the far-right British League of Rights and, in 1972 the two groups reached an agreement to share offices. [8]

Post-War bread rationing and nationalisation

At its peak the League claimed over 100,000 members, [9] and their collective voice was felt in many rallies against post war bread rationing. Food rationing had been established early on during World War Two. After six long years, this frustration with austerity and state control became a very political issue, particularly among women who longed for some purchasing power and freedom of choice. Meat, bacon, butter, sugar, eggs, tea, cheese, milk, sweets, clothes, petrol were all still restricted.

In February 1946, new cuts were made on poultry and eggs. During the war, bread had never been rationed, it was however introduced in 1946, for two years. Bread rationing caused an outcry, particularly from housewives, as post-war historian Peter Hennessy, [10] writes "the celebrated British Housewives' League was already becoming a thorn in ministerial flesh". By the summer of 1946 over half a million signatures had been collected by the League, under the banner 'Bread: No Ration' petition. The Daily Sketch 3 July 1946 reported one of the League's larger provincial protest marches in Cheltenham.

It was this fallout with the Labour (Attlee) Government that led to political change, since many women turned to the Conservative party. Their subsequent election victory in 1951 became for many a statement of discontent with Labour. As one woman expressed it, ‘the last election was lost mainly in the queue at the butcher's or the grocer's' [11]

During the spring and summer of 1946 intense opposition to bread rationing was led by the Conservative Party, which doubted that the policy was really necessary and that substantial savings in wheat could be made. The Party leadership deplored the added burden placed on consumers and alleged that the government had mismanaged the supply situation. The Conservatives were backed by the right-wing press, which highlighted opposition to bread rationing among bakers as well as the British Housewives' League. This episode was the first concerted campaign against the Labour government on a major policy issue and marked the beginning of the debate about postwar food policy. [12]

As the war ended domestic politics returned to normal. The landslide election victory of the Labour (Attlee) Government in 1945, led the private sector into a series of propaganda campaigns about the threat of nationalisation. These included the so-called Mr Cube Campaign (Tate and Lyle) of 1949/50, against the possibility of the nationalisation of the sugar industry. The 'Aims of Industry', an anti-socialist pressure group formed in 1942 by a group of well-known British industrialists, with representatives from Fords, English Electric, Austin, Rank, British Aircraft, Macdougall's and Firestone Tyres. There were also smaller campaigns by the Cement Makers Federation, the Iron and Steel Federation and by the insurance companies represented by the British Insurance Association. The Road Haulage Association sponsored the anti-nationalisation campaigns by the British Housewives' League, led by Dorothy Crisp. [13]

British Pathé newsreels reporting British Housewives' protests

Before television was widely available, short news films was distributed to cinemas' all over the country. People flocked to the cinema to watch newsreels with the latest information or for feature films which allowed them to escape the oppression and austerity of the war for a few hours. By 1946, national cinema audiences peaked at 1.64 billion, with many people going 2 – 3 times a week. [14]

After World War Two, many of these films were made about women welcoming their men back from the front and being keen to please them. But not all women were happy to ‘muddle along' or passively accept the status quo. As a number of newsreels from Pathé News illustrate, many women felt empowered to protest at the continued government restrictions and hardship that existed in the immediate post-war years.

In July 1946, the newsreel featured a demonstration against bread rationing organised by the British Housewives' League in Trafalgar Square, London. [15]

The film opens with the title 'July 21' - the date when bread rationing will begin. The news item then reports on protests against bread rationing by women's groups. Mrs Hilda Davis, is named as leading a group setting up a petition against the rationing, calling on an "army of indignant housewives". The film then shows the Food Minister, John Strachey speaking about improved prospects for North American crops, on his return from the US. The film then states that bread rationing will go ahead on the 21st, despite continued protests. "Vicar's wife and food crusader" Mrs Lovelock is then seen addressing a group of women at a meeting of the British Housewives' League. She states that "we, the housewives of Great Britain are in open revolt against bread rationing" and says that rationing will hit the poorest the most and the League will not stand for it. The film then shows a civil servant working in 'bread control' looking at a new bread ration card and finishes with a close-up shot of the ration card and a loaf of bread. The final commentary warns "watch out this doesn't go under the counter". [16]

ID cards

The League's campaign against the Identity Cards issued under the National Registration Act 1939 began on a very wet Saturday in April 1951. Four officers of the British Housewives' League stood outside the Palace of Westminster and tried to burn their papers, following the example of Harry Willcock. Struggling against the driving rain, only one succeeded; Mrs Beatrice Palmer, of Sidcup, tucked her National Registration Identity Card in a coffee tin and lit it. Within a year the Cards were no more.

They had been protesting "in the hope that attention will be drawn to the increasing pauperisation of the British people". ID cards had been introduced on the outbreak of World War II in 1939. They had also been introduced earlier between 1915 and 1919, during World War I, but were considered a failure. [17] They were a supposedly short-term emergency war-time measure and, by the 1950s, were deeply unpopular.

Under the Labour (Blair) Government Identity Cards Act 2006 ID cards were again to be gradually reintroduced; most Britons, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, should have one by 2017. The British Housewives' League was not happy about that. The now much-diminished organisation's honorary secretary, Lynn Riley was reported as saying "We are animated about this now as we were in the early 1950s." "I remember when we joined Europe we were told we wouldn't need our passports to go to France or Spain or Portugal and we thought that was wonderful. What we did not realise is that we would need an ID card to go to Tesco." "This is a declaration of war by the state on its people." [18] Initial cards were introduced for those who wanted them in 2009, but the cards were abolished by the Identity Documents Act 2010 after a change of government.

British Housewives' League today

The British Housewives' League still existed in 2000 [19] and attempted to show that excessive control by the state is not in the interest of a free and happy home-life, or the development of personality in accordance with Christian tradition. Associates included Victoria Gillick, prominent in the 'pro-life' movement and opponent of sex education in schools. [20] [21]

In the media

The British Housewives' League was the subject of a 2016 episode of the BBC Radio 4 series Archive on 4 titled "The League of Extraordinary Housewives". [22] [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clement Attlee</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951

Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, was a British statesman and Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Minister during the wartime coalition government under Winston Churchill, and served twice as Leader of the Opposition from 1935 to 1940 and from 1951 to 1955. Attlee remains the longest serving Labour leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1950 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first ever to be held after a full term of Labour government. The election was held on Thursday 23 February 1950, and was the first held following the abolition of plural voting and university constituencies. The government's 1945 lead over the Conservative Party shrank dramatically, and Labour was returned to power but with an overall majority reduced from 146 to just 5. There was a 2.8% national swing towards the Conservatives, who gained 90 seats. Labour called another general election in 1951, which the Conservative Party won.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stafford Cripps</span> British politician and diplomat (1889–1952)

Sir Richard Stafford Cripps was a British Labour Party politician, barrister, and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Credit Party of Great Britain and Northern Ireland</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

The Social Credit Party of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was a political party in the United Kingdom. It grew out of the Kibbo Kift, which was established in 1920 as a more craft-based alternative for youth to the Boy Scouts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rationing in the United Kingdom</span> Government-controlled distribution of scarce goods in the United Kingdom

Rationing was introduced temporarily by the British government several times during the 20th century, during and immediately after a war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attlee ministry</span> UK government, 1945–1951

Clement Attlee was invited by King George VI to form the Attlee ministry in the United Kingdom in July 1945, succeeding Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Labour Party had won a landslide victory at the 1945 general election, and went on to enact policies of what became known as the post-war consensus, including the establishment of the welfare state and the nationalisation of some industries. The government's spell in office was marked by post-war austerity measures, the violent crushing of pro-independence and communist movements in Malaya, the grant of independence to India, the engagement in the Cold War against Soviet Communism as well as the creation of the country's National Health Service (NHS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communist Workers' Organisation (UK)</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

The Communist Workers' Organisation (CWO) is a British left communist group, founded in 1975, and an affiliate of the Internationalist Communist Tendency, formerly the International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party. It publishes a quarterly magazine called Revolutionary Perspectives and distributes the agitational broadsheet Aurora. Works of the CWO and ICT have been cited in various academic and political sources internationally, across several countries and languages. The organisation has its origins in north England and Scotland, though it has since grown to encompass other areas with members and sympathisers across the world.

The British Brothers' League (BBL) was a British anti-immigration, extraparliamentary, pressure group, the "largest and best organised" of its time. Described as proto-fascist, the group attempted to organise along paramilitary lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churchill caretaker ministry</span> UK Government, May–July 1945

The Churchill caretaker ministry was a short-term British government in the latter stages of the Second World War, from 23 May to 26 July 1945. The prime minister was Winston Churchill, leader of the Conservative Party. This government succeeded the national coalition which he had formed after he was first appointed prime minister on 10 May 1940. The coalition had comprised leading members of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties and it was terminated soon after the defeat of Nazi Germany because the parties could not agree on whether it should continue until after the defeat of Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British propaganda during World War II</span> Information and media used to influence support for the war effort

Britain re-created the World War I Ministry of Information for the duration of World War II to generate propaganda to influence the population towards support for the war effort. A wide range of media was employed aimed at local and overseas audiences. Traditional forms such as newspapers and posters were joined by new media including cinema (film), newsreels and radio. A wide range of themes were addressed, fostering hostility to the enemy, support for allies, and specific pro war projects such as conserving metal and growing vegetables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Movement UK</span> Pro-Europe pressure group

The European Movement UK is an independent all-party pressure group in the United Kingdom which campaigns for a close relationship with European Union, and to ensure that European values, standards, and rights are upheld in British law post-Brexit. It is part of the European Movement International which pushes for a "democratic, federal, enlarged European Union". It is the most prominent pro-Europe group in Britain.

Terence Duffy was a British trade union leader.

The Soviet famine of 1946–1947 was a major famine in the Soviet Union that lasted from mid-1946 to the winter of 1947 to 1948.

The British League of Ex-Servicemen and Women (BLESMAW) was a British ex-service organisation that became associated with far-right politics both during and after the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Morrison</span> Former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the Cabinet as a member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minister of Transport during the Second MacDonald ministry, then after losing his parliamentary seat in the 1931 general election, he became Leader of the London County Council in the 1930s. After returning to the Commons, he was defeated by Clement Attlee in the 1935 Labour Party leadership election but later acted as Home Secretary in the wartime coalition.

Dorothy Crisp (1906–1987) was a right-wing English political figure, writer and publisher.

The National Loaf was a bread made from wholemeal flour with added calcium and vitamins, introduced in Britain during the Second World War by the Federation of Bakers (FOB). Introduced in 1942, the loaf was made from wholemeal flour to combat wartime shortages of white flour and sugar. The loaf was abolished in October 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social history of post-war Britain (1945–1979)</span>

The United Kingdom was one of the victors of the Second World War, but victory was costly in social and economic terms. Thus, the late 1940s was a time of austerity and economic restraint, which gave way to prosperity in the 1950s. The Labour Party, led by wartime Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee, won the 1945 post-war general election in an unexpected landslide and formed their first ever majority government. Labour governed until 1951, and granted independence to India in 1947. Most of the other major overseas colonies became independent in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The UK collaborated closely with the United States during the Cold War after 1947 and in 1949, helped form NATO as a military alliance against the spread of Soviet Communism. After a long debate and initial skepticism, the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community along with the Republic of Ireland and Denmark on 1 January 1973. Immigration from the British Empire and Commonwealth laid the foundations for the multicultural society in today's Britain, while traditional Anglican and other denominations of Christianity declined.

The Young Socialist League was a British radical political youth group founded in 1911. The group was mostly active in London, where it also had the majority of its members. According to the Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations, the group probably had its roots in the Socialist Sunday Schools. The League was linked to the British Socialist Party, a small Marxist party, also founded in 1911, who were supporters of the Bolshevik Revolution. It published a paper called the Red Flag.

References

  1. ↑ ‘Into Every Home, Into Every Body': Organicism and Anti-Statism in the British Anti-Fluoridation Movement, 1952–1960, Amy C. Whipple, Oxford University Press, 2010
  2. ↑ Elizabeth A McCarty, 'Irene May Lovelock' in Dictionary of National Biography OUP, 2004-08
  3. ↑ Gordon Beckles Willson, (1901-1954) wrote under the name Gordon Beckles, was a Daily Express journalist, and later Asst. Editor of the Daily Mail. He authored numerous popular books in the 1930s and 1940s as well as a film script. His twin daughters Janet and Patsy were among the famous 'Tony Twins' who appeared in TV and newspaper (hair product) commercials in the 1950s.
  4. ↑ 'Fleet Street, press barons and politics: the journals of Collin Brooks, 1932-1940, Ed. N. J. Crowson, Camden Fifth Series Vol.II, University of Cambridge, 1998, ISBN   0-521-66239-7
  5. ↑ Leader Magazine, 12 July 1947 issue, (a weekly pictorial magazine published by Picture Post, Hulton Press -closed in 1950)
  6. ↑ James Hinton, Women, Social Leadership, and the Second World War: Continuities of Class OUP, 2002
  7. ↑ Elizabeth A McCarty, 'Irene May Lovelock' in Dictionary of National Biography OUP, 2004-08
  8. ↑ Cultures of Post-War British Fascism edited by Nigel Copsey, John E. Richardson;
  9. ↑ Encyclopedia of British & Irish Politic Organisations, Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, Continuum Imprint, London 2000, ISBN   1-85567-264-2
  10. ↑ Never Again: Britain 1945-1951 by Peter Hennessy, Penguin Books, ISBN   978-0-14-101602-3
  11. ↑ Prof. Michael Pugh, Regeneration of War-torn Societies, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000, p.291
  12. ↑ “Consensus and Consumption: Rationing, Austerity and Controls after the War” in the book “The Myth of Consensus” edited by Harriet Jones and Michael Kandiah, Macmillan Press 1996.
  13. ↑ Coercion or Persuasion: Propaganda in Britain after 1945, William Crofts, Routledge, London, pp. 99-109, especially p. 106 where the League's funding by the Road Haulage Association, then distantly threatened with nationalisation, is discussed. (Best account is Hinton's see sources). Dorothy Crisp is the historical figure who most resembles Margaret Thatcher
  14. ↑ 'The film cultures reader' By Graeme Turner, Routledge, 2002, ISBN   0-415-25281-4
  15. ↑ British Pathé newsreel 12 June 1947, "One Minute News". British Housewives League demonstrate in London. LS General view of the crowd of women in Trafalgar Square. CU a banner saying "We work and want" from the Bath Housewives league. BV of woman speaking from steps of Nelson's Column.
  16. ↑ British Pathé newsreel 12 June 1947, "One Minute News". British Housewives League demonstrate in London.
  17. ↑ Identity cards in Britain: past experience and policy implications, Jon Agar, 2005, Published Paper, History & Policy web-site (King's College, London), he is a lecturer at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge
  18. ↑ Article in 'The Herald Scotland', by David Leask, 7 Mar 2008,
  19. ↑ Encyclopedia of British & Irish Politic Organisations, Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, Continuum Imprint, London 2000, ISBN   1-85567-264-2
  20. ↑ Wilson 1980; Campbell, B. 1987
  21. ↑ Encyclopedia of British & Irish Politic Organisations, Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, Continuum Imprint, London 2000, ISBN   1-85567-264-2
  22. ↑ "The League of Extraordinary Housewives". BBC Radio 4. BBC. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  23. ↑ Verdier, Hannah (21 July 2016). "The League of Extraordinary Housewives review – the stigma of 'women's work'". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2020.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.