## Learning Outcomes

- Describe how family life and attitudes to marriage changed after the 1960s
- Recall key legal changes on divorce, abortion, and contraception
- Identify major equality laws affecting women and ethnic minorities
- Explain how migration since the 1960s increased ethnic and cultural diversity in the UK
- Recognise key science and technology milestones linked to this period

## Life in the UK Test Syllabus

For the Life in the UK Test, you are expected to understand how British society has changed since the 1960s, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

- Know why the 1960s were called the “Swinging Sixties” and name key cultural examples (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones)
- Identify major changes in family life: rising divorce, cohabitation, more single-parent families, more children born outside marriage
- Recall key legal reforms: Abortion Act 1967 (Great Britain), Divorce Reform Act 1969 (effective 1971), and the idea of “irretrievable breakdown”
- Know key gender equality laws: Equal Pay Act 1970 and Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- Understand how post-war migration and later immigration restrictions changed the UK’s population (including the admission of Ugandan Asians in the early 1970s)
- Recognise headline technology and science developments linked to modern Britain (Concorde; the first UK cashpoint 1967; IVF first “test-tube baby” 1978)

## Test Your Knowledge

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. Why were the 1960s in Britain sometimes called the “Swinging Sixties”?
2. What did the Divorce Reform Act 1969 change, and when did it come into effect?
3. Name two Acts that improved women’s rights at work in the 1970s.
4. Which groups formed a large part of immigration to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s?
5. What was significant about Barclays Bank in Enfield in 1967?

## Introduction

Since the 1960s, life in the UK has changed in visible ways: how people form families, what is accepted in society, who has legal protection from discrimination, and how diverse the population is. At the same time, new technologies and medical advances have changed everyday life.

Many Life in the UK Test questions in this area focus on matching a change to the correct decade, and knowing which laws did what.

> **Key Term: Social change**
> Changes over time in people’s behaviour, lifestyles, values, and the laws and institutions that shape daily life.

### The “Swinging Sixties”: culture, prosperity, and new attitudes

The 1960s are often described as a period of strong cultural influence and changing social attitudes. Britain became famous for fashion, film, and popular music.

Two of the best-known music groups of the time were **The Beatles** and **The Rolling Stones**. As living standards improved for many people, more households could afford **cars** and other consumer goods.

The decade also included major changes in science, design, and engineering. New architectural styles became common, including **high-rise buildings** and wider use of **concrete and steel**.

> **Test Tip:** If a question mentions “Swinging Sixties”, connect it to pop culture (Beatles/Rolling Stones), rising prosperity, and liberalising social laws.

### Family life after the 1960s: marriage, cohabitation, and divorce

From the late 1960s onwards, family patterns in the UK became more varied. Marriage remained important, but it became more common for couples to live together before marrying, or to live together without marrying. Divorce also became more common and carried less social stigma than it did in earlier decades.

> **Key Term: Cohabitation**
> A couple living together in a relationship without being married.

Alongside cohabitation, the UK saw an increase in:

- **children born to parents who are not married**, and
- **single-parent families** (sometimes called one-parent families), often linked to relationship breakdown.

These changes were connected to social attitudes, but also to legal reform.

> **Test Tip:** In multiple-choice questions, “cohabitation” is a definition question as often as it is a trend question: living together without marriage.

### Divorce law: “irretrievable breakdown” and the Divorce Reform Act

A key change was the reform of divorce law. The **Divorce Reform Act 1969** changed the legal basis for divorce in **England and Wales**, making divorce easier to obtain by recognising that a marriage could end due to permanent failure rather than requiring one spouse to prove a specific “matrimonial offence”.

The Act came into force on **1 January 1971**.

> **Key Term: Irretrievable breakdown (of marriage)**
> The legal concept that a marriage has broken down permanently and cannot be repaired; a basis for divorce introduced by the Divorce Reform Act 1969 (effective 1971).

Under the reform, separation became an important route to divorce, including divorce after a period of separation (with different rules depending on consent).

### Reproductive and sexual health changes: abortion and contraception

Social change also included shifts in reproductive health and personal freedom.

The **Abortion Act 1967** legalised abortion in **Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland)** under specified conditions, including the requirement for **approval by two doctors** and that the procedure is carried out by a **registered medical practitioner** in an approved setting. (The law did not apply to Northern Ireland at the time.)

Contraception became more widely available during this period, including the oral contraceptive pill, which was introduced in the early 1960s and later became available more widely through NHS services.

> **Test Tip:** Watch geography carefully: the Abortion Act 1967 applied to Great Britain (not Northern Ireland at that time). Many test questions check this distinction.

### Women’s roles and equal treatment at work

In the 1960s it was still common in some workplaces for women to be expected to leave their job when they got married. Over time, women’s participation in paid work increased and legal protections strengthened.

Parliament passed laws to improve equality, especially in work and education.

Equal Pay Act 1970
This aimed to stop employers paying women less than men for the same or similar work (and related pay and employment terms).

Sex Discrimination Act 1975
This made it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their sex in areas such as employment and education.

These Acts are often examined as simple fact-recall items: know the **name** and **date**, and link each to its main purpose.

### Race relations and protection from discrimination

The UK became more diverse after the Second World War, especially due to migration from the Caribbean and South Asia. As the population changed, Parliament introduced laws to address racial discrimination.

Key Acts included:

- **Race Relations Act 1965**: first law aimed at reducing racial discrimination (initially focused on public places)
- **Race Relations Act 1968**: extended protections into areas such as housing and employment
- **Race Relations Act 1976**: strengthened the law further and set up the **Commission for Racial Equality**

You are not usually expected to memorise every detail, but you should understand that legal protection against racial discrimination expanded across these Acts.

> **Key Term: Multiculturalism**
> Different cultural and ethnic groups living in the same country while maintaining aspects of their cultures alongside shared public life.

### Migration and population change: from post-war rebuilding to new restrictions

After the Second World War, Britain needed workers to rebuild the country. There were major labour shortages, and the government encouraged workers to come to the UK.

- Workers were encouraged from **Ireland and other parts of Europe**.
- In **1948**, people from the **West Indies** were also invited to come and work.
- In the 1950s, the labour shortage continued and employers recruited workers from overseas. For example:
  - recruitment in the West Indies for bus drivers
  - textile and engineering firms recruiting in **India and Pakistan**

For about 25 years, many people arrived from the **West Indies, India, Pakistan**, and later **Bangladesh**, and settled permanently in Britain.

By the **late 1960s**, immigration from these regions fell because the government introduced laws restricting entry. These rules required immigrants to have a stronger connection to Britain, such as through **birth** or **ancestry**.

Even with restrictions, there were still important arrivals. In the **early 1970s**, Britain admitted **28,000 people of Indian origin** who had been forced to leave **Uganda**.

> **Test Tip:** If a question links Uganda and Indian origin refugees, remember the key figure: 28,000 admitted in the early 1970s.

### Technology, design, and everyday life: Concorde, cashpoints, and IVF

The decades after the 1960s also brought major scientific and technical progress linked to daily life.

Concorde
Britain and France developed the supersonic passenger aircraft **Concorde**. It:

- first flew in **1969**
- began carrying passengers in **1976**
- was retired from service in **2003**

Cashpoints (ATMs)
In the 1960s, **James Goodfellow (born 1937)** invented the cash-dispensing ATM (often called a “cashpoint”). The first cashpoint was used by **Barclays Bank in Enfield, north London**, in **1967**.

IVF (in-vitro fertilisation)
IVF treatment for infertility was pioneered in Britain by:

- **Sir Robert Edwards (1925–2013)**, a physiologist, and
- **Patrick Steptoe (1913–88)**, a gynaecologist.

The world’s first “test-tube baby” was born in **Oldham, Lancashire**, in **1978**.

These examples are included in Life in the UK materials to show Britain’s role in modern innovation and how technology affected society.

> **Key Term: IVF (in-vitro fertilisation)**
> A medical technique to help treat infertility by fertilising an egg outside the body and then implanting it; pioneered in Britain, with the first “test-tube baby” born in Oldham in 1978.

### Education and changing expectations: the long-term impact of the Butler Act

Some major social changes after the 1960s were built on earlier reforms. A key example is education.

**R. A. Butler (Richard Austen Butler, 1902–82)** was a Conservative MP who became responsible for education during the Second World War. He oversaw the **Education Act 1944**, often called the **Butler Act**, which introduced **free secondary education** in **England and Wales**.

Although the system has changed in many ways since 1944, the idea of separate stages of education—**primary** followed by **secondary**—still shapes most areas of Britain.

This matters for the test because it links post-war rebuilding, welfare-state thinking, and the later expansion of opportunities for women and men through longer education and wider career options.

## Key Point Checklist

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- The 1960s were known as the “Swinging Sixties”, linked to major cultural influence and growing prosperity
- Key 1960s music groups included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones
- Family life became more varied, with rises in cohabitation, divorce, single-parent families, and births outside marriage
- The Divorce Reform Act 1969 (effective 1 January 1971) introduced divorce based on “irretrievable breakdown” in England and Wales
- The Abortion Act 1967 legalised abortion under conditions in Great Britain (not Northern Ireland at the time)
- Women’s workplace rights improved through the Equal Pay Act 1970 and Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- Legal protection against racial discrimination expanded through Race Relations Acts in 1965, 1968, and 1976
- Post-war migration included workers from the West Indies and South Asia; restrictions increased in the late 1960s
- Britain admitted 28,000 people of Indian origin from Uganda in the early 1970s
- Concorde first flew in 1969, began passenger service in 1976, and was retired in 2003
- The first UK cashpoint was used by Barclays Bank in Enfield in 1967; James Goodfellow invented the cash-dispensing ATM
- IVF was pioneered in Britain; the first “test-tube baby” was born in Oldham in 1978

## Key Terms and Concepts

- Social change
- Cohabitation
- Irretrievable breakdown (of marriage)
- Multiculturalism
- IVF (in-vitro fertilisation)


Contemporary UK - Social change since the 1960s