It’s easy to forget that the early 1970s were not all about the Beatles.
In fact, they were a time of profound change in music, culture and the country at large.
As the years passed, so did the image of the British people.
In 1969, the first ever British census was conducted, with the results revealing that the population of the country had more than doubled since the beginning of the century.
That’s a huge statistic, but when you think about it, it doesn’t really make sense.
The census showed a massive increase in the population, and in some cases, it even surpassed the figure of England and Wales, which had doubled in a century.
In other words, while the population was increasing, so were the numbers of people.
It was a time when people were growing in numbers, which meant more work to be done, and the more work people had to do, the more money they had to spend.
In addition, the country was experiencing rapid economic growth, and as a result, a greater number of people were earning more.
The new workers had to pay more taxes and more in health and pension contributions, but the government was also taking a larger share of the profits.
And while the new workers were getting a better deal than the old, the average income was still lower.
In some ways, the new population meant that people were being pushed further and further into the middle classes.
In the words of historian Richard Curtis, the government “lacked the resources and economic power to absorb the new people who had been arriving in the country”.
So, what happened?
Why were the British population rapidly growing?
The answer lies in the creation of the social welfare state, which was designed to help people survive the economic and social changes.
Under the new social security system, the British were expected to contribute at least half of their income to their local councils and councils were expected take over most of the public services.
It also meant that those who didn’t contribute were expected, if they wanted to continue living in the area, to move to another town.
This meant that in order to keep their job, people had been forced to move further and farther away from their local community.
As a result of this, the growth in population was a problem for the social security systems.
It meant that the money was going to those who were already earning the most, and to those that were in the middle class.
The government also introduced the “poverty line”, which meant that if you were earning less than the poverty line and you had children, you would be required to pay child tax credits.
And this was a key factor in the massive growth of the population in the years that followed.
What the social services did was provide financial help to those in need.
The state provided financial assistance, like a pension, to those with children, and it also provided free or low-cost childcare for women who had to stay at home and paid for by the government.
The idea was that those in poverty were unable to support themselves financially, so the state was there to provide them with the means to help them, but also to provide a better life for their children.
It worked, but it wasn’t without its problems.
People didn’t always see themselves as the main earners, and sometimes even considered themselves as “victims”, in the words in Curtis’s book.
And, even though they were receiving money from the state, they often felt that they didn’t have the same level of social security as the rest of the community.
The problem was exacerbated by the fact that there was a “welfare state”, meaning that all the money that was being given to those living in poverty, was also being spent on benefits for the rest.
In this way, those in the top one per cent, or those who made more than the government’s target of £8,000 per year, could afford to be better off.
The result was a situation where many families, in particular women, were left without the ability to get a proper education.
As Curtis puts it, “In the early years of the welfare state there was nothing to prevent women from being excluded from school.
In one of the first welfare reform acts, the Government declared the status of women was not a public service, but a social institution.
But the fact was that the status was not being adequately funded.”
And in fact, as Curtis writes, “It is estimated that over 50 per cent of the children in England and Scotland are now in care”.
The social security reforms were a huge step forward, but what happened next?
Well, the social system had to adapt to the changing conditions.
In 1970, the Social Security Act was introduced, which required a certain amount of public expenditure in order for the government to pay benefits.
And it was decided that in 1970, there would be no more social security payments for those living on low incomes.
As this was happening, the state also needed to increase its tax revenue