The Swinging Sixties: A Decline or a Revolution?

David Kynaston's "Deep Into The Sixties: Britain 1965–66" offers a detailed examination of mid-1960s Britain, presenting a complex picture that challenges simplistic notions of the era. The book draws from extensive research, including newspaper reports, diaries, letters, media bulletins, and contemporary memoirs.

During this period, cultural milestones included the presence of puppies on the children's television show "Blue Peter," John Prescott's time at Hull University, and the introduction of multi-flavoured Golden Wonder crisps. Open-plan offices, theoretically less hierarchical, also emerged, alongside the first Pizza Express restaurants. The notorious Moors Murders trial also took place.

In the realm of celebrity and culture, Peter Cook's satire boom gained momentum, while The Beatles received their MBEs. John Lennon's controversial statement about the band's popularity preceded criticism from a retired army colonel who dismissed their music. Harold Pinter's plays were deemed "absolute drivel and incomprehensible nonsense" by some, while Ken Dodd began a long run at the Palladium. Tom Jones, however, topped the charts with "It's Not Unusual."

Politically, Harold Wilson's Labour government implemented high taxation, which a City analyst decried as "a most disgusting attack on anyone who wants to make his way in the world." The decline of manual labor and traditional industries like textiles, shipbuilding, and coal mining foreshadowed the strikes and strife of the 1970s. Shuttered shops, closed pubs, and the rise of tattoo parlours and discount liquor outlets became increasingly common.

Immigration also became a significant issue, with Birmingham seeing a surge in Pakistani shops by 1967. Enoch Powell would later deliver his controversial "rivers of blood" speech in 1968. An incident in Bristol, where a black man was arrested after entering a pub, highlighted racial tensions.

The government's push to abolish grammar schools and the 11-plus exam in favor of a comprehensive system marked a significant educational shift.

Urban Landscape and Social Change

Kynaston also chronicles the destruction of Britain's urban landscape, attributing much of it to Richard Beeching's railway closure program and the subsequent increase in road traffic, congestion, and pollution. Attractive Victorian terraces, Georgian squares, and historic buildings were replaced by high-rise flats, shopping plazas, and concrete office blocks.

The 1960s saw the legalization of abortion, a rise in divorce rates (37,800 in England and Wales in 1965), and an increase in illegitimacy (70,000 in 1967). Kynaston highlights the documented cruelty faced by single mothers, including forced adoptions by Church of England charities.

Brutality, often termed "discipline," was condoned, with police routinely beating suspects and corporal punishment in schools. While homosexuality was decriminalized, societal views remained largely negative, with fears that gay liberation could lead to "an age of lawlessness, violence and crime."

Sex and changing social norms also proved contentious. Joan Bakewell's role as a television presenter drew commentary, while Mary Whitehouse emerged as a prominent critic of perceived permissiveness. The launch of Penthouse magazine in March 1965 further fueled debates about societal values.

The introduction of the Pill coincided with evolving attitudes towards sex and relationships. The nascent feminist movement reacted against misogynistic films, unequal pay, and legal restrictions on women. Fay Weldon is quoted as stating that the "indignity, emotional pain and helplessness that went with being a woman in the 1960s was monstrous and couldn't, mustn't, last."

Kynaston suggests that the "Swinging Sixties" was largely a myth, often encapsulated in the "Carry On" films, which depicted a reality of delayed gratifications and persistent restrictions. The era, according to Kynaston, may have marked the beginning of societal issues such as educational deterioration, architectural degradation, and social divisiveness.

The sentiment of one Cockney resident, quoted as wishing to "continue to live my life immersed in my own culture," is presented as a seed for later political movements, including Brexit.

Kynaston concludes that while many changes were framed as progress, they ultimately led to the end of certain aspects of British life, some of which, he implies, may have been worth preserving.