1) Liberals And Home Rule 1906 Flashcards
Why did liberals not want to focus on Home Rule as a key party issue ? (2)
- Realised that HR was impossible while the House of Lords retained its traditional powers
- The desire for Liberal unity to prepare for the coming general election became paramount, as HR was an unpopular policy
What attitude did the liberals adopt to HR in 1905? (2)
- In early 1905 a ‘step by step’ approach to the Irish question was adopted.
- Irish reform, yes, but ‘no pledge either as to method or time’ over HR
Consequently how well did the Liberal party do in the 1906 General election?
They won a landslide victory that year (which gave them 400 MPs and an overall majority of 270)
What was the significance of the Liberal victory in 1906 for Home Rule’s chances in Ireland?
Despite this victory, all that the Irish were offered in 1907 was another Councils Bill which aimed at introducing administrative devolution. It was merely a revised version of the Unionist Bill 1904
Did Home Rule for Ireland become a key liberal policy when Asquith became the new leader in 1908?
No, his agenda was to introduce liberal social reforms e.g old age pension schemes and to curb the House of Lord’s powers
The Liberals needed to increase taxes in order to pay for their social reforms. Why was the Lords’ rejection of the Lloyd George’s People’s Budget politically significant?
By long constitutional practice the Lords had no right to reject a ‘money bill’ passed by the Commons. The unwise Lords’ action - which brought to a head years of Liberal anger and frustration over their blatantly partisan behaviour - made the reform of the poverty of the Upper House inevitable
The budget triggered 2 elections in 1910, one in January and one in December
How did Redmond, as the Irish leader, and the IPP hope to benefit from these elections ? (2)
- this seemed to offer opportunities for HR, as he believed that the Liberals would need Irish support at the elections
- If another liberal victory in 1910 was followed by the expected reform of the Lords, then there would be no legit obstacle to the introduction of a new HR Bill
What comment on HR did PM Asquith make on 10th December 1909?
In effect he made a definite commitment to introduce a Home Rule Bill in the next Parliament if the Liberals were re-elected
Outcome of the January 1910 election?
Disappointment for the Liberals in that their majority over the Conservatives was wiped out & they were reduced to the same amount of MPs as their opponents
How did Asquith and Liberals remain in government ?
Asquith had firm support from the Irish and the Labour Party
Who were the unionists ?
Unionists were those who were in favour of the defence against of the Union as a result of the re-emergence of Irish nationalism, the rise of the HR Party in Ireland and due to their anti-papalism
What were the unionists three reasons for opposing Home Rule?
- Many unionists in Ireland and in GB profited from the markets open to them through the British Empire
- Many unionists feared that a Home Rule Parliament would be dominated by Roman Catholics and therefore under the influence of the Pope in Rome
- politically, the Irish unionists were fearful of what the results of an Irish Parliament would be. It would, they believed, be dominated by extreme nationalists, radicals and Fenians, who was possessed little respect for persons or property and whose ultimate goal was an independent Ireland
Why did middle class Ulster Unionists oppose Home Rule? (2)
- For the middle and upper class, the British connection had helped to produce thriving industries in ulster upon which the prosperity of the whole region was based
- They also believed that an Irish Parliament would be dominated by those who had little respect for persons or property
Why were working class ulster unionists opposed to Home Rule?
The Protestants’ image of the Roman Catholic Church convinced them that their religious and civil liberties would be threatened by a Dublin Parliament which would represent an overwhelming catholic majority
How did the 1909 Ne Temere Decree increase unionists religious fears? (2)
— The 1908 Papal Decree ordered that any mixed marriage, specifically between a Catholic and a Protestant, which had now been solemnised by the Catholic Church should be regarded as null and void
- to ulster Protestants, it seemed that all the children of such mixed marriages would be brought up as Catholics and the McCann Affair - in which Alexander McCann, a Belfast Catholic, left his Protestant wife and took all the children of the marriage with him - reinforced this fear.
