1906-1914 - The Liberal Crisis, the Economy and Social issues Flashcards
What was the 1906 election results?
It was a Landslide Victory for the Liberal Party
What did the new Liberal Government put into practice?
‘New Liberalism’ > creating a range of reforms to tackle poverty and the social problems of the day
Name two key ministers part of the new Liberal government
Lloyd George and Churchill
State the eight reasons the Liberal Party won in 1906?
- Boer War (1902)
- 1902 Education Act
- 1904 Licensing Act
- Chinese Labour issue (1902-1904)
- Taff Vale case (1902)
- Tariff reform (1903)
- Lib-Lab Pact (1903)
- Balfour’s leadership/lack of social reform
Who exposed the horrific conditions and methods used against the Boers during the war?
Emily Hobhouse
How many civilians died in concentration camps during the Boer War?
26,000
What did the angry nonconformists nickname the 1904 Licensing Act?
‘The Brewers Bill’
What was the Chinese Labour issue?
A scandal that damaged the conservative support from nonconformists and trade unions when Chinese labourers were taken to South Africa in overcrowded camps and worked for very low wages
How did the Chinese Labour issue effect people back home in Britain?
People feared employers would bring them to Britain to work and reduce the wage sat home. This caused moral outcry due to the high unemployment
Why did the Taff Vale case in 1902 discredit the Conservatives?
It wasn’t directly the Conservatives fault but the House of Lords ruled, after a strike in Wales, that a company was within its rights to sue a trade union - making it impossible to strike. Only an Act of Parliament could overrule a Lords’ judgement and the Conservatives refused to introduce such legislation as Balfour believed it was a ‘matter for the courts’
Why did the Liberals and the Labour Party form a pact in 1903?
They shared similar ideas with regard to free trade and the Labour leadership was moderate so didn’t pose too much of a threat to the Liberals
What did Chamberlain the previous Conservative leader) argue about the benefits of introducing tariffs?
It would:
- protect British industry which would result in more jobs
- provide revenue to fund social reform
- strengthen the British Empire and thus Britain’s position in the world
Why did Tariff Reform contribute to the downfall of the Conservatives?
As many working and middle class voters feared that tariffs would mean dearer food and falling living standards. It caused a divide in the Conservative government and caused Churchill to leave.
How was the issue of Tariff Reform beneficial to the Liberal party?
It helped to reunite and strengthen the party because belief in ‘free trade’ was something all Liberals supported strongly. It was a ‘bread and butter’ issue of great concern to all voters in all classes.
‘laissez faire’
to leave alone
What did New liberalism suggest?
It stressed freedom from evils such as poverty, low wages and insecurity and it was believed that intervention by the State had a key role in establishing minimum standards of life
Which part of New Liberalism contradicted the traditional Liberal ideology?
The idea of higher government spending which contradicts the emphasis on low taxation
Which type of liberals believed there should be some element of redistribution of income by taxing the rich more heavily and diverting the money to the poor?
Radical Liberals
What were the main factors to the development of New Liberalism?
- The influence of intellectuals on the Liberal party
- The growing awareness of poverty and its causes
- Political factors/motives
- Concern over ‘national efficiency’
- Greater support for New Liberalism within the party
what did influential intellectual J. T. Hobhouse argue for?
‘Collectivism’: that governments should take action to distribute wealth more fairly throughout society thus taxes should be implemented
Which intellectual believed the economy faced a problem of ‘under-consumption’?
J. A. Hobson
T. h. Green argued for more…
social reforms to allow a broader definition of Liberalism
What were the political benefits for ‘New Liberalism’?
- rescue the Liberal Party from recent divisions
- aid the hopeful increase in the working class vote
- attack the Conservatives weak area of social reform
Who led the new Liberal government from 1906 to 1908?
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Who led the Liberal government from 1908 to 1915?
Herbert Asquith
What did Campbell-Bannerman die? and how?
1908 and due to illness
Who were Asquith’s Chancellors while he was PM?
Lloyd George and Churchill
What did Lloyd George and Churchill have in common?
They both supported radical social legislation and brought dynamism to the process
What does Waller describe Lloyd George as…
‘the most dynamic and effective minister of this admisnistration’
Who were key figures within the Labour party at this time?
Keir Harde, Ramsay MacDonald and Will Thorne
What problems did the Labour party face?
- Inexperienced MP’s
- Criticised in Westminster for being no different to the Liberal party
- The Osborne Judgement made it difficult to operate as an effective political force. this was overturned din 1911 however when it was approved
What did the 1913 Trade Union Act allow?
allowed trade unions to levy money on its members for political purposes, but also allowing any member of a trade union to ‘opt out’ if they objected.
between 1906 and 1914, how much did the trade union membership rise?
From 900,000 to 1.5 million
How much did the membership of socialist societies grow?
From 17,000 to 33,000
By 1914, how many Labour societies were they?
158
What did the House of Lords become known as?
‘Mr Balfour’s poodle’ as Conservatives just overruled policies and legislation introduced by the Liberal party. This clash lead to a constitutional crisis
How many seats did Labour have after the 1906 election?
30 seats
How much overall were the Liberals’ social reforms going to cost?
£16 million
Give examples of taxation in the People’s Budget which were to be introduced in order to pay for the Liberal social reforms?
- Income tax on sliding scale - ‘progressive taxation’
- A super-tax for people with incomes over £5000
- A tax on cars
- An inheritance tax on estates worth over £5000
- A new tax on profits gained through selling land
What didn’t Lloyd George’s People’s Budget get passed?
Due tot he fierce resistance in the House of Lords where the Conservatives had a large majority. they threw the budget out - this led to a constitutional crisis
Why did the Conservatives throw the budget out?
They feared the ideas of re-distributive taxation and of progressive taxes as they saw as an attack on the rich. This caused the budget to be ‘vetoed’ so a general election was called in January 1910
What was the outcome of the January 1910 election/
The Liberals only just won a majority and they had depended on Irish support to pass the Budget, with a return promise that the Liberals would attack the idea of Home Rule for Ireland. The Conservatives argued there was other ways to raise the money such as tariffs on foreign imports
What was the overall impact of the second constitutional crisis?
- The Lords could now only delay legislation important to the Commons
- the Liberals were able to move forward with their legislative programme of reform
- The crisis divided the Conservatives and Balfour was forced to resign in 1911
- The Parliament Act in 1911 made the British constitution more democratic
What area’s of Britain were workers most employed in:
- Textiles
- Coal mining
- Shipbuilding
- Engineering
- Steel
- Leeds and Bradford and Lancashire
- South Wales, Yorkshire and the North-East
- Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast
- West Midlands and Birmingham
- Sheffield
What new industries were being established by 1906?
Electricity, chemicals and motorcars
What were the main ‘staple industries’ in Britain at the time?
Textiles Steel Coal Shipbuilding ^60% of exports came from these in 1913
How many tons of coal were mined in 1913?
287 million tons
In 1907, what % of the Labour force were working in textiles?
25%
Why had the amount of people working in agriculture dropped to by 600,000 in 1901?
Because of mechanisation and the British eating more imported food from overseas
What type of production did farmers move towards instead of wheat growing?
Why?
Dairy farming and beef cattle
These were to be seen as more profitable than arable crops such as wheat which were vulnerable to overseas competition
By 1913, what % of Britain’s total national wealth was in investment overseas?
32%
What is the period called from 1870-1914 where Britain was overtaken by Germany and the USA in iron and steel output?
The ‘late-Victorian recession’
What is a ‘trade gap’?
When the value of a country’s invisible imports exceeds that of visible exports
Due to the lack of research and investment in new technologies, British coal mines were…
labour intensive and over one million were employed in the mines between 1913 and 1927
What industries had Britain fallen behind Germany and the USA?
- Steel
- ‘New industries’
- Chemical industry
- Electrical
QUOTE: What could the British steel industry be described as?
‘pessimism and a lack of courage’
What does Sir Leo Money MP argue about the lack of progression in ‘new’ industries:
That British employers had been ‘too conservative’ and ‘neglected new processes and inventions’ and instead relied on ‘cheap labour’
The impact of laissez faire on Britain?
Caused Britain to ‘fall behind’ as governments, such as Germany, had provided subsidies to help new industries to start up and to develop
