1918 Effects of War on Liberals Flashcards
All Effects
- Shell Scandal
- Conscription
- Maurice Debate
- Nationalisation
- Coupon Election
- Small War Cabinet
- Garden Suburb
Shell Scandal
In 1915 it became apparent that the Front Line was short in its supply of munitions
Created an uproar in the House of Commons
Started suggestions that the major parties should form a war time coalition
David Lloyd George became munitions minister on the back of the crisis
Put Lloyd George in a powerful position form which he could overthrow Asquith
Conscription (1916)
Conscription was introduced from 1916 onwards
It forced all men from ages 18 to 42 to serve in the armed forces
50 Liberals voted against the bill as it went against Liberal ideology
They believed it was a gross invasion of individual freedom
This was the first example of divisions within the Liberal Party
Small War Cabinet
Lloyd George became war minister after the death of Lord Kitchener in June 1916
In December Lloyd George proposed a small war cabinet be formed containing 3 ministers and led by himself not Asquith
Lloyd George had the support of the Conservatives and 5 major newspapers
Asquith refused and Lloyd George offered his resignation and the Conservatives informed Asquith if Lloyd George left the coalition so would they
Asquith was forced to quit and Lloyd George took over
The Liberals were completely split between those who supported Asquith and those who supported Lloyd George
Garden Suburb
Lloyd George created a inner war cabinet as PM with 8 members with him the only Liberal
He also set up a cabinet secretariat led by Maurice Hankey
The secretariat advised Lloyd George everyday and helped him make quick decisions
It was called the garden suburb as it was housed in the garden of number 10
The controversial part of this was that none of the members were MPs, they were actually outside advisers
Combine this with the rarity of Lloyd George attending the House of Commons some critics suggested he had become a dictator
Made a mockery of Liberal democratic values
Maurice Debate
In May 1918 General Maurice accused LG of distorting British troop numbers in France to suggest the army was stronger than it actually was
Maurice aimed to show that the failures on the Western Front were dew to the government not army leaders
Asquith used the accusation to chair a vote of no confidence in LG as PM
LG lied saying Maurice provided the troop figures but did it so well Asquith appeared unconvincing
The Commons voted 293 to 106 in favour of LG
Asquith and his supporters were made to look like trouble makers in a time of national crisis
Nationalisation
To ensure war time production was up to the necessary standard the government by nationalising key industries such as munitions, transport, food, shipping and coal
This scale of nationalisation brought resulted in a mass expansion of state bureaucracy something the Liberals had traditionally opposed
Many Liberals saw the growth of state control as threat to individual liberty
The profits from nationalised industries also went to the government something Liberals had always traditionally opposed
DORA (1914)
DORA was the first act passed through parliament during the war in August 1914
The act granted the government emergency powers to intervene in the lives of ordinary citizens
Examples of acts brought in under DORA include rationing, conscription and nationalisation amongst other things
The act directly opposed freedom of the individuals a key principle which the Liberal party stood for
The Liberals had directly compromised their ideology only a month into the war
Rationing
In 1918 rationing was introduced on food products such as Sugar, meat, flour, butter, margarine and milk.
This was to prevent a national shortage of food with German blockades still having some success against British convoy fleets
Rationing was a direct compromise of Liberal values as it imposed of the freedom of individuals
Coupon Election
The Coupon Election was held in December 1918 and saw Lloyd George maintain his premiership
The Coalition won a huge majority with them winning 478 seats
Lloyd George was advertised as the man who had won the war which helped him gain the nationalist vote
In the coalition there were 335 Conservatives, 133 Liberals and 10 Labour MPs
This meant that the government was completely Conservative dominated and Lloyd George was totally reliant on them to remain in power
Central Alliance
After the war had finished Lloyd George and Conservative leader Bonar-Law agreed to continue their war time coalition
This resulted in Lloyd George becoming a PM without a party as he had little Liberal support
Liberals were dependant on Conservative support and couldn’t remain in power without them
This maintained the spilt between the Lloyd George liberals and the Asquithian liberals which was fundamental to the parties decline
Ages for conscription
18-42
Voters in favour of LG in Maurice Debate
293-106 in favour
Tory seats in the Coupon Election
335
Year rationing was introduced
1918
