1922-1929 (The Search For Stability)- Political (Political Developments)

Question 1

who caused a split in the Libs during ww1?

Answer 1

Asquith and DLG

Question 2

whhere did Cons and Lab get their vast incomes from?

Answer 2

Cons= businesses

Lab=TU’s

Question 3

what is the name of the GB electoral system and how did this negatively impact the Libs?

Answer 3

‘first past the post’

Libs had wide support but it wasn’t concentrated enough (they had a similar % to Lab in 1923 but much less seats)

Question 4

who could the Libs no longer rely on and why?

Answer 4

Irish Nationals- Sinn Fein boycotted HoC

Question 5

who were their traditional support and why did they lose them?

Answer 5

Workers- stood now with Labour

Question 6

Who won the 1922 election but resigned after 8 months?

Answer 6

Bonar-Law

Question 7

who succeeded B-L?

Answer 7

Baldwin

Question 8

what did Baldwin believe was the best way to tackle unemployment?

Answer 8

protectionism

Question 9

why did Baldwin call another election, and how did this backfire?

Answer 9

get a mandate for his plan on the issues of tariff reform

Cons won, but Lib and Lab increased seats

Question 10

why was Baldwin forced to resign?

Answer 10

vote of no confidence lost

Question 11

what party formed a minority gov. after Baldwin?

Answer 11

Labour, under Ramsay McDonald

Question 12

give 3 reasons for the strength of Lab?

Answer 12

• organised and well funded
• strong (financial) backing from TU’s
• ww1 helped their image greatly

Question 13

what did Lab promise to do in 1924?

Answer 13

avoid radical policies and keep empire safe

Question 14

give 2 benefits that were raised under 1924 Lab gov?

Answer 14

OAP and unemployment

Question 15

what was revived by Lab that had been lost in the Geddes Axe?

Answer 15

state scholarships

Question 16

who was Labs Chancellor and what were their goals?

Answer 16

Snowden- keep spending down

Question 17

what did Lab do which the public were keen on?

Answer 17

showed no preferential treatment to TU’s

Question 18

who was the Minister of Health and what was arguably their biggest success?

Answer 18

Wheatley- subsidy the Cons had introduced for building new houses was increased from £6 to £9

Question 19

how many new houses had been built by 1933?

Answer 19

500k

Question 20

what made the housing act so successful?

Answer 20

houses for rent not sale- WC could afford

Question 21

what did McD convene and chair in Aug1924, and what was the outcome of this

Answer 21

conference in London

• attended by UK,USA,Ger,Fra
• Dawes Plan formed

Question 22

what was the Dawes Plan?

Answer 22

• withdrew Fra from Ruhr
• renegotiated reparations for Ger
• set up loans for Ger

Question 23

why was Labs relationship with Russian Bolshevik Gov. disliked by others?

Answer 23

Cons and Libs attacked Lab as being too soft on communism after they gave them diplomatic recognition and a £30m loan

Question 24

outline the key points of the collapse of 1924 Lab Gov?

Answer 24

• Campbell case 1924 on ‘too soft on comm’
• gov accused of interfering with justice system after charges against left wing journo dropped by Attorney General
• McD could have set up an enquiry, but instead chose to call an election
• Asquith: “never have I seen a gov so wantonly and unnecessarily commit suicide”

Question 25

what hugely impacted Lab in the run up to the 1924 election?

Answer 25

leaked Zinoviev letter

urged GB communists to take over Lab party and bring down GB

later believed to be a forgery

Question 26

give 6 reasons why the Cons went on to dominate the 1920s?

Answer 26

-ww1: highlighted their core values centering around nationalism and being patriotic
-Representation of the People Act: plural voting impacted those likely to vote Cons so meant more votes, women likely to vote Cons, safe seats in south divided
-Ireland: Irish Nationals now sat in Dublin, so Libs lost their support. only remaining Irish in HoC were from Ulster who were pro Cons
-Broad support: still attracted a large number of WC as well as MC/UC
-funding: supported by businesses
Newspapers: owned by Cons supporters meant favourable coverage

Question 27

what was the key economic issue of Baldwins second gov?

Answer 27

unemployment was v high

Question 28

who was the Cons Chancellor from 1924, and what did they most notably do?

Answer 28

Churchill

converted to gold standard (this was bad as value of £ went up 10%)

Question 29

who was Cons Minister of Health from 1924?

Answer 29

Chamberlain

Question 30

give 4 key things Chamerlain played a great part in getting passed?

Answer 30

• Contributory old age pension (10s a week from 65)
• widows pension
• unemployment insurance could now be claimed indefinitely as long as person was seeking work
• local authorities had greater responsibilities

Question 31

give 3 reforms that showed Cons knew intervention was necassary for publics interests?

Answer 31

• 1926 electricity act
• BBC established 1926
• 1928 Rep of People act lowered voting age of women to 21, giving men and women equal terms