1a: Changing Party Fortunes - 1918-1931

Question 1

Which party was in power in 1918?

Answer 1

The Liberals led by Lloyd George

Question 2

What were the Liberals two main tenets in 1918?

Answer 2

Support of free trade

Believed in a limited role for government

Question 3

What had the Liberals always been seen as and give an example as to why?

Answer 3

They were the party of social reform (soon to be Labour).

1911 Unemployment Insurance Bill - 7 shillings a week for 15 weeks in a year.

Question 4

What were the main reasons for the Liberal split after WW1?

Answer 4

1. DLG was seen to be too close to the Tories due to their coalition. Libs believed he abandoned party principles and broke away.
2. The break meant the vote was split between the Liberals (Asquith) and the Coalition Libs (DLG).
3. Many opposed the increased state power of WW1 - conscription from 1916.

Question 5

What pre-war problems returned for the Liberals?

Answer 5

Irish Home Rule
Female suffrage
Trade Union unrest

Question 6

What are some examples of Union unrest during the Liberal years?

Answer 6

1919: 32 million days lost to strikes.
1919: The Red Clydeside strike in Glasgow - 90,000 workers campaigning for 40hr week.
1921: Miners’ strike against the privatisation of the pits.

Question 7

What happened at the 1918 election?

Answer 7

The Liberals lost 235 seats and the Coalition Libs got 127.

Tory landslide - Liberals lost votes due to the Labour Party and the popularity of the coalition.

Question 8

How was the 1922 election a disaster?

Answer 8

The Tories stopped supporting the Libs.
Liberals got 62 seats and the National Liberals (formerly Coalition) got 53.
Labour gained 85 seats to become the second biggest PLP.

Question 9

Why was DLG the immediate cause of the Liberal decline?

Answer 9

1. Cash for peers scandal (1922): He had sold 1,500 knighthoods and 100 peerages as PM - he was supposed to be the enemy of privilege.
2. War w/ Turkey fumed the Tories who abandoned Coalition.

Question 10

Why did the Cash for Peers scandal remain quiet and then come out in June 1922?

Answer 10

He had sold titles to newspaper barons (Lord Beaverbrook) to keep it hidden.
The Press published the scandal after people who had been convicted of fraud were on the 1922 Honours List.

Question 11

What happened to DLG after the scandal?

Answer 11

His credibility took a nosedive, harming the Liberal vote and his future prospects of being a prominent politician again.

Question 12

What was the Labour Party in 1918?

Answer 12

The new party of social reform, born from the TUC in 1900.

Question 13

What were two significant non-Liberal related reason for the growth of Labour?

Answer 13

1911: Wages for MPs meant more wc people could enter politics.
1918: ROPA trebled the electorate from 7.7 to 21.4 million - all men over 21 could vote, widening the Labour voter base.

Question 14

What did Labour being a minority govt in 1923/24 mean?

Answer 14

It meant they were reliant on Liberal support - they could not pursue radical policies as the govt would be brought down.

Question 15

Why did MacDonald’s relations with the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party become strained in 1924?

Answer 15

They criticised him for not being radical enough.

He had to make economic decisions that inevitably harmed the poorest in society.

Question 16

In its 9 months, did the first Labour govt pass anything meaningful?

Answer 16

Yes - Housing Act, 1924

Increased funding available to local authorities to build houses for lower-income workers.

Question 17

Why did the Labour govt collapse in 1924?

Answer 17

The Campbell Case, August
A Socialist paper “Workers’ Weekly” had an article calling for mutiny and revolution; this is illegal but the govt dropped charges.

Question 18

What happened as a result of the Campbell Case?

Answer 18

Macca faced a vote of no confidence which he narrowly won, but lost the 2nd.
He resigned and called an election.
Accused of having commie sympathies - this occurred at a time when he was trying to normalise relations with the USSR.

Question 19

What shows the Liberal fall (1924)?

Answer 19

They lost 118 seats in the 1924 election, finishing on 40.

Question 20

What was the Zinoviev Letter?

Answer 20

It was a fake letter that the Daily Mail had said had come from a commie to the CPGB to incite revolution in Britain.
It was an attempt to dissuade people from supporting leftist parties.

Question 21

Did the Labour vote collapse in 1924?

Answer 21

Not entirely but many disappointed 1st time Labour voters switched to the Tories.
Lost 40 seats whilst the Tories gained 154.

Question 22

Was the 1929 Labour govt a majority govt?

Answer 22

Nope.
It was another minority (287) who needed Liberal support.
Tories actually gained more votes!

Question 23

What were key Labour social reforms? 1929-1931

Answer 23

1. 1930 Housing Act cleared 750k slum houses.
2. 1930 Coal Mines Act: Better pay and more efficient pits.
3. Amended Unemployment Insurance: Gave govt powers to set up PWS funded with £25 million.

Question 24

What economic problems did Labour face in 1931?

Answer 24

The belief they had an unbalanced budget would mean more borrowing - yanks got scared and panic sold the £.
Labour had to make cuts to stabilise and reassure - 10% cut in unemployment assistance.

Question 25

What brought MacDonald’s 2nd Labour govt down?

Answer 25

His 10% cut in unemployment assistance would harm the poorest and was against party principles.
The govt resigned on the 24th August 1931.
He and Lord Snowden were seen as traitors and expelled from the Party.

Question 26

What happened after the Labour government fall in 1931?

Answer 26

MacDonald set up a cross-party National Government at the behest of the King.

Question 27

What had to happen in the Conservative Party after WW1?

Answer 27

They presented themself as the party of the mc and the aspiring wc - could no longer be associated purely with the gentry (ROPA and WW1 shook up society).

Question 28

What was the Conservative relationship with the Liberals during DLG’s premiership?

Answer 28

Part of the Coalition until 1918 but continued to support him until 1922 (Turkey).

Question 29

Were the Tories absent during the 1920s?

Answer 29

No, they dominated the era.

In govt from 1922-1923; 1924-1929.

Question 30

What stats show the dominance of the Tories in the 1920s?

Answer 30

1922: 344 seats (38.5% vote)
1924: 412 seats (47.2% vote)
1929: Won most votes.

Question 31

What approach did Baldwin take?

Answer 31

He took a moderate, conciliatory approach.
He was obsessed with political stability and discouraged soviet accusation headed at Labour - conflict was damaging to all Britain.

Question 32

What occurred in 1926 and how did Baldwin react?

Answer 32

General Strike - he tried to be sympathetic but pressure meant he had to act harshly.
1927 Trades Disputes Act: Prevented sympathy strikes and mass picketing, reducing union power.

Question 33

How did Irish home rule affect party fortunes?

Answer 33

Liberals lost a lot of nationalist supporting seats.

The Conservatives retained unionist supporting seats in Northern Ireland.

Question 34

How did the FPTP system benefit the Tories?

Answer 34

The Tories needed less votes (on avg) to return an MP (16,000), whereas Labour needed 29,000.