BRITAIN Breadth 2 PART 1 Flashcards
When did the Whigs unite with the Liberals and the Peelites to form the Liberal Party?
1859
Who was responsible for the creation of a basic welfare state?
Liberals in the years before 1914
When did Lloyd George resign as PM?
1922
When was the Labour Party created?
1906
When did Labour become the second biggest party in government?
1922
When did George III come to the throne?
1760
How did George III’s ascension affect politics?
He upset established conventions because he was keen to play an active role in government
When was Pitt’s first government?
1783-94
How many MPs were in Grey’s ministry in 1830?
3
What was the composition of Pitt’s first cabinet?
3 members of HoC; 3 members of HoL
In the 1780s, who were the most influential opposition group in the HoC?
Rockingham Whigs
Who led the Rockingham Whigs?
Edmund Burke
When did Burke present a reform plan to the HoC?
1780
What did Burke attack in his reform plan?
High expenditure that went on maintaining the royal court
What contributed to the collapse of the Yorkshire Association and other similar bodies?
Fall of North’s government in 1782; end of American war in 1783
What was Pitt’s main aim as PM?
To bring the national finances under control
When did Pitt die?
1806
What contributed after 1910 to the declining influence of the the Crown over the HoC?
Fading mental powers of George III
What legislation was especially important in reducing the influence of successive monarchs over parliament?
Reform Act 1832
Who won the general election of 1832?
Whigs and their allies
Why did William IV dismiss Lord Melbourne as PM?
He was worried about the Whigs’ proposals for reforms to the Irish church
When did William IV dismiss Lord Melbourne as PM?
1834
Who did William IV invite to form a government in Lord Melbourne’s place?
Peel
When did Lord Melbourne return to office?
1835
Why did Lord Melbourne return to office?
Peel’s Conservatives only had 175 seats and asked for immediate dissolution of Parliament; in the Jan 1835 election they only added 100 seats
When did Victoria come to the throne?
1837
Whose advice did Victoria rely heavily on?
Whig PM Lord Melbourne
When did Lord Melbourne resign, following a defeat in the HoC?
1839
Who did Victoria invite to form a government after Lord Melbourne resigned?
Peel
When was the only time that Victoria acted against the wishes of her PMs?
Bedchamber Crisis
Bedchamber Crisis
Customary for incoming PM to appoint his allies to posts within royal household; Victoria refused to change her ladies; Peel refused to become PM under such restrictions and Lord Melbourne returned to office
When was the Bedchamber Crisis?
1839
What happened as soon as George V succeeded to the throne?
Immediately involved in a major constitutional crisis over the HoL
When was a bill to grant Home Rule for Ireland passed through both the HoC and the HoL?
1914
Who briefly considered applying a royal veto to the measures for Irish Home Rule?
George V
When was George V widely praised for his tactful and helpful attitude?
His appointment of Ramsay MacDonald
How did the Reform Act 1832 work in the favour of the aristocracy in some ways?
Increased number of seats in counties; enfranchised tenants of agricultural land
How many seats are estimated to have remained under direct aristocratic control after the Reform act 1832?
60
How many MPs elected in 1841 came from the middle classes?
1/5
How many MPs elected in 1841 were related to peers/country gentry?
70%
What was a significant factor in reducing aristocratic influence in the HoC?
Creation of the single-member constituency in 1885
From when was there a gradual decline in the wealth of the nobility and gentry alike?
1880
What did the last 20 years of the 19th century see?
Fall in agricultural prices, as farmers struggled to compete with imports of cheap American corn
What also hit landed interest pretty hard?
Introduction of death duties in 1894
How many MPs elected in 1906 came from aristocratic/gentry families?
10%
When had aristocratic influence over elections and the HoC all but disappeared?
1928
When was Baldwin in power?
1924
Who made up Lord Salisbury’s cabinet?
10 peers and 9 MPs
How did membership of the HoL grow between 1780-1910?
350 to 623
How many bishops made up the HoL?
26
When did the HoL challenge the HoC’s supremacy over financial affairs?
1909
When did Liberal defeat usher in a decade of Conservative rule?
1895
What were the HoL especially opposed to?
Gladstone’s long campaign to grant Home Rule in Ireland
What was the Liberal majority in the 1906 election?
125 over all parties
When did the HoL mount a campaign aimed at wrecking social reform legislation?
1906-08
What brought the conflict between the HoL and the HoC to a head?
Lloyd George and the 1909 Budget
What position did Lloyd George hold from 1908?
Chancellor of the Exchequer
When were pensions introduced?
1908
Which measures of the 1909 Budget did the HoL view as a class-based assault on the landed aristocracy?
A tax on the unearned increase in land values; a further tax on undeveloped land; a super tax on incomes above £8,000 a year
How did the HoL react to the 1909 Budget?
Rejected it by 350 votes to 75
What did the HoC decide 2 days after the HoL rejected the 1909 Budget?
Their action breached the constitution
As a result of the 1909 Budget, when was an election called?
January 1910
What did the January 1910 election result in?
A virtual stalemate
How did the Liberals remain in office after the January 1910 election?
Depended on the support of 71 Irish MPs and 41 seats won by the Labour Party