Britain- Lloyd-George's fall from power, Labour's minority government Flashcards
Why did DLG fall from power?
- Criticism of the inconsistency in his foreign policy- especially over his seeming desire to go to war with Turkey over the Chanak crisis in 1922 even though Britain’s forces were demobilising and being reduced.
- The illness of DLG’s ally Bonar-Law led to the conservatives being led by less experienced Austen Chamberlain- unaware of the strength of the backbench resentment of DLG
- Absence of Churchill due to being ill meant that DLG had lost a large supporter
- Foreign intervention in Russia hadn’t been a popular policy in Britain and the revolution hadn’t won. Moreover the inconsistency of foreign policy with Russia was disliked as DLG’s coalition had attempted to make a trade treaty with the regime it had attempted to overthrow in March 1921.
- Mixture of costrly foreign and imperial involvement without many tangible results (Bonar-Law spoke of this in 1922).
- Many conservatives disliked the Irish policies.
- Colonial agitation and use of forces after 1918 in new mandates and older colonies such as India- many conservatives disliked the goverment’s criticism of General Dyer for the shooting of unarmed Indian protestors during the Armistar Massacre in April 1919.
- Conservative concern of the rising Labour party and its commitment to socialism in its 1918 constitiution.
- Strong feeling among Conservatives (especially backbenchers) that the coalition should end- shown at the conservative conference in Liverpool which was critical of the leadership. In the October by-election, an independent beat a coalition-conservative in Newport. sending the message that the coalition was coming to an end.
- Return of Bonar-Law in October 1922 showed a complete turn on DLG as Bonar-Law criticised DLG and didn’t ignore the backbench discontent as Austin Chamberlain had.
- Concerns of DLG’s personal moral- e.g. Marconi Scandal 1912-13 (insider trading), 1920s cash-for-honours scandal. First PM since the 18th century to live openly with his mistress.
Who were the main opposition to DLG?
Stanley Baldwin and Sir George Younger
What were the voting numbers against DLG?
187 to 87
Timeline the events in Parliament between the end of 1922 and early 1924
1922
-October → Bonar-Law becomes PM after DLG’s resignation
-November → General election gives conservatives majority of 88 but Labour seats increase to 142
1923
-May → Bonar Law is too ill to continue. Stanley Baldwin takes over as leader of Conservatives.
-December
Evidence used to argue that DLG had bad morals
- Marconi scandal (1912-1913)
- Cash-for-honours scandal 1920s
- Openly living with his mistress (first PM to do so since the 18th century)
Timeline of events between the end of 1922 to early 1924 in Parliament
1922
- October- Bonar-Law becomes PM
- November- General election gives Conservatives an overall majority of 88, but Labour increases its seats to 142
1923
* May- Bonar-Law is too ill to continue as PM. Stanley Baldwin becomes PM
* December- Another election is held. Labour’s seats rise to 191, Liberals 158 and conservatives 258
1924
* January- Baldwin defeated in commons and Labour take office for first time as a minority government
Why did Baldwin call an election (and when)- what happened as a result?
Stanley Baldwin called a general election in December 1923 to legitimise his position as PM and ratify his controverisal view that increasing duties on imported goods would help to tackle unemployment. Both Labour, the Liberals and a portion of his divided party were against this. As a result, although the Conservatives won, their opposition grew hugely with Labour becoming the opposition with 191 seats.
Why was free-trade vs tariffs such a controversial issue?
- Many saw tariffs as morally wrong since free-trade promoted inter-dependence between countries and therefore could be considered a deterant for war.
- Free-trade would keep the price of food down for workers.
- Tariffs could promote monopolisation of industries and therefore exploitation of workers or prices.
How did Labour’s first time in government influence the voting of the electorate?
Labour became the main opposition party to the conservatives- the Liberals were marginalised in the two-party system
Labour’s foreign policy 1924
- Strong supporter of Geneva Protocol- disarmament
- Attended lots of League of Nations meetings
- Helped to find a solution in the Ruhr with the Dawes plan
- Agreed to another trade treaty with the USSR
Labour 1924 social policies
- Reversed cuts of 1922 to have more unemployment benefits
- Wheatly house act
- Commissions for secondary school education
