British Politics 1918-1929 Flashcards
In the 1918 Election (The Coupon Election) who won?
The coalition, which was the conservatives, half of Liberals (the Lloyd George supporters) and a tiny part of Labour.
Who was Prime Minister of the coalition government in 1918?
Lloyd George
Other than the Coalition, who did the 1918 election have victory for?
Lloyd George who became PM
Labour who were on the rise, and became the main opposition to the coalition.
Sinn Fein who replaced the Irish Nationalists as the main Irish party.
Who loss out in the 1918 election?
Asquith & the Asquithians
Irish Nationalists who were replaced by Sinn Fein.
What are some reasons for the continuation of the coalition?
Lloyd George gained a great deal of prestige and power as war time minister due to his alliance with the conservatives and wanted to maintain it.
Conservatives depended alot on Lloyd George (“the main who won the war”) as their own leader Bonar Law was not as dynamic and there were few popular specific conservative policies to attract the electorate.
Both Lloyd George and the conservatives were concerned about the rise of Labour, joining together would help create a front against new party.
Would be difficult for Lloyd George to reunite with Asquith after wartime debates and replacing him as PM so needed to keep conservatives in his side.
Why did the coalition win?
New voters - Female householders (richer) were more likely to vote conservative.
LG promises for social reforms “homes fit for heroes”
Joined forces - non coalition parties campaigned separately.
prestige of LG
What effects did the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 have on the coalition government?
France wanted to punish Germany, and Britain (Lloyd George) did not, as he feared communism spreading to Germany and wanted to regain Germany as a trading partner. There was pressure on Lloyd George to punish Germany. The final decision meant Germany had to sign the war guilt clause accepting full blame, lost land were demilitarised, dismantled the their fleet, and had to pay reparations. People saw this as Lloyd George giving into Germany and many saw this as weak, despite the successes.
What was the Chanak Crsis and in what year did it happen?
The treaty is sevres 1920 - after the end of the Ottoman empire meant that Greece was given some land in turkey. Kemal led an uprising in 1922 and he resisted the greeks when tried to take Smyrna. This was a crisis breaking an international treaty, Lloyd George had troops at Chanak and decided to send reinforcements to Chanak.
What was Lloyd George’s involvement in the Chanak crisis and how did this contribute to his downfall?
Lloyd George sent troops and reinforcements into Chanak, he enforced the treaty and made Kemal back down. However he was politically weakened as he did not inform the conservatives of his actions and they were angry when they found out as they were not consulted - this led to the downfall of the coalition as conservatives were the majority of the coalition.
Public were weary and feared Lloyd George’s actions would get them involved in another war.
How did Lloyd George’s relations with France contribute to the downfall of the coalition?
Lloyd George wanted to maintain peace and showed friendship to France who was a key ally, however many criticised Lloyd George for being too friendly to the French by letting them have their way with the reparations, which hurt Britains trade as it would be limited between Britain and Germany.
How did the Russian Revolution in 1917 contribute to the fall of the coalition?
The russian revolution was a communist attack, Reds V whites (Spartacists/Socialists) v the Royalists, Britain helped the whites by sending troops and equipment, however the reds won, GB failed to stop the Bolsheviks. This was an unpopular policy with the public as they did not want Britain getting involved in any unnecessary wars.
How was the issue housing helped after the war by the coalition?
The ministry of health was to encourage local councils to clear slums, and replace with council houses with low rent for the working class.
What were the limitations of the housing act?
The ministry was spending too much by 1922 and had only been 200K new homes and was 800K short. In 1922 Addision the Minister of the Ministry of health was sacked and the policy was stopped.
How did Lloyd George extend the National insurance and when?
the 1911 act only provided unemployment and sick pay to 3 million people in certain professions however in 1920-21 Lloyd George extended this to a total of 12 Million workers.
What were the limitations of the National insurance act?
It did not provide to all workers and was temporary (15 Weeks)
What measures for workers were introduced under the coalition and when?
1919 - The coal miners act which guaranteed miners a 7 hour day.
1920 - Agricultural Act which guaranteed agricultural prices to help farmers and protect Labourers wages.
What was the Geddes Axe and in what year was it?
An international recession meant the government could not continue lending however there were still a lot of issue u has housing, so Geddes was appointed to look into the problems. Geddes Axe made cuts to help the financial situation however it meant stopping things such as the housing act. It was introduced in 1921
How did corruption contribute to Lloyd George’s downfall?
There was a scandal over the “sale of honours” which meant anyone who paid Lloyd George’s agent Maundy Gregory could become a baron. The money went to the Lloyd George fund to raise money for his part of the Liberal party. However there was a scandal over the offer of a knighthood to a south african fraudster.
How did the actions of the conservatives contribute to the downfall of Lloyd George?
In the October 1922 Newport By-election the conservatives went against the Liberals, they challenged the Liberals and won, many felt this was a turning point and a message to the back benched that the conservatives would break the coalition and go against Lloyd George. However the front benches supported Lloyd George like Balfour.
The conservatives were spilt and there was Carlton club meeting in 1922, Stanley Baldwin spoke against Lloyd George and said that LG spilt the Liberals and would do the same to the conservatives.
Lloyd George lost, he was not in the Carlton Club meeting at it was strictly conservatives however he was told the news and resigned, due to kinky having half a party and depended on the conservatives.
