‘Keeping the balance’ Flashcards
Reasons for the fall of the Liberal Party
The First World War-forced Liberal Party to take illiberal measures e.g. economic controls
The Maurice debate-1918 cemented bitterness between Asquith and Lloyd George
1918 Coupon election-Lloyd George became reliant on Conservative support
1918 Representation of the People Act
Mistakes made by Liberal Party after 1918-corruption and warmongering with Turkey
The electoral system-First Past the Post system meant they struggled to convert votes to seats
Reasons for splits in the Liberal Party
Liberal values-Lloyd George had nationalist views (war support) and trade unions felt betrayed by Lloyd George (Liberal Home Secretary resigned out of disgust)
WW1-Asquith was accused of being disinterested in the war and Lloyd George had anti-liberal views towards warfare
Lloyd George-Conscription Act 1915, started a war cabinet 1916 and labelled a dictator by some
What was the 1918 Representation of the People Act?
The Act meant all men over the age of 21 could vote with no wealth or property restrictions and some women over the age of 30 could vote.
What was the electorate size in 1918?
From 7.7 million to 21.4 million.
43% women
80% working class
Issues faced by the Lloyd George liberals
Political issues-March 1920, 95 Conservative MPs petitioned got the development of the coalition party into a single political party (Lloyd George supported) and worsened splits between Asquith and Lloyd George
Resignation of Bonar Law-resigning in May 1921 and being succeeded by Austen Chamberlain, the Conservatives no longer needed Lloyd George
Economic problems-Britain had fell into a recession and called on ministers to reduce budgets by £175 million out of £1136 million (Geddes Axe)
Industrial unrest-increasing unemployment led to increasing trade union action
Corruption and scandal-Lloyd George sold 1500 knighthoods and nearly 100 peerages, refusing to use the money for the Liberal Party bankrupting them
Foreign policy-Lloyd George wanted war with Turkey when Turkish troops marched on British positions
The 1922 Committee-the Conservative MPs voted by 187 to 87 to abandon Lloyd George and fight forthcoming election as the Conservative Party
Reasons for Conservative Party Dominance
The electoral system-First Past the Post+1918 ROPA: plural vote until 1948 (landowners and university towns)
Events in Ireland-1921 the Irish Free State gained independence from Britain and the Conservatives continued to receive support of around ten Northern Irish MPs after 1922
The Conservative Party machine-wealth of Conservative Party supporters meant the Party could afford more publicity material
Weakness of opposition parties-both Liberal and Labour Party were split during interwar years
Good luck-the disunity of the Liberals, the ‘red scare’ of 1924 and losing the 1929 general election
Conservative successes-introduced contributory old age pensions in 1925, 1926 Central Electricity Board and local government reform in 1929
What were the effects of the First World War on the Labour Party?
Labour gained experience in government-Labour MP Arthur Henderson joined Asquith’s first coalition government and Lloyd George put Henderson and eight other Labour MPs to other posts
The Trade Unions and government worked closely together-union officials gained valuable experience in bargaining with the government
Differing viewpoints were respected-Ramsay MacDonald resigned due to his pacifist views but upheld his principles which gave him respect and return as Party leader after the war
Reorganisation of the Labour Party-Henderson resigned from cabinet and worked on a new constitution for the party, committing to socialism
What was the June 1918 Labour Party conference programme for future policy development?
Drawn up by Sidney Webb, had four main elements:
1.A minimum acceptable working wage and a standard 48 hour working week
2.Democratic control of industry, including nationalisation of key industries
3.Heavier taxes on high incomes to fund social services
4.Surplus wealth to be used for the common good, defined as educational and cultural improvements for the benefit of all
When was the First Labour Government?
In 1924, prime minister being Ramsay MacDonald after a vote of no confidence in January 1924 for Stanley Baldwin.
Lasted less than a year.
When was the second Labour government?
1929 after an outright victory for the Labour Party, Ramsay MacDonald as Prime Minister
Reasons for the rise of the Labour Party
Decline in popularity of the Liberal Party-many working class defected from Liberal Party to Labour Party
Trade Union links-provided strong financial base
First World War-experience gained in a war time cabinet
Reorganisation of the Labour Party-1918 adopted a formal constitution setting out its programme and seen as a young and enthusiastic Party.
1918 Representation of the People Act
The electoral system-First Past the Post favoured a two party system
What was the chronology for the 1920s economy in Britain?
1918-20=boom (industrial production rose 20% within two years and unemployment low)
1920-22=recession/depression (price of goods fell, industrial production slumped and unemployment reached 2 million in June 1921)
1923-29=recovery (industrial production grew by almost 3% a year and new industries e.g. chemical and motor vehicles did well)
What was the economic legacy of the First World War?
Loss of trade-the war had led to a collapse in British trade
Debt-Britain had spent its reserves of gold, sold overseas assets and borrowed £850 million to pay for the war
The value of the pound-before the war the pound had a fixed price of gold but were forced to abandon the gold standard which led to inflation
Inflation-Inflation had increased to 25% by 1918
Technological development-accelerated by the war, encouraged employment of semi-skilled labour
The consequences of the 1920-22 recession
By 1921, 2 million unemployed (18% of the workforce)
The price of goods fell
Industrial production slumped- Wale and Tyneside were severely depressed due to collapse of coal mining and ship building
The cost of living increased by 25% between 1918 and 1920 while wages stagnated
Reasons for the short-lived depression 1920-22
Deflation-Government cut spending by 75% (Geddes Axe) and raised the interest rate to 7%
Loss of export trade-Japan and the USA had taken over oversea markets and caused British industries to collapse
Underinvestment-suffered for decades of underinvestment
Industrial relations-Lloyd George had given main industries generous pay and working hours in 1919 to avoid a general strike, the 13% decrease in working hours was not matched with increased productivity and wages remained high so British products remained overpriced and uncompetitive
