Liberal decline, 1886 - 1905

Question 1

How did Gladstone’s obsession with Home Rule contribute to Liberal decline?

Answer 1

1) His obsession with Home Rule led to neglect of any meaningful social reform.
2) Ignored the fact that many Liberals were against Home Rule which resulted in the Liberal Party splitting.

Question 2

Who were the Liberals that split from the party, and what did they call themselves?

Answer 2

1) Chamberlain, Hartington and a group of Whigs

2) The Liberal Unionists

Question 3

What other differences in the Liberal Party contributed to the split?

Answer 3

1) There was a split between the imperialists and the anti-imperialists.
2) There were contrasting attitudes concerning laissez-faire - Chamberlain wanted to introduce his unofficial programme but Gladstone was too preoccupied.

Question 4

Why was neglect of social reform particularly damaging to Gladstone?

Answer 4

He had, by his own hand, extended education (1870) and the vote (1884) to the masses, and surely with knowledge and a political voice they would look for a party that represented their interests.

Question 5

How did Gladstone’s 4th Ministry contribute to the Liberal split?

Answer 5

1. The Government was weak and entirely dependent on the Irish Nationalists vote
2. Gladstone straight away introduced the Home Rule Bill again which was again defeated
3. Gladstone resigned for the final time in 1894
4. His successor, Rosebery, had an aristocratic background that counted against him at the Radical Nonconformist end of the party, and his attempts to introduce legislation were deliberately thwarted by the House of Lords

Question 6

During 1902-5, why did the Liberal

Party present little competition for the dominant Conservative Party?

Answer 6

1. Campbell-Bannermann presented little competition for the Conservative leader Balfour
2. The party was still in a weakened state after the Home Rule defeat and split in 1886
3. Their leader should have been Asquith, but as he still relied on his wages from the Bar he was unable to become party leader
4. The Liberal’s previous term in office had underlined problems and created new ones

Question 7

By how much did the Conservatives win in the 1895 election?

Answer 7

The Conservatives won with 341 seats to the Liberal’s 177 seats

Question 8

How did the divide between the Liberals on the issue of imperialism work in the Conservative’s favour?

Answer 8

While the Liberals we divided on the issue, the Conservatives had agreement over the issue and it worked in favour of them.