Political extremism and stability in the IWYs 1918-1939 Flashcards
how many communist party mps were elected in the iwys and when
-1 in 1924
-1 in 1935
what organisation did the communist party set up to represent the unemployed and how many members did it contain
-national unemployed workers movement
50,000-80,000
what is the significance of the jarrow march in terms of radicalism and stabilty
-marched from jarrow which experienced 70% unemployment , petition handed in to PM, returned to jarrow and jarrow returned a national govt mp in 1931= no real challenge to the political system
how many copies of the daily worker were sold per day
80,000
what was the relationship betwene the labour party and the CGPU
- they had no relationship, no affiliation, didnt want to be associated with the communist
-placed no real threat to the system
what act of parliament outlawed political violence or the advocacy of revolution
-Incitment to disaffection act 1934
name the newspaper and headline that indicated support for the BUF
british union of fascists
-daily mail
-‘hurrah for the blackshirts’
name two public events both involving violence associated with the BUF
what do these events illustarte in relation to stability and crisis
-Olympia rally of 1934
-battle of cable street 1936
-it showed the public that BUF was composed of violent thugs
-active opposition to the BUF
-the events spanned 2 days in total showing there was no real challenge and it created only minor and shortlived instability
how many members did the BUF have in 1934 and 1935
1934- 50,000
1935- 5,000
did the BUF run for parliament or local councils
no
what act of parliament was designed to suppress military style extra parliamentary activity and explain how it did this and affected the BUF
the public order act 1936
-the Act banned the wearing of political uniforms in any public place or public meeting. (The first conviction under the Act was of police officer and fascist-sympathiser William Henry Wood, by Leeds Magistrates’ Court on 27 January 1937.)
what are two characteristics of the BUF and its politics that have contributed to its failure as a popular force
anti semitism violence
association with Hitler
-cult of Moseley
chronologcal order of govts from 1918-1939
how many govts in the 20s and 30s
coalition
con
minority lab
national govt
national govt
2 govts in 1930s
-5 in the 1920a
did the labour party achieve a maj govt
No
when did the general strike take place and how many workers went on strike
-1926
-3million workers went on strike
how long did the general strike last and does it show stability or crisis
-9 days, some instability but it was short lived and the govt was able to deal with it
how many violent incidents took place during the general strike
-radical challenge or relative stability
-3000 threatened or actual incidents but it was mostly peaceful
-the strike was motivated by working conditions, terms and conditions and pay rather than political challenge
-relative stability maintained as the strike failed
what was the strike breaking organisation established/created by the govt
-who took part in the strike
-stable or challenge
-Organisation for the Maintenance of supplies (OMS) and it was made of m/c volunteers who helped break the general strike
-forces supporting the status quo and stability
how did the govt and the media portray the general strike
-it was portrayed as an attack on an elected constitutional govt
what were the decline in strikes after 1926
average number of workers who were involved industrial action was 2.75 million in 1926 but numbers steeply declined to 308,000 in 1929-39
why did strikes decline in the 1930s
-Trade disputes act
-defeat of miners
-severe loss of union funds after 1926
-mass unemployment was a significant disincentive to striking
what act of parliament aimed to suppress industrial militancy and how did it achieve this
-Trade disputes act 1927 outlawed sympathy strikes
what led to the fall of the labour govt in 1929
wall street crash
run on the pound
public spending cuts (geddes axe)
-the cabinet could not agree on the extent to cut public unemployment benefits
who and what was the geddes axe and the may committee
-geddes axe was a committee which recommended huge cuts to public spending during the coalition govt of 1918-22
-may led a committee in 1930 appointed by the govt to investigate public spending and also recommended large cuts in public spending
what was the main objective of the labour govt in 1923
- to appear moderate by not doing anything radical in govt
-wanted to be trusted to be in govt
when was the abdication crisis
what did it illustrate about the nature of the constitutional monarchy and republicanism in GB
-1937
-strong constitutional monarchy as edward accepted that he should abdicate when Baldwin threatened to end his govt
-supporters and opponents of edward both believed in the monarchy, republicanism was insignifcant
