politics 1914-1939 Flashcards
how did the first world war affect the Liberals?
splits between the patriotic liberals - led by LG and the pacifists led by Asquith
disagreed with state intervention - liked victorian ideology laissez faire
becoming more conservative
why did asquith resign?
Lloyd George, supported by the Conservative leader Andrew Bonar Law, threatened to resign from the government unless the Prime Minister agreed to turn over responsibility for the day-to-day running of the conflict to a small executive ‘War Cabinet’
how did the first world war affect the conservatives?
ended drought of power included in war cabinet
party more suited to war - patriotic party
no fear of being illiberal
looked at remarmament
did well in 1918 election
how did the first world war affect the labour party?
state intervention becoming more laissez faire
Arthur Henderson in war cabinet
reversal of osbourne judgement 1913 - trade unions could support financially
reversal of Lib-Lab pact
1918 election
how many candidates did Labour field in the 1918 election?
318 got 57 seats
why did labour do well in the 1918 election?
1918 Representation of the People Act
working class men got to vote
what was Lloyd George’s reputation as he led the coalition government ?
“man who won the war”
very popular
what reform did the coalition achieve?
“home fit for heroes”
Addison Housing Act
Fisher Education Act
Unemployment Insurance Act
Representation of the People Act
Anglo Irish Treaty
what issues divided the liberals at the end of WW1?
conscription
whether to go to war
DORA
censorship
Maurice debate
how can Asquith be blamed for the Liberal decline?
indecisive - “wait and see” approach
shell scandal
Asquith refused to serve in the LG co-alition
how can Lloyd George be blamed for the Liberals decline?
abandoned ideology to win war
put country above party
can Asquith or Lloyd George be defended when accused of causing Liberal decline?
LG had to put country above party to win war
Asquith stuck to Liberal ideology
which issues had damaged LGs reputation by 1923?
Liberal causes of the past which gained them popularity, such as Free Trade, Irish Home Rule, Welsh Disestablishment had gone and were no longer relevant in post war world
scandals such as Black and Tans and Honours scandal
what was the Maurice debate 1918?
letter written by General Maurice to the Times alleged that Lloyd George was starving the British army of valuable reinforcements in France
how has the Liberal splits been described?
“old liberal party committing suicide”
AJP Taylor
how was the state of the Liberals at the end of the war been described?
“terminally ill”
dangerfield
no change of recovery
did the Liberals gain or lose from the 1918 Representation of the People Act?
gave the vote to a lot of working class who voted for labour
Liberal vote was mainly the educated middle class
working class now made majority
was Liberal decline inevitable by 1923?
wasn’t inevitable but the Liberal decision not to form a coalition in 1923 as they thought that the Labour party would fail and they would be appointed as they came in second
Labour got just 100,000 more votes than the Liberals
LG should’ve introduced proportional representation
what was the honours scandal?
Lloyd George sold seats in the House of Lords £10,000 for a knighthood, £30,000 for baronetcy, and £50,000 upwards for a peerage
sold them to an South African convict Jospeh Robinson
tarnished public image
how did the representation of the people act 1918 benefit the conservatives?
women over 30 could vote
conservative by nature
likely to be influenced by husband
probably middle class - property qualification
what problems were faced by the conservatives during WW1?
divided over economic collectivism
Home Rule
Bonar Law was unpopular and allowed LG to be PM
which issues divided the labour party?
pariotism or pacifism after outbreak of war
genuine socialists and those with a gradual approach to socialism
how did the war benefit the Labour party?
trade union membership increased from 4 million to 8 million - more money to put towards candidates
regarded as official opposition to co alition government
Henderson signed clause 4, committing them to the nationalisation of industries
how did the representation of the people act 1918 benefit Labour?
more working class votes
which problems relating to election became apparent to politicians by 1918?
many soldiers wouldn’t be able to vote as they hadn’t been in England and lived in their constituency due to the 12 month residency qualification
what changes were made by the 1918 Representation of the People Act?
no requirement that men needed to own property
married women over 30+ could vote if they met property requirement
what anti-suffrage arguments still remained?
women didn’t fight for England so shouldn’t vote
what was the impact of the Representation of the People Act on the size of the electorate?
tripled
women made up 43% of electorate
significant to democracy
why did the Representation of the People Act pass through Parliament with very little opposition?
politicians realised that movement of womens suffrage was popular
women had an important role in war
politicians scared of being targeted and losing support of constituency
WHY WAS THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT PASSED IN 1918?
the war work of women, arguments for
3.3 women were employed during the war Asquith said that they proved themselves through their war work
sorted munitions shortages
helped on farms and in mines
kept the country running
WHY WAS THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT PASSED IN 1918?
arguments against the war work of women
a lot of women under 30 did work but they didn’t get the vote
women in France worked but didn’t get the vote
Asquith used war work to save face - was actually going with popular policy
WHY WAS THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT PASSED IN 1918? arguments for fear/impact of suffragette movement
britain couldn’t survive another suffrage movement
violence was escalating
fear of Russian revolution happening in Britain
pre war suffragist movement had some impact
WHY WAS THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT PASSED IN 1918?
arguments against fear/impact of suffragette movement
emmeline pankhurst fled to Paris
unliked, bad reputation
some suffragettes didn’t get the vote
harmed their reputation, alienated themselves from politicians
WHY WAS THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT PASSED IN 1918?
arguments for the influence of the Labour party
fear of success - working class votes
women should vote conservative and counter act votes
labour conservatives real opposition after Libs diminished
syndicalism
WHY WAS THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT PASSED IN 1918?
arguments against the influence of the Labour party
labour only won seats in 1918
fear was disproportinate
WHY WAS THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT PASSED IN 1918?
arguments for the attitudes of both houses of parliament
changed from pre - war attitudes of Lord Curzon and Asquith
WHY WAS THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT PASSED IN 1918? arguments against the attitudes of both houses of parliament
political survival depended upon them appearing to change thier attitudes
98/142 constituencies supported women having the right to vote
WHY WAS THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT PASSED IN 1918?
arguments for party politics
conservative opportunism
want to say so
conservative - only women over 30, would labour have been more absolute?
Liberals only supported due to the rise of Labour party
why was there a general election in 1923?
Baldwin wanted to bring in protectionist tariffs to address unemployment
he needed a mandate from the electorate
he many have been hoping to outmanoeuvre Lloyd George to prevent him from uniting some tories in a centre party
what were the results of the 1923 election?
libs won 159
labour won 191 - official ops
Baldwin won 258
how did the results of the 1923 election lead to a labour government?
not a majoirty so he lost debate over protectionist tariffs which was strongly opposed by Libs and Lab
labour came in second place
what was the Geddes Axe?
limited amount of money given to social reform due to economic depression
how successful were the coaltions policies 1918-1922?
successful to a large extent
eg Addison Housing Act and Fisher education act
but reforms stopped due to economic depression
didn’t achieve land fit for heroes
arguments that Lloyd George was a prisoner of the tories
In the minority of his party, Conservatives did not actually need him - had enough MPs to form their own government
Coalition liberals dependant on support of Conservatives
Libs had organisational weaknesses - ‘stage army’ of high profile figures unsupported by a party
failure of ‘fusion’ in 1920
controlled by conservatives - needed their support
stuggled to get support of Conservative backbenchers
Geddes axe
argument that LG was not a prisoner of the tories
initially embarked on programme of economic reform and only the economic downturn changed this policy
did pursue his own policies eg Anglo-Irish treaty
had some achievements - Addison Housing Act, extension of national insurance
intervened personally in 1921 to prevent a General Strike when triple alliance threatened joint action
what were the strengths of the first labour governments in 1924?
Wheatley Housing Act
Old Age pensions
Dawes plan
fact that they existed at all
what were the weaknesses of the first labour government in 1924?
minority
not a radical cabinet - 8 ministers public school educated
unable to introduce nationalisation and disarmament
struggled with national support as seen as party of the working class
business men and factory workers fearful of nationalisation and trade union activity
labour could not break ties with trade unions due to funding - union expected to control the party
economic problems
why did the labour party fall from power in oct 1924?
workers weekly newspaper, published article for troops to join workers on strikes - mutiny
‘Campbell case”
fear of labour siding with communists
macdonald resigned
what position was labour in by 1929?
labour party was strong, now 2nd major player
prime minister - Macdonald had experience in office from 1st labour government and was respected abroad
everything came crashing down in october and labour was smashed to bits in the 1931 election with only 1/5 of the seats
what promises had labour made in 1929?
build council houses
raise school leaving age to 15
improve London transport system
tackle unemployment
introduce public work schemes
support international disarmament
what successful domestic policies were introduced by the 2nd labour government?
Greenwood Housing Act 1930 - increased subsidies for housebuilding and introduces new slum clearance schemes
Coal Mines Act 1930 - introduced measures to reduce bitterness after general strike by reducing miners working hours from 8 to 7.5 hours
Land Utilisation act and Agricultural marketing act 1931 - established marketing boards to help producers, giving them enough power to fix prices and arranged supplies more efficiently
London Transport Act 1930 - created public corporation responsible for providing cheap and efficient transport in London
what unsuccessful domestic policies were introduced?
several attemps for reform sidelined by lack of Liberal support, included education bill and bill to create maximum working hours
more economic/social policy sidelined upon 1929 financial crisis because Britain soon felt devastation with loss of US markets and reduction in European trade - value of British exports fell by 1/2 and unemployment rose to two million by the end of 1929
what successes did the Labour government of 1929 have?
achieved to some degree, what they set out to o except raising to school leaving age
dealt bad hand, could have achieved more without the wall street crash
what was the immediate impact of the economic crisis of 1929?
value of British exports fell by 1/2
unemployment continued to rise, reaching 3 million by 1932
less demand for goods
negative priral
what was Macdonalds response to the great depression?
not an economic expert
set up economic advisory council in 1930
more benefits - strained government finances - wanted balanced budget
what was Philip Snowdens response to the great depression? ( chancellor of exchequer)
accepted keeping balanced budget and gold standard were essential steps
knew that this would mean entrenchment, reducing expenditure
what were the reasons for the national government?
Macdonald had a meeting with King George, it was expected he would resign, but the king told him to form a national government to deal with the scale of the problems in 1931
to what extent did macdonald betray labour by forming the national government?
biography presents Macdonald as an honest socialist committed to national responsibility
did not betray the labour party deliberately
Macdonald felt that his party were betraying the nation by refusing to make necessary cuts
AJP Taylor - “primary motive was patriotism”
what cuts did Macdonald want?
10% cut in unemployment benefit
no alternative to the cuts
cabinet split over cuts
11: 9 in favour of the cuts
macdonald wanted to resign
why was Arthur Henderson against the cuts?
saw working class as victims of capitalism and it would be unacceptable for the Labour party to victimise them further
what ideas did john maynard keynes suggest in this period?
his main idea was that during slumps, the government should spend of infrastructure projects and pull back in periods of inflation
didn’t want reactionary economy
theories became popular after teh war
what did Baldwin fear with the abdication crisis 1936?
disestablishment of established order
why was the abdication crisis such a concern?
threatened the constitution because the head of the church of england could not marry a women going through her second divorce. Also Wallis was seen as a commoner because she grew up in realtive poverty and was american.
it coul have threatened the empire because puntan dominicans such as Canada were against the marriage. Baldwin was scared of Civil war
Archbishop refused to marry them
how was the abdication crisis handled by Baldwin’s government?
said to Edward that if he didn’t abdicate the cabinet would resign. Edward abdicated kept it our of press
But may have been luck - edwards abdicated because he missed Wallis whilst she was in France
what was the Battle of Cable Street 1936?
Mosely proposed that fascist ‘blackshirts’ shouls march through a Jewish area of London
anti-fascist groups outnumbered police at cable street and violence erupted
fascism didn’t take mass appeal as the public were on the side of the Jews
why did the fascism movement emerge in Britain?
led by Oswald Mosely - people were drawn to his personality and speeches
spoke about his ideas for reducing unemployment - popular amongst electorate
disillusionment with traditional political parties - Labour split and cons didn’t know about economy
collapse of Labour in 1931 and the failure of national government to save depression
fascist Italy and Germany seemed to be doing well
Mosely’s anti-semitism attracted support among some people as a hate plank
the creation of the BUF - British fascist party
why did the communist movement emerge in Britain?
communist sympathisers in trade unions and party members
spread influence through the press - Daily Worker
membership of CPGB peaked 1800
Communist helped form National unemployed workers Movement and helped organise hunger marches
deliberately disrupted meetings of BUF
why did the fascist movement fail to gain mass appeal?
anti-semitism repulsed many
by 1935 BUF membership fell to 5000
lord Ruthermore withdrew his backing in 1934 after ciolence broke out in BUF rally-owner of Daily Mail
increasingly anti-Nazi feeling in Britain
Cable street 1936
british culture not extreme change
other fascist countries had been hit hater but depression - Spain - CW
why did the communist movement fail to gain mass appeal?
opposition from more moderate Union leader - Bevin
The Labour party refused to allow the CPGB to affiliate or to work with them at all
Police cracked down hard on communism - led demonstration and the secreat service kept a close eye on them
the Insightment to Disaffection Act 19134 enabled prosecution of political enemies
