Politics and political Parties 1886-1914

Question 1

which foundations did Disraeli create and what was the effect?

Answer 1

‘One Nation conservatism’ and ‘Primrose League’ which had 1 million members by 1905.
aided future conservative dominance although they lost the 1880 election

Question 2

Who lead the conservative party after Disraeli’s death?

Answer 2

Lord Salisbury in undisputed control by 1885, Northcote no longer in dual control

Question 3

How did Villa-toryism benefit the conservatives?

Answer 3

middle classes started turning away from the liberals as they were focused on radical clause
In 1865, no seats in London boroughs were given to the tories, whereas in 1900, 67 out of 75 London seats were given to toryism, contributing to conservative dominance

Question 4

what was Captain Middleton’s effect on the Conservative’s dominance?

Answer 4

effectively organised the Conservatives
timed election beneficially
increased the number of constituency agents

Question 5

How did Salisbury help maintain conservative dominance?

Answer 5

was able to keep differing personalities together such as Chamberlain

Question 6

how did the primrose league benefit the conservatives?

Answer 6

conservatives can build working class support
also gained support through their backing of imperialism ‘patriotic party’
By end of 1800s, the membership was in millions, more than all of the trade unuions combined.

Question 7

in which towns and cities was working-class toryism prevalent? + why

Answer 7

military towns such as colchester
naval ports such as Portsmouth
areas dependent on work in the armaments industry as they liked conservatives pro-empire policies
Also support in areas of anti-catholic feeling such as Northern Ireland, Liverpool

Question 8

why did the liberal party split?

Answer 8

Home Rule

Question 9

how did the split in the liberal party contribute to conservative dominance?

Answer 9

liberal unionist MPs left and joined the conservatives, and made them seem weak and divided to the electorate, significantly weakening Liberals

Question 10

in what time period were the conservatives seen to dominate British politics?

Answer 10

1886-1905

Question 11

how did Conservative attitudes towards imperialism help to secure conservative dominance?

Answer 11

Liberals had no consensus on imperialism, whereas the conservatives had a very popular foreign and imperialist policy
Idea of ‘Age of Imperialism’, popular sentiment with a lot of enthusiasm helping to sustain the vote.
1900 election known as Khaki election after conservative success in Boer war

Question 12

how did the Conservatives social reform policy help them maintain dominance?

Answer 12

Salisbury introduced a limited number of reforms, which was still greater than anything being offered by the Liberals, who had become a ‘one issue party’ who had little appeal to the working or middle class

Question 13

give 2 examples of social reforms conservatives introduced for the working class.

Answer 13

Fee Grant Act 1891- abolished school fees
Workmens Compensation Act - employers had to pay compensation if workers were injured while working

Question 14

which groups of the liberals left to join the conservatives in 1892?

Answer 14

whigs - led by Hartigdon
radicals - led by Chamberlain

Question 15

what were the 4 main issues facing the liberals?

Answer 15

divisions over Home Rule
split between imperialists and anti-imperialists
radicals challenging laissez-faire
competition between gladstone and chamberlain

Question 16

what happened in 1902 and what was the effect on the Conservatives?

Answer 16

Salisbury resinged and Arthur Balfour took his place as PM. Balfour was out of touch with ordinary people and bad at keeping the party together.
The party split in 1903 over tariff reform
it was clear that the Conservatives were going to be defeated in the 1905 election.

Question 17

summarise the extent of the conservative unionist dominance x3

Answer 17

• they won 3/4 of the elections 1886-1906
  -popular in both rural areas and towns and cities
  -most memebrs of house of lords were conservative unionists

Question 18

how did mass support from property owners benefit the conservatives during elections? x2

Answer 18

could easily raise money needed for electioneering and other activities

could afford skilled lawyers to ensure that opponents were denied the right to vote

Question 19

how did the primrose league spread its message? x2

Answer 19

-attracted members in huge numbers through its social programme including fetes, visits, concerts
-used contacts to spread political messages to mobilise a workforce representative

Question 20

how did the 3rd reform act 1884 benefit the conservatives?

Answer 20

-meant that the middle class voters could send a significant number of MPs to parliament
-MPs consistently supported unionists
-villa-toryism

Question 21

when did more socialist ideas begin to spread in Britain?

Answer 21

after the 1870 Education Act, as more people could read marxist books such as Das Kapital
numbers were still low, only about 2000 true socialists

Question 22

what was the SDF and what did they believe in?

Answer 22

Socialist Democratic Federation
marxist organisation
favoured revolution over the democratic route to socialism (conflict or propaganda?)

Question 23

who left the SDF in 1884?

Answer 23

Eleanor Marx and Willam Morris
left to form the socialist league which never affected British politics as it never had more than 700 members

Question 24

when and where were the ‘Bloody Sunday riots’?

Answer 24

13th November 1887 in Trafalgar Square

Question 25

what was the Bloody Sunday riots?

Answer 25

mass meeting campaign in support of the unemployed, and in favour of the popular control of metropolitan police.

Question 26

what happened a week after bloody sunday?

Answer 26

40,000 people attended a meeting in hyde park
violence against police

Question 27

what did the bloody sunday riots suggest about the SDF?

Answer 27

they were on the verge of becoming a significant mass movement

Question 28

what were the beliefs of the Fabian society?

Answer 28

believed in evolutionary socialism, which was socialism that could be achieved by reform through national and local governments
gradualist approach without direct confrontation.
‘permeation’ of other institutions

Question 29

what type of people were the members of the Fabian society?

Answer 29

middle class (out of touch??)
10% were writers and journalists

Question 30

how did the Fabian society spread their message?

Answer 30

published essays and pamphlets

Question 31

were the Fabians essays well-read?

Answer 31

yes
27,000 copies sold in two years

Question 32

how much of an impact did the Fabian society have on the development of socialism in Britain?

Answer 32

can be seen to have had a key role in the rise of the labour party
however, they had divided loyalty, worth the ILP, labour party and liberals reduced their role in establishing a unified left-wing in British politics

Question 33

who led the independent labour party of 1893?

Answer 33

Kier Hardie

Question 34

what did Kier Hardie do and what did this ultimately become?

Answer 34

he brought together different left-wing, socialist groups and trade unions, leading to the formation of the Labour Representative Committee 1900, which later became the labour party

Question 35

who was Kier Hardie?

Answer 35

former miner
union spokesman with radical liberal views

Question 36

what did Kier Hardie do in 1888?

Answer 36

organised the ‘labour revolt’ against the liberal associations
stood against the Liberal candidate unsuccessfully

Question 37

what happened to Kier Hardie in 1892?

Answer 37

he won his seat and stood as an independent labour candidate.

Question 38

what was the aim of the 1893 Bradford conference?

Answer 38

aim was to establish a party where trade unionists and socialists could work together to get labour candidates into parliament.

Question 39

what were the 120 delegates at the Bradford conference like?

Answer 39

working class
drawn from Scotland, West Yorkshire, Manchester
some members were members of the SDF, Fabians, trade unions…

Question 40

what was the outcome of the Bradford conference?

Answer 40

ILP formed

Question 41

what were the ILPs objectives?

Answer 41

“to secure the collective and communal ownership of all the means of production, distribution and exchange” (long term)
short term: eight hour working day, welfare benefits

Question 42

why did the labour party and trade unions join forces?

Answer 42

the party needed financial support from the trade unions and the trade unions wanted parliamentary representation

Question 43

how did the labour representative committee do in the 1900 election and why?

Answer 43

did not prosper, only 2 candidates were elected
due to bad state of its finances
patriotic nature of the election made conservatives more appealing

Question 44

how did the LRC change in 1902-1903?

Answer 44

three more LRC MPs were elected in by-elections. Constitutional changes were made in 1903 including raising the annual subscription rate for unions from ten shillings per 1000 members to one shilling per members.
took financial control out of the hands of the trade unions, back to LRC

Question 45

what caused the LRC to be formed?

Answer 45

Lyons v Wilkins decision, which meant that picketing became nearly impossible.

Question 46

what were the aims of the LRC?

Answer 46

to ‘represent the interests of labour by improving working conditions, lobbying for the reversal of Taff Vale and for social welfare legislation.’

Question 47

what was the lib-lab pact 1903?

Answer 47

Liberals and labour agreed not to run in the same constituency (30 of them), so that the anti-conservative vote was not split, also to save money on elections

Question 48

what was new liberalism?

Answer 48

change to liberal ideology.
promoted state intervention to in order to correct economic inequalities that limited the lives and opportunities of the less well-off.
Believed that the economic system contained flaws and elements that were unfair
rich taxed to help the poor get a’ step up’

Question 49

how is new liberalism different from socialism?

Answer 49

new liberalism provides help for people to give them a ‘step up’ whereas socialism is

Question 50

who were the new liberals?

Answer 50

Asquith
Lloyd George
Churchill

Question 51

what did Herbert Samuel think about the possible benefits of new liberalism?

Answer 51

by helping one area of society, all areas of society could benefit, which was why all members of society could be required to contribute.

Question 52

would could new liberalism be threatened by?

Answer 52

underconsumption
if the rich stopped buying goods to save more money, the economy would underperform and suffer

Question 53

what was a main reason for the emergence of new liberalism?

Answer 53

40% of Boer War volunteers were unfit for military service. these numbers were higher in poorer areas, such as 3/4 of volunteers from a working-class area in Manchester were unfit to serve.
malnourished…

Question 54

how did the Boer war lead to Liberal victory in 1906?

Answer 54

atrocities and brutalities of Boer War revealed by Emily Hobhouse
women and children were found in concentration camps
british troops burnt Boer homesteads
40% of volunteers to malnourished and unfit to serve
portrayed conservatives in a bad light

Question 55

how did Chinese slavery lead to liberal victory in 1906?

Answer 55

Britain recruited Chinese workers to mine gold to rebuild the economy of south africa after the Boer War
the chinese workers lived in labour camps with terrible conditions
these jobs could have gone to white emigrants
there was a fear that Chinese labour could be used in Britain to solve labour shortages.
portrayed conservatives in a bad light

Question 56

how did Taff Vale Judgement lead to Liberal victory in 1906?

Answer 56

damaged the power of unions and the interests of the working-class

Question 57

how did the lib-lab pact lead to Liberal victory in 1906?

Answer 57

ensured that the anti-conservative vote would not be split in 30 constituencies

Question 58

how did the Liberals view on tariff reform lead to their win in the 1906 election?

Answer 58

had the same anti-protectionist stance as the public allowing them to gain popularity through propaganda such as ‘large loaf, little loaf’

Question 59

how did Balfour’s poor leadership and unpopular policies and campbell-bannerman lead to the Liberal landslide in 1906?

Answer 59

unpopular policies such as the Education Act 1902, which extended education provision to secondary schools. This outraged the 4 million non-conformists who held 600,000 votes as well as the Welsh.
The Liberals leader Campbell-Bannerman was very popular, as he condemned the Chinese slavery and tactically used conservative against them.

Question 60

how did the turnout of voters lead to the Liberal landslide in 1906?

Answer 60

82.6% in 1906
74.6% in 1900

Question 61

how did the electoral system contribute to the Liberal landslide?

Answer 61

first past the post system disguises the reality of the election. In reality the percentage of the votes won were much closer between the Liberals and the Conservatives than the seats would suggest
in a system of proportional representation it would not have been a landslide.

Question 62

how many seats did the Liberals and Conservatives win in the 1906 election?

Answer 62

Liberals: 400
Conservative: 157

Question 63

why was the people budget needed?

Answer 63

Lloyd george wanted to pat for both social reforms and the building of 8 Dreadnoughts

Question 64

why were social reforms needed in 1909 Britain?

Answer 64

unemployment, recession, poverty, starvation, illness

Question 65

what did Peoples budget include?

Answer 65

increase in state duties and super tax for the rich- 2 pence increase/annumm
increased duties on tobacco and alcohol
20% tax on land that was sold for more than it was bought

Question 66

how did Rosebury describe the budget?

Answer 66

‘pure socialism’
‘revolution not budget’
started the Anti-Budget League

Question 67

how did Lloyd George campaign for the budget?

Answer 67

met at Edinburgh Castle Pub in London with large audience to remind them why money was needed

Question 68

what did the house of lords do to the Budget in November 1909?

Answer 68

rejected it as it taxes the rich more and the lords is composed of the aristocratic rich class

Question 69

what did Asquith ask the King to do?

Answer 69

allow the creation of 400 Liberal peers if he won the next election

Question 70

why were there 2 elections in 1910-11, what did each achieve?

Answer 70

1st= got budget passed
2nd=figured out what to do with the house of lords

Question 71

what were the outcomes of the 1911 election?

Answer 71

Asquith became PM
shouted down by Tory MPs
HoL could only delay legislation for 2 years, instead of vetoing it

Question 72

how many seats did the Liberals win the 1910 election by?

Answer 72

2
libs= 274
cons=272
irish nationalists=88, help balancing power

Question 73

why was the HoL nicknamed ‘Balfour’s Poodle’?

Answer 73

blocked legislation that didn’t benefit them, such as social reform
Balfour was Conservative leader, and poodles are obedient, following Balfour

Question 74

why did Liberals argue that the HoL needed reform?

Answer 74

vetod the legislation needed to afford social reform and dreadnoughts

Question 75

what were the terms of the Parliament Act 1911?

Answer 75

removed power of HoL from money bills
power of veto changed to delay legislation by 2 years

Question 76

what was more democratic about the parliament act 1911?

Answer 76

MPs now paid
Elections more frequent, every 5 years instead of 7

Question 77

in what ways did the Liberals benefit from the constitutional crisis?

Answer 77

reforming the HoL meant that Liberals could pass bills easily
People’s Budget meant that welfare reforms could begin
reforming HoL made Britian more democratic
Commons have more power
could afford Dreadnoughts

Question 78

in what ways didn’t the Liberals benefit from the constitutional crisis?

Answer 78

didn’t win a large majority in december election meaning that the Irish nationalists held balancing power, meaning that Home Rule is back on the agenda
Civil war in Ireland looking likely
MPs being paid could help the labour party
never got socialist peers

Question 79

how did the lib-lab pact help the labour party?

Answer 79

29 labour MPs elected in 1906, meaning they now had a small but definite presence in the House of Commons (largely overshadowed by Liberals, who had 397 MPs)

Question 80

what was the Trade Disputes Act 1906 and how did it benefit the labour party?

Answer 80

reversed Taff Vale decision, meaning that trade unions could strike and peacefully picket without being drained of their finances, which massively impacted the Labour party’s funding
reversal has significant impact on perception of labour party, they became the parliamentary representative for trade unions

Question 81

what was significance of the Miners Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) affiliating to the labour party?

Answer 81

12 sponsored MPs were in Labour party
had a membership of over half a million and wielded great power over within the trade union movement

Question 82

how did the ideological closeness of the Liberal and Labour party benefit the Labour party?

Answer 82

Labour party could influence reform to a degree
eg. Free School Meals, School Medical Inspection
showed that they had some influence and were a good representative for the working classes

Question 83

how did the ideological closeness of the Liberal and Labour party disadvantage the Labour party?

Answer 83

Labour couldn’t agree with Liberals too mcuh, as they wouldn’t gain any votes, however, they couldn’t be too radical as electorate may see them as too socialist
fighting against established parties with developed party machines and politicians with public appeal

Question 84

evidence to suggest that the Labour party was doing well.

Answer 84

won three by-elections between 1906-1909
MFGB brought 550,000 members to the Labour party
membership grew from 1.4 mil in 1910 to 3.1 mil in 1915
made progress in local elections - 91 council seats in 1906 to 171 seats in 1913
programmes of social reform was meant they were distinct from the Liberals
before war broke out they were preparing to fight 150 seats at the next election
increasingly confident on secure financial footing

Question 85

evidence to suggest that the Labour party wasn’t doing well.

Answer 85

establishing a difference from the labour party was seen as too little too late
labour had lost 8 seats in in various elections
only 90 constituencies with working class majorities
support was patchy and they didn’t have any overall control of any councils
over half of the parties councillors were in Yorkshire and Lancashire, suggesting that they were not a national party
Liberals allowed them to contribute to bills, not threatened