Section One Chapter 4

Question 1

Outline the first constitutional crisis

Answer 1

• over the peoples budget 1909-10
• in November 1909 - the lord rejected/ ‘vetoed’ the budget.
• the convention that the lords should never intervene with money bills was broken + liberal gov had no option but to call an election in jan 1910

Question 2

Outline the general election of January 1910

Answer 2

• libs tried to fight the election on whether Britain should be governed by a majority of elected MP’s in the Hoc or non elected peers in the HOL
• DLG summarised this in his slogan ‘the Peers versus the people’
• the libs won the election (narrowly) with a majority of 2 + had to depend on Irish support to pass the budget
• the lords agreed to pass the budget

Question 3

Outline the 1910 parliament bill

Answer 3

• libs drew up a bill to curb the power of the HOL by taking away its power to veto
• the parliament bill prosed that:
  HOL was to have no power to amend/reject bills that the speaker of the commons labelled as money bills
  HOL was to have no power to veto other legislation, but could delay it for 2 years
  Maximum period between general. Elections lowered from 7 years to 5

Question 4

What was the response and outcome of the 1910 parliament bill

Answer 4

• effectively led to the 2nd constitutional crisis
• to get around passing this bill through the HOL, Asquith asked the king to create enough liberal peers in the HOL to outvote the conservative peers
• the old king died + the new king wanted conserv’s + libs to find a peaceful solution
• a constitutional conference was held from June-November 1910 but finally broke down
• the king finally agreed to create liberal peers if they won an election on the Matter

Question 5

Outline the general election of 1910

Answer 5

• again, the libs relied on the working majority + labour + Irish nationalists
• may 1911 - commons passed the bill
• the avoid having the HOL swamped with liberal peers, they also agreed to the bill

Question 6

Outline the impact of the constitutional crisis

Answer 6

• lords could now only delay legislation important to the commons
• the crisis so divided the conservatives that Balfour was forced to resign in nov 1911

Question 7

Outline the progress of the female emancipation movement

Answer 7

• during the 19th century, progress had been made
• there were increased educational opportunities + increase in number of women joining the workforce

Question 8

List some of the obstacles to the female emancipation movement in 1906

Answer 8

• despite being a ‘party of principle’ Campbell bannerman (PM 1905-08)was half hearted in his support for female suffrage
• Asquith (PM from 1908) opposed to the movement
• libs we’re hesitant in offering their support, allowing women the vote may drastically change election results
• not all women supported the idea of female suffrage

Question 9

Outline the initial pressure for female emancipation

Answer 9

• 1897 - the national union of women’s suffrage societies (NUWSS) was established (Millicent fawcett)
• members believed in non violent Methods to achieve their objectives
• 1914 - had over 400 societies

Question 10

What change was made to the pressure for female emancipation in 1903

Answer 10

• frustrated by lac of progress, the women’s social and political union was founded (WSPU)
• this group became increasingly violent as the liberals failed to find parliamentary time to debate the topic
• 1911-14 - suffragette actions included arson, physical assault etc

Question 11

What were the key developments in the women’s suffrage movement from 1906-14

Answer 11

• 1907 - commons rejects women’s suffrage bill
• nov 1910 - 300 suffragettes try to storm the lobby of the HOC, they day is known as Black Friday because of police brutality
• 1913 - prisoners discharge act (cat and mouse act) + Emily Davison throws herself under kings horse

Question 12

Outline the ‘cat and mouse act’ of 1913

Answer 12

• when suffrages refused to eat in prison they were in title force-fed
• in response to public outcry, the cat and mouse act was introduced
• gov would release hunger strikers until they regained their strength + then re arrest them

Question 13

What impact did militant tactics haves on the rise of the female emancipation movement

Answer 13

• increase in publicity for the cause - in turn helped to increase funding
• anti suffragettes organised themselves + national league of opposing women’s suffrage founded in 1911
• for some, the militant actions convinced people women were not responsible enough to have the vote

Question 14

Outline Irish home rule

Answer 14

• after the December 1910 election, libs were dependant on the Irish nationalist MP’s in the HOC
• (led by redmond) they wanted Irish home rule + thought 1911 parliament act made this possible
• 1912 - 3rd home rule bill begun progress through parliament

Question 15

Why did the conservatives oppose Irish home rule

Answer 15

• they supported the cause of the ulster unionists who were in favour of Ireland renaming under British rule
• conserv’s argued Irish home rule bill would undermine Great Britain’s power status

Question 16

What were the economic reasons for opposition to the Irish home rule bill

Answer 16

• ulster was he only industrialised part of Ireland with a major shipbuilding + textile industry
• ulster businessman did not want their industries taxed heavily to help the poorer, rural parts of Ireland

Question 17

Who had the ulster unionists relied on to veto home rule bills prior to 1911

Answer 17

• the House of Lords
• with their power gone, they begin to organise themselves to resist home rule bill under the lead ship of Carson

Question 18

How did carson progress the cause of resisting home rule

Answer 18

• 1912 - drew up the ‘ulster covenant’ protesting against the introduction by the British government of the third home rule bill
• thousand of ulstermen signed this, some in their own blood
• 1913 - home rule bill passed in HOC but held up in HOL. - carson begun to form an army
• 1914 - carson supporters smuggled 30,000 rifles into Irish port of Larne.
• the conservative leader (Bonar law) offered ulster unionists his support

Question 19

What was the ‘curragh mutiny’

Answer 19

• march 1914
• British officers, commanding British soldiers at the curragh army base in Ireland threatened to resign rather than fight against the ulster unionist resistance

Question 20

What were the years of 1910 + 1914 characterised by

Answer 20

• industrial unrest

Question 21

What were the main reasons for industrial unrest in 1910 + 1914

Answer 21

• by 1912 the cost of living was 14% higher than in 1906
• despite liberal social reforms, the gap between rich and poor was widening
• many unions had joined together into federations such as the miners federation, giving them more power

Question 23

What was the state of Britain in 1914

Answer 23

• many commentators predicted Britain was facing revolution
• but this was unlikely due to growth of middle class + overal support for libs gov reform
• outbreak of ww1 in 1914 temporarily put a stop to the unrest