section two: chapter 5 Flashcards
what happened to the problem of Irish home rule once the war broke out
- war broke out in 4th august 1914
- nationalist and unionist members (redmond and carson) urged their men to join the British army
- home rule act was suspended
what happened to the problem of the suffragettes once the war broke out
- mrs pankhurst called on suffragettes to suspend campaigning + support the war effort
what was the initial belief about the war
- it would be over by Christmas
- the liberal gov’s motto was ‘business as usual’
what was the defence of the realm act
- passed on 8th august 1914
- gave the state an unprecedented amount of control over peoples lives
- meant gov could react quicker to crises without having to go through parliament
what was the situation of the war like by April 1915
- Asquith losing confidence of early supporters because of:
- scandal over apparent shortage of shells on the western front
- clear that war would last a long time, military disaster at gallipoli
what decision did Asquith have to make in 1915
- forced to accept an all party coalition
- bonar law (conserv leader) given the colonial office
- DLG put in charge of ministry of munitions
how did liberals respond to the all party coalition of 1915 + the state of Britain
- many were unhappy with the interventionist position of the gov during war
- uncomfortable with conscription from january 1916
- divisions continued to widen and party split during the Maurice debate of 1918
what was the Maurice debate
- February 1918
- letter to the times newspaper claiming the british gov had lied about strength of british army in france
outline DLG’s involvement in the coalition government
- his energy and determination helped cut through bureaucracy and tradition to deal with war as minister for munitions.
- 1916 - took over as secretary of war but the conduct of war was still unsatisfactory
outline the problems of the wartime coalition government
- 23 cabinet ministers in the new coalition cabinet - too many to make any decisions
- also, all of the key positions were held by liberals and the conservatives distrusted Asquith
what happened to the government by 1916
- conserv’s had completely withdrawn their support for Asquith
- wanted him replaced by DLG
- after discussions with Bonar law, DLG agreed to form a small war cabinet excluding Asquith (who would remain as PM)
what happened on the 3rd December 1916
asquith resigned so the war cabinet could be formed
what happened on the 5th December 1916
conserv members of the coalition gov also resigned and so Asquith handed in his resignation to the king
what happened on the 7th december 1916
- DLG succeded in persuading enough conserv’s to form a gov
- asquith and all libs resigned
how did DLG’s new coalition gov change the way Britain was governed
- most top jobs now held by conserv’s
- small war cabinet of 5 replaced the normal size cabinet of 20
- more gov ministries set up for wartime needs such as shipping, food etc
what happened after DLG replaced Asquith as PM
- liberals continued to recognise Asquith as their PM but pledged to support gov in wartme
- many saw DLG as a traitor, his support depended only on the conserv’s who tolerated him
why did the labour party almost split in 1914
- whether it should support the war
- some leaders (like ramsay MacDonald) refused to compromise and support war + were criticised in the press
- mot chose to support it and the reward for which came in 1916 when Henderson became first ever labour politician to be included in the cabinet
what influence did labour have in the coalition government
- influence on social policy
- forced gov to pass legislation which fixed wartime rents at pre-war level
- 1917 - price controls introduced which helped stabilise food prices
- all enhanced labours credibility
why did the labour party end its wartime cooperation with DLG
- Henderson was refused permission to attend a conference in Stockholm
- which would aim to look at ways of bringing about negotiated peace
- august 1917 - Henderson resigned
what did henderson do after resigning from the party in 1917
- focused on reorganising labour party
- helped unite the party and put it in a strong position for competing with the other 2 parties
outline the labour party constitution in February 1918
- part of labours reconstruction process
- constitution was set up to clearly state labours aims and principles
- surplus wealth would be redistributed
- TU would have more power
- executive of 23 members would manage the party
what effects did the labour party constitution of 1918 have on the party itself
- gave the labour party more confidence
- after armistice was announced in November 1918m labour party ministers immediately resigned
- labour was able to reassert its independence from libs
outline the relationship between Bonar law and DLG during the war
- Baldwin stated the two formed the ‘most perfect partnership in political history’
- DLG discussed his ideas and policies with bonar law
- Bonar law acted as mediator between the backbenchers and DLG
what was the cause of the ‘coupon election’ in 1918
- DLG was very popular in the country but most of liberal parties funds were under Asquith’s control
- DLG had to rely on conservs to remain in power
- DLG persuaded bonar law that the coalition should call an election before the end of 1918
outline the ‘coupon election’ of 1918
- it was felt that a government combining the talents of all parties would restore some ‘normality’
- those who were in support of the coalition gov received a signed certificate singed by DLG and bonar law
- however, votoers hadto choose between 2 rival liberal parties
what was the representation of the peoples act and what effect did it have on the coupon election
- passed in February 1918
- extended vote to a wider section of society than before
- conservs won with 332 seats, not just because of the coupon factor but also because of conserv support for war (which was a success)
outline the new coalition government of 1918
- depended on conserv support but had at its head a radical liberal PM (DLG)
- conservs were still prepared to support DLG but he was in a weak position, he was entirely dependant on the conserv party
outline some of the difficulties faced by DLG’s coalition gov
- divisions over home rule for Ireland
- government debt from war
- the problem of demobilising 5 million men
what steps did DLG’s gov attempt to take to reconstruct Britain after the war
- 1918 - education act raised school leaving age to 14
- Addison’s housing act of 1919 - local authorities had to ensure all people had decent housing
- 1920 unemployment act extended
what problems were faced by the DLG coalition by 1922
- period of economic depression set in. cuts in gov spending were necessary but this limited reconstruction plans
- increased TU activity and industrial disruption
- trouble in Ireland
- 1921 - bonar law resigned due to ill health
what were the three major contributors to the ‘fall of DLG’
- impact of Bonar laws resignation
- chanak affair
- the honours scandal
outline ‘impact of Bonar laws resignation’ as a contributor to the fall of DLG
- Bonar Law was replaced by chamberlain who was a critic of DLG
outline ‘the chanak affair’ as a contributor to the fall of DLG
- DLG had been a supporter of Greece
- by 1922- Turkish nationalists had recovered much land from Greece
- DLG ordered British troops to stop the Turks from capturing chanak, with force if necessary
- he made these orders without consulting his coalition partners
- this damaged his credibility
outline ‘the honours scandal’ as a contributor to the fall of DLG
- 1922
- DLG was accused of selling nearly 100 peerages to finance his political party and 1500 knighthoods
what happened in October 1922
- victory in a by election at newport convinced conserv’s they had enough electoral support to break form coalition
- this included Bonar law who disapproved of DLGs recent actions
- meeting of conserv PM’s held at carlton club, majority voted to fight next election alone. shortly after DLG resigned
who won the election of november 1922
- conservs won with 330 seats
