The Changing Political Landscape 1918-1945 Flashcards
How did WW1 impact the decline of the Liberal party?
• Asquith wanted to prevent state intervention as much as possible but his indecisiveness in war tactics made him disliked and blamed for heavy war losses in the press.
•Liberals then had to take illiberal measures such as introducing rationing and conscription
•Lloyd George then formed a small war cabinet without Asquith supporting more intervention- ‘new liberalism’ - start of rift
• The Liberal government’s mishandling of the suffragette movement and its policies towards Ireland during WW1
Why were there divisions in the Liberal party?
•Lloyd George and Asquith disagreed on their opinions and views of Liberalism. Many Liberals still supported Asquith. Therefore Lloyd George formed a coalition government with the Conservatives.
How did Cash for Honours cause the decline of the Liberals?
•Lloyd George exchanged titles for money and provided his supporters with top positions in the party rather than Asquith’s supporters
•The money Lloyd George made wasn’t shared with the Liberal party until it was too late - couldn’t afford to provide enough candidates and therefore lost to Labour in 1929 election as opposition to the Conservatives
How did the increase in the size of the electorate lead to the decline of the Liberals?
• increased in 1918 after introduction of the Representation of the People Act - increased from 7.7 million to 21.4 million
• working class made up 80% of the suffrage - in theory more would vote for Liberals / Labour however votes were spread evenly due to rebranding of Conservative party
How did the Chanak incident cause the decline of the Liberals?
•Lloyd George wanted war against the troops when they wanted to remove British troops form Turkey
• Army generals and the public disagreed with this - just after the end of WW1
•Therefore Tories disbanded coalition government and Lloyd George forced to resign. Liberals become a smaller party
How did the first last the post electoral system cause the decline of the Liberals?
•system favoured a two party system. The Liberals had considerable electoral support but wasn’t converted into seats in Parliament
•Therefore Liberals remain a small party
How did the Conservatives dominate the political landscape?
• rebranded by Stanley Baldwin as a one nation party - attracted the working class, viewed as patriotic, working class women more likely to vote for Conservative party due to their family values
• Baldwin’s ability to exploit Liberal weaknesses
• until 1948, the election system enable some wealthy landowners to vote in three different constituencies, whilst uni students, mostly middle and upper class could vote in two - gave Conservatives extra support. The establishment of the Irish Free State in 1921 led to a decline in Liberal seats there but still dependable support for the Conservative
Who was Stanley Baldwin?
Leader of Conservatives and PM in 1924 election
How did Stanley Baldwin aid the decline of the Liberals?
• Spoke out against Lloyd George at disbanding of the coalition government
• Adopted protectionalism to attract Asquith’s supporters then removed free trade to further separate the Liberals
Why did the Labour Party become more popular?
• The war led to a huge growth in trade union membership as the working class expanded after WW1 - 4.1 million 1914 to 6.5 million 1918
• The fees for the membership funded the party and provided it with more members. Therefore Labour could afford to provide candidates unlike the Liberals
• Left the coalition government and remained united after the war unlike the Liberals
How did the Labour Party lead to the decline of the Liberals?
• In 1924 the first Labour government came into power, led by Ramsey Macdonald
• Asquith and his Liberals supported the small Labour government believing that it would fail
• However Ramsey Macdonald ruled with economic caution and was successful at handling foreign affairs e.g with Irish Free State
• Proved Labour could rule successfully unlike the Liberals
Who was Ramsey Macdonald?
leader of the Labour party and first Labour prime minister in 1929
Why did Ramsay MacDonald want the decline of the Liberal party?
Wanted Labour to become the main opposition to Conservatives, wanted more votes
How did Ramsay MacDonald cause the decline of the Liberals?
• Asquith supported the small Labour government thinking that it would fail but Ramsay MacDonald ruled with economic caution and handled foreign affairs well
• This proved that Labour could rule effectively, better than the Liberals
How was the decline of the Liberals inevitable?
• After the rise of Labour and rebranding of the Conservatives as well as the removal of free trade, the Liberals didn’t really appeal to any of the electorate
• The war debt left the Liberals unliked, aswell as their illiberal measures during the war
• Women made up 50% of the vote - not going to vote Liberals after they imprisoned suffragettes
Why did MacDonald lose the support of Labour MPs?
•Wall Street Crash 1929 led to economic depression globally, Macdonald had to make drastic spending cuts e.g reducing unemployment benefits by 10%
• Deemed as not acceptable, Labour meant to support the working class
How and why did MacDonald remain PM after losing the support of his MPs?
• King George V refused to call general election during the economic crisis
• Therefore MacDonald was forced into a coalition government with the Conservatives - (the National Government)
What was the impact of the formation of the National Government on the Labour Party?
• led to a divide between those who joined the National Government and those who remained
• the official Labour party at the 1935 election lost support, only had 52 MPs