the conservative party Flashcards
3 classes in society
- upper
- middle
- lower
leader of party in 1900
lord salisbury
who had they modified themselves to appeal to in the nineteenth century
middle & working class
influential conservative leader in 1860/70s who proposed several social reforms which the party introduced
benjamin disraeli
conservative victories under salisbury
- 1886
- 1895
- 1900
dominant issue preoccupying government
anglo-boer war 1899-1902
describe the anglo-boer war
- dispute between british & dutch boer colonists over who controlled south africa
- britian provoked war
- joseph chamberlain (colonial secretary) believed british supremacy in southern africa was essential to maintain britians imperial strength
- made unreasonable demands on boers so they had no choice but to fight
division in britian over boer war
- ‘pro-boers’ = unhappy with war
- initially, war popular in britian & salisbury exploited it by calling election in 1900
khaki election
salisburys government won with comfortable majority over liberals - war widely popular initially
why did things turn badly for the government after the khaki election
- handling of war was terrible
- pro-boers drew constant attention to failure of british forces
- reports of extreme measures to break boer resistance
reports of extreme measures by government in boer war
eg. ‘concentration camps’ - cramped & unhygienic conditions led to spread of fatal diseases
who outed horrors of boer war
emily hobhouse - via report
what did henry campbell-bannerman (liberal leader) accuse the conservative government of
employing ‘methods of barbarism’
who succeeded salisbury as prime minister in 1902
arthur balfour
what were the problems overshadowing balfour from 1902-05 & led to defeat in 1906
- ‘chinese slavery’
- taff vale decision 1901
- balfour’s education act 1902
- licensing act 1904
- irish land act 1902
- tarriff reform
what was ‘chinese slavery’
- balfour’s government accused of permitting large numbers of chinese labourers to be brought from asia & worked in appalling conditions for pitiful wages in gold/diamond mines of south africa
- government’s moral authority compromised
- inadequate response = government claimed it was matter for british officials in africa to deal with
when was the taff vale decision
1901
what led to the taff vale decision (1901)
- june 1900: employees of Taff Vale Railway Company (south wales) striked with backing of union (associated society of railway servants ASRS)
- company tried to break strike by bringing in non-union labour & taking ASRS to court for illegal picketing
- tactics worked & strikers returned to work
- company took union to court again claiming damages for financial losses
describe the taff vale decision (1901)
- first hearing in favour of company
- appealed by ASRS = higher court reversed decision in nov 1900
- company presented case to house of lords
- lords overruled appeal court (july 1901)
- ruling accompanied by awarding damages & costs against ASRS amounting to £42,000
impact of taff vale decision in 1901 on working class
- clear that unions’ right to strike & picket effectively destroyed
- balfour declared in 1902 that government wouldn’t overturn decision
- reinforced conviction among workers that conservatism was unsympathetic to workers rights
when was balfour’s education act
1902
describe balfour’s education act (1902)
- raised school leaving age to 12
- granted subsidies to church schools from local rates
- abolished locally elected school boards & passed authority of schools to county or borough councils
why did criticism arise from balfour’s education act (1902)
- standoff between anglican church & noncomformists
- schools teaching anglican faith received state funding
- offended nonconformists, who complained of heresy being taught using the rates
- anglicans unhappy that state education was being extended & they would lose traditional hold over it
when was the licensing act
1904
describe the licensing act (1904)
- introduced to regulate sale & consumption of liquor
- aim was to protect children & prevent adulteration of alcoholic drinks
criticism of the licensing act (1904)
- noncomformists
- condemned clauses which gave compensation to brewers & landlords who would lose licenses under new liquor agreements
when was the irish land act
1902
(wyndham’s act)
describe the irish land act (1902)
- made £100 million available to tenants to buy out their english landlords & become owners of land they farmed
criticism of irish land act (1902)
- grudging thanks from irish nationalists; regarded it as belated recognition of their rights
- irish unionists dismissed measure as craven submission to nationalist pressure
describe tariff reform
- seriously weakened conservatives
- adopted imperial preference as official economic programme in 1903
- closely associated with joseph chamberlain
- free trade between member states & protection against non-members
- member states receive preferential treatment (goods enter free of duty)
- british exports granted corresponding preference in colonies
chamberlain’s motives behind tarriff reform
- imperial preference to raise money to improve national efficiency
- taxation of one class for benefit of another may encourage revolutionary socialism & class war
- chamberlain’s belief in maintenance of the empire combined with need for social reform
when did balfour resign
dec 1905
what did balfour recommend when he resigned
- that king edward VII dissolve parliament which would oblige liberals to form interim government before election
- intention was to play on divisions among liberals over irish home rule
- damage-limitation exercise = balfour felt conservative party would suffer less if election held before seven-year rule
- liberals formed loyal cabinet under henry-campbell bannerman, who then called general election
results of 1906 general election
conservatives = 157
liberals = 400
labour representation committee = 30
irish nationalists = 83
why did liberals win 1906 election
- mainly dissatisfaction with conservatives
- consequence of slight shift in public attitude
- ‘first past the post’
- conservatives unsuccessful in tackling issues within britian
