Why did the Labour Party develop in the interwar years? Flashcards
1
Q
How did the Labour Party develop in interwar politics (in terms of gen. election stats)?
A
- From 1918 to 1922 Gen. Election: 57 seats to 142 seats
- Dec. 1923 Labour won 191 seats + formed a minority gov. with support of 158 Liberals
- Toris won the 1924 Gen. Election with large majority as Labour Party were tainted with accusations of Soviet sympathies
- Labour on 287 seats in 1929 Gen. Election + formed a minority gov. lasting until 1931
- 1931 Gen. Election - meltdown of Labour vote (46 seats) as they lost many of their politicians
2
Q
What was the position of the Labour Party in 1918?
A
- Party was formed in 1900 - was the youngest major political party in Britain
- It emerged from Labour Representation Committee of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) - was closely tied to unions who sought political representation of the working class
- Although Labour won seats in 1906 + 1910 elections, working class representation was made easier in 1911 when a law was passed allowing MPs to receive a wage
- Labour further aided by 1918 ROPA which tripled size pf British electorate (almost all working men)
3
Q
What were the four main reasons why Labour Party were able to develop in interwar British politics?
A
- Preserved party unity
- Developed from grassroots organisation
- Developments in voting + the franchise
- Independence from the Liberal Party
4
Q
Why was preserved party unity one of the reasons that Labour were able to develop in interwar British politics?
A
- As they were formed through the TUC , it gave them a strong sense of class consciousness among workforce - representing working classes + giving it a political identity
- Effective leadership of Arthur Henderson (1914-1917) - had the ability to reflect a consensus view of Labour gov.
He was the first Labour leader to gain representation at cabinet level - However, there were strong divisions within Labour about supporting war effort. Division was healed in 1917 when Labour ministers resigned from wartime coalition - despite division, remained unified on issues that affected working people e.g pensions
5
Q
Why was developed grassroots organisation one of the reasons that Labour were able to develop in interwar British politics?
A
- Thanks to union backing who provided funds + membership, Labour was able to develop a national political machine
- In 1917 Labour began developing local party branches + by 1924 only 19 constituencies without Labour local branch - gave Labour a national identity
- Because of trade unions control of party finances, there was a distortion of funding for campaigns in winnable areas e.g mining communities
6
Q
Why was developments in voting and the franchise one of the reasons that Labour were able to develop in interwar British politics?
A
- The impact of the ROPA 1918 transformed the electorate by tripling it +including more working class voters - it damaged the Liberals and increased the political force of Labour (although we don’t know to what extent these voters swayed towards Labour)
- 1918 Gen. Election was strongly influenced by patriotism - those who took popular, anti-German line won largely (those who took more pacifist line were heavily defeated)
7
Q
Why was independence from Liberal Party one of the reasons that Labour were able to develop in interwar British politics?
A
- Before 1914, there were close links between Liberal + Labour (both left-wing but Liberals were seniors of this unofficial partnership)
- After 1914, Labour began to develop a separate identity by promoting free-trade, internationalism + social reform. Also drew up new constitution in 1918 tying itself to nationalisation of key industries
- This led to more ruthless approach + aimed to establish an independent identity - demonstrated in 1923 Gen. Election which capitalised splits between Liberals + Labour able to sweep up former Lib. support
- 1924 Labour minority gov. was able to establish a reputation of economic caution + competence
