Political Parties in the Interwar Years 1918-1939

Trade Union (2)

An organisation made up of workers from a certain industry or business

They fight for workers’ rights and pay

Free Trade

The government policy which encourages trade between other countries without limits eg. no tariffs

Ideology

A set of ideas held by a political party

Tariffs (2)

A tax set by the government on imports or exports

They are used to encourage trade within a country

Who were the three main political parties in the 20th century?

Liberals

Conservatives

Labour Party

Liberal Party: Dominant (2)

They were in office in some capacity between 1906-1922

At first, they were in majority governments and then in coalition governments with the Conservative party

Liberal Party: Traditional Viewpoint (2)

They believed that the government should play a limited role in the country’s affairs

They did, however, believe that the government should provide some help to people

Liberal Party: Social reforms (2)

They sought to introduce social reforms from 1906 such as providing pensions and state healthcare

As part of their limited government stance, they were committed to free trade

Liberals: David Lloyd George (3)

Lead from 1916

He had humble beginnings - described himself as an enemy of privilege

By the end of WWI, he was viewed as the man who won the war

Conservatives: Office (2)

In office as part of a coalition with the Liberals from 1912 before forming a majority government for much of the 1920s

Considered the party of tradition - advocated for a limited goverment role

Conservatives: Division (2)

They were divided over the issue of whether Britain should use free trade or protectionism

This would split the party at times during the 1920s

Conservatives: Stanley Baldwin (2)

Had an excellent reputation for economic competence and treating his factory workers fairly

His approach was Safety First

Labour Party: Origins (3)

Emerged from the trade union movement

Considered a party of the working class

Their growth was helped by the 1911 Wages for MPs act, which allowed working class men to afford to be in politics

Labour Party: Ideologies (3)

Supported high government intervention

They believed it was the role of the government to interfere in the country’s affairs to help people

They wanted to introduce more taxes to redistribute to the poor

Who was Britain governed by in the interwar periods? (3)

A wartime coalition of Liberals and Conservatives led by David George Lloyd

There had been no general election in 1910

A new election was scheduled for December 1918

Representation of the People Act (3)

Paased in February 1918

Tripled the size of the electorate (people who could vote) from 7.7m to 21.4 million

All women over the age of 30 (over 8m) and working class men (about 6m) could vote

The Coupon election (4)

1918

Saw an overwhelming victory for the wartime coalition of Conservatives and pro-coalition Liberals

They won 459 seats, with 10 other MPs supporting them

Led by DLG but dominated by conservatives (332 seats)

Who was the largest opposition after the coupon election (2)

The Labour Party

They had 57 MPs

What ended the 1922 coalition and forced an election to be called? (2)

The Conservatives decided to abandon the coalition

This was due to DLG’s growing unpopularity and confidence they didn’t need him to govern

November 1922 Election: Results

The Conservatives won an overall majority - Andrew Law became the next PM

November 1922 Election: Impact (2)

The Labour Party won 142 seats, replacing the Liberals as the official opposition

The Liberals saw a dramatic decline in their seats and haven’t came to power in government since

May 1923 (2)

Law resigns then later dies the same day

Chancellor Stanley Baldwin replaced him as leader

Stanley Baldwin and Division (2)

The party was divided over the issue of tarrifs

A general election was called in December 1923 and Labour won, with a minority government

Labour 1924 (4)

Led by Ramsay Macdonald

He lacked a majority with which to enact major change eg. increase spending and taxation to help revive the economy and create jobs

He was also reluctant to be too radical too early

He wanted other parties to feel they had nothing to fear from Labour

What caused the Labour Party to be brought down in 1924? (2)

Suspicion of their socialist sympathies

They had tried to fight these allegations throughout their administration

Who led the government between 1924-1929?

Conservatives

What happened in 1929? (3)

Labour were elected for the second time

They still had a minority government which relied on liberal support

Their time in office was dominated by economic crisis

What happened as a result of the economic crisis? (2)

Macdonald entered into a coalition with the conservatives, forming the National Government

This decision split the Labour Party through the 1930s