Britain Transformed 1918-97 - A changing political and economic environment

The Conservatives

During the 1920s and 1930s who were the most dominant political party?

The Liberal Party

Before the First World War who had been the most dominant Party?

Free trade and limited state intervention

What did the Liberals believe in?

The loss of aristocratic support, internal divisions and responses to contentious domestic issues.

Which are the three explanations for the Liberal decline pre-WWI?

The Labour Party

When the Liberals were in decline, which Party was growing?

The People's Budget of 1909

Which Liberal reform in 1909 particularly angered aristocratic voters?

To put higher taxes on unearned income (e.g. rent from properties) in order to fund social welfare reforms for the poor.

What did the 1909 People's Budget aim to do?

The 1911 Parliament Act

What had to be passed before the People's Budget in order to get it through Parliament?

It took away the power of the Lords to reject money-related bills and replaced their veto power with delaying power in Parliament.

What did the 1911 Parliament Act do?

The labour revolt, the women's revolt and the Irish revolt

Which three domestic issues lost the people's support for the Liberals?

In the early 1910s, dockworkers went on strike in order to express their unhappiness with their pay and working conditions.

Describe the labour revolt

At the time, the Liberals were trying to put in place measures that would improve the workers' lives however they simply were not happening quickly enough.

Was the Liberal government trying to respond to the demands of the labour revolt?

Civil war broke out in Britain and the Liberals lost their grip on working class voters who began to turn to more radically socialist parties such as Labour.

What happened as a result of the labour revolt?

By the early 20th century, women were beginning to threaten destabilising violence such as causing an explosion in David Lloyd George's house in order to gain the vote.

Describe the women's revolt

It made politicians appear complacent and undermined the moral authority of government.

How did the women's revolt make the government look?

After the Liberals failed to win a majority in 1910, they needed the support of Ireland so they promised the Nationalists Home Rule. The Unionists, angered by this, prepared to fight against Home Rule, however it was abandoned before the First World War.

Describe the Irish revolt

The divide between Asquith and Lloyd George

What did the First World War expose within the Liberal Party itself?

Asquith was a 'traditional' Liberal whilst Lloyd George was more radical and had been forced to intervene strongly in British society during the war by taking measures such as conscription and rationing.

What were the main differences between Asquith and Lloyd George's styles of leadership and how were they exposed by war?

The 1918 Maurice debate

What event in 1918 consolidated the personal bitterness between Asquith and Lloyd George?

Asquith led an attack on Lloyd George in Parliament after General Maurice wrote a public letter which accused him of lying about the number of troops he was sending to the Western Front however he failed to remove Lloyd George as Prime Minister.

Describe the 1918 Maurice debate

The 1918 general election where Coupons (letters sent by Lloyd George and Bonar Law) were sent to parliamentary candidates who stood for the coalition.

What was the 'Coupon Election'?

Within the coalition of 1918, the Conservatives were by far the more popular party and people's love for this coalition cost them the vote in later years.

As well as the rise of the Labour Party, which issues for Labour within parliament contributed to their decline?

By 1918, the Conservatives were associating themselves less with the aristocracy and more with the middle classes and working class people who hoped to 'better themselves' - particularly through private ownership.

By 1918 who were the Conservative Party trying to appeal to and how did this differ to before?

The Conservative Party felt that having the 'man who won the war' would boost their prestige and the Liberals needed the support of the Conservative because so many of their MPs remained loyal to Asquith.

Why did Bonar Law and Lloyd George need one another?

Rumours of Lloyd George giving out 'cash for honours' (corruption) and the 'Chanak incident' where Lloyd George was accused of warmongering against Turkey.

Which two scandals forced the Conservatives to reject the coalition government with Lloyd George?

September 1922

When was the 'Chanak incident'?

A war scare between Britain and Turkey which cost Lloyd-George some of his credibility as he unnecessarily called for war and generally mishandled the situation.

What was the Chanak Incident?

The decision of the Conservatives to break off their coalition with the Liberals in a secret meeting at the Carlton Club, meaning that the Liberals did poorly in the 1922 election.

What did the Chanak Incident lead to?

In exchanging cash for honours, Lloyd George had generated a large political fund however he refused to share it with the Liberal Party until they began to follow his ideas and replace Asquith's men who were in top positions with his own.

How did Lloyd George generate a large political fund and why did he withhold it?

In 1926 when Asquith stepped down as leader of the party.

When and why did Lloyd George finally agree to give the party access to the money?

1918

When was the Representation of the People Act passed?

It extended the vote to all men over the age of 21, women over the age of 30 who were property owners or university graduates, held all polls for elections on a specific date and redistributed some of the seats to industrial towns.

What did the RoPA do?

The size of the electorate tripled from 7.7 million in 1912 to 21.4 million in 1918.

What were the effects of the RoPA on the electorate?

43%

After the RoPA, what percentage of the electorate were women?

80%

After the RoPA, what percentage of the electorate were working class?

The working class - who now made up the majority of the electorate - wanted a Party who would represent them. After their failings during the labour, women's and Irish revolts, this would not be the Liberals.

How did the RoPA pave the way for the Labour Party?

Labour were a minority government therefore they depended on the support of the Liberals to maintain power. If Labour did anything radical, the Liberals would have withdrawn their support.

Why was MacDonald's Party critical of him for not being radical enough during his first time in office?

The Housing Act which increased the amount of money that local authorities could use to build housing for those with low incomes.

In 1924 what was one of the measures passed by Ramsay MacDonald?

MacDonald was accused of having "secret communist sympathies" after withdrawing a prosecution against John Ross Campbell - a known Communist activist - who had written an article which broke the law for being an 'incitement of mutiny'.

Why was MacDonald forced to resign in 1924?

They published a story which claimed that a (fake) letter from a Russian Communist revolutionary to the British Communist Party had been found telling British communists to prepare to overthrow the government.

What did the Daily Mail do in 1924 that they hoped would dissuade people from voting for left-wing parties?

New supporters of Labour who were disappointed with MacDonald's leadership turned to the Conservatives.

In the 1924 general election which Labour voters turned to the Conservatives? What does this suggest about the political climate in Britain?

He hoped to be seen as a moderate politician who could appeal to all social classes in Britain - he dissuaded his Party from attacking Labour as "secret agents of the USSR".

How did Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin want to be seen by the people?

The Labour Party

By the 1929 election, who had replaced the Liberals as the favourite opposition party to the Conservatives?

The First Past the Post system meant that they failed to convert electoral support into parliamentary seats.

In which way did the British political system hurt the Liberal Party?

International trade that is left unhampered by quotas or other other limitations such as tariffs.

What is free trade?

Because the British government believed that it would help to generate faster economic growth and domestic stability.

Why had Britain supported free trade in the past?

The government were having little intervention in the economy.

How did free trade comply with the early governments' 'laissez faire' attitudes?

A coalition government

What is a 'national government'?

The governments of MacDonald, Baldwin, Chamberlain and Churchill which held office from 1931 to 1945.

What does the 'National Government' refer to?

1929

When was the Wall Street Crash?

Because of the disapproval of his choice to make cuts to spending after the Wall Street Crash.

Why was MacDonald expelled from the Labour Party?

Because Baldwin knew that the blame for unpopular economic policies would fall on MacDonald which would pave the way for a Conservative victory after.

Why did Baldwin choose to support MacDonald in a National Government?

In 1935

When did MacDonald resign as Prime Minister?

It normalised a faith in the stock market.

What was the effect of convincing British people to buy war bonds?

To cut spending

What was the response of the National Government to the Wall Street Crash?

To represent national interests rather than class interests.

What was the National Government supposed to do?

He represented progress and prosperity and advocated home ownership.

Why was Baldwin popular with the middle class?

His 'financial competence'

What made Baldwin popular amongst the working classes?

4 million

How many homes were built in the interwar period?

In middle class suburban areas.

After the housing boom, where was Conservative support beginning to concentrate.

They were able to reduce unemployment by 1 million, they tackled slums and bad housing and they were proactive.

What were three attributes of the National Government of 1931-35?

He didn't think that it was necessary and thought that arms would only bring more war.

What were Labour politician Attlee's views on rearmament?

Baldwin wanted to strengthen Britain's military and, although he wanted to be cautious, thought rearmament was necessary.

What were Conservative leader Stanley Baldwin's views on rearmament?

Baldwin led a 'mildly reforming national government' from 1935 to 1937. He took on a consensus-style leadership and his 1929 election slogan was 'Safety First'.

What kind of a leader was Baldwin?

Unemployment, the constitutional crisis of the abdication of Edward VIII, the rise of political extremism and controversy over rearmament.

What were the four key issues that Baldwin faced?

It made him look calm and collected in the face of a potential crisis.

How did the abdication of Edward VIII benefit Baldwin?

They focused on the domestic market by building houses and took on a Keynesian style of economic management (putting money into the economy to achieve full employment, thus getting money back out).

What measures did the National Government take during the post-war economic recovery?

They did not manage foreign policy very effectively and didn't initially view Hitler as a threat to peace.

What was one of the failings of the National Government?

That he would calm down once the matters of the Treaty of Versailles were settled.

What was the general view of Hitler that was held by politicians in the 1930s?

That war was 'destructive, dehumanising and wasteful' to society.

What effects did the publication of 'war' literature have on public perception of war?

Oswald Mosley was a Labour MP who, frustrated with the lack of reorganisation in dealing with the economic crisis, founded the New Party who stood in the 1931 general election.

Who was Oswald Mosley and what did he do?

0.2%

What percentage of the vote did the 'New Party' receive in 1931?

The British Union of Fascists: a racist and anti-Semitic group who wanted to recreate the leadership of Mussolini in Italy.

What did Mosley create in 1932 and what was the group's aim?

The violence that famously erupted in October 1936 when a BUF march took place through East London where many Jewish and Irish migrants lived.

What was 'the Battle of Cable Street'?

They were marginally more successful (a high of 0.4% in the UK general elections) but in Britain there was a general rejection of Communism.

Were the Communist Party of Great Britain more successful than the BUF?

During the war, some CPGB members infiltrated the Labour Party and tried to steer their policies more radically to the left.

How did the CPGB later become a problem for the Labour Party?

An international organisation where countries work together for peace.

What is the League of Nations?

The middle classes

Which British class supported the League of Nations?

A referendum created by the League of Nations in 1935 comprised of questions about British participation in the League, the use of sanctions and rearmament.

What was the 'Peace Ballot'?

That the British people were in favour of both rearmament and the League of Nations and that countries who threatened world peace should be subject to economic sanctions.

What was the outcome of the Peace Ballot?

There was a general acceptance of the fact that British foreign policy would uphold the ideals of the League of Nations.

How did the Peace Ballot affect mainstream politics?

A challenge to the political establishment which was exactly his aim.

What was Mosley's movement seen as by other politicians?

The rise of Hitler

What caused the loss of public sympathy for fascism?

The Public Order Act

What was passed in 1936 in response to the 'Battle of Cable Street'?

The Act banned political uniforms and put greater controls on marches.

What did the Public Order Act of 1936 do?

They loved the monarchy and other traditional institutions and wanted to keep this tradition alive.

Why were the working classes generally 'resistant' to extremism?

The Local Government Act

What did Neville Chamberlain pass in 1929 that laid the foundations for the welfare state?

An Act which abolished the Poor Law Unions and transferred their power to the local authorities.

What was the 1929 Local Government Act?

He was respected, had the support of the Conservative Party and wanted to take charge of foreign affairs.

Why did Chamberlain seem such an obvious candidate for Prime Minister in 1937?

With the Abyssinia Crisis of 1936, war was seeming all the more likely and Chamberlain believed that another war would destroy Britain.

Why would a deal with Hitler at first seem sensible?

He re-occupied the Rhineland (a previously demilitarised zone)

What did Hitler do in 1936 which defied the Treaty of Versailles?

He wasn't against it but didn't like the idea of doing it by raising taxes and borrowing money.

What were Chamberlain's views on rearmament?

To be a member of the League of Nations.

What did many people think was the best thing to do in order to avoid war?

At first, Chamberlain agreed that lands containing a population with 50% or more Germans should be returned to Germany but, after increased pressure from Hitler, they negotiated that the Sudetenland should be handed over to Germany with immediate effect.

What did Hitler and Chamberlain negotiate in 1938 with regards to the Czech Crisis?

That he was not, as some British politicians had first thought, a reasonable man.

By 1938, what became clear about Hitler?

That Anglo-German relations were of the highest importance to the two countries and it expressed the desire of the two countries never to go to war again.

What did the famous paper that Chamberlain returned with state?

At first appeasement made Chamberlain look more avuncular and celebrated however this soon transformed into the perception that he was ridiculous and incompetent.

How did appeasement at first make Chamberlain look and how did this perception change?

Even after Germany had occupied numerous countries (which was a clear violation of the Munich Agreement), Chamberlain still failed to recognise that something needed to be done about the Czechs Crisis.

How did the Munich Conference of 1938 do little to change appeasement?

Although Chamberlain's 'piece of paper' - later called a "scrap of paper" by Hitler - seemed to be a step towards peace, the fall of Czechoslovakia seemed to undermine any moral justification that Hitler may have had and Chamberlain began to discuss the possibility of war.

How did the Czechoslovakian Crisis change British views on war?

That they should rise above party politics and focus on working together effectively.

What was the general feeling of politicians during the Second World War despite the divisions in Churchill's coalition government?