P5 - Roles and Impact of LG in Domestic Policy to 1922

Coupon election 1918

Asquith controlled liberals, getting funds and constituencies - so LG had to fund own constituency

LG very popular + conservatives, and gave signed certificates to those who supported him

promised "home fit for heroes” 

labour not fully popular short term due to their unenthusiasm of the war 

women also had a vote, and more working class men from Rep of the ppl act

-coalition won, with labour being the opposition

comments on the coalition

LG tied with conservatives, and being dependent on them 

he had no party base of his own 

many conservatives admired his leadership and drive + brought the party popularity 

LG had to be successful and unable to delegate tasks - risk of carrying the blame of failure 

LG pragmatic, having abandoned liberal ideology when necessary 

BL helped keep conservative backbenchers on his side 

potential permanent coalition

1920 call for new centre party - LG for this but the diehard conservatives would never, but was actually the LG liberals who rejected this 

1921 BL

bonar law helped get the conservative backbencher to support LG

in 1921 he resigned due to ill health

was replaced by Austen Chamberlain - he was not of the same calibre

loss of BL sped up LGs fall

1918 economy

-debt rose to 8B

-3.5m deaths, with widows, orphans receiving war pensions/ allowance

-owed debts from Russia they never received due to Revolution

-overinvestment of not in demand industries during war 

-foreign competition from GER and USA, Japan  + also had tariff protection on own industries

-countries producing themselves 

-old fashion production methods 

BOOM Post war

occurred in 1920

due to rationing and restriction, people weren’t spending but saving

Businessmen chose to invest, but chose dying industries e.g. coal, cotton, ship making

other enjoyed buying luxuries after the rationing 

BOOM was only brief

Post war slump

-interest rates raised, falls in demand

-1920 DEC - unemployment 700,000 and 1921 - 2m

-BR staple industries returned to decline

• coal demand decreased worldwide, as use of elec and oil + old mine systems

wages stagnated and cost of living rose , so more union striking 

Cause for slump

loss of export trade

under investment 

industrial relations - LG averted 1919 general strike by providing coal workers shorter days and pay rises - so less productivity 

Deflation - gov attempted to return pound value to pre war level by reducing spending and raising interest rates - expensive to borrow so less investment 

Attempts to resolve economic issues 

LG advocated less gov spending + believed tax cuts would increase spending, but could lead to accused of socialism 

squandermania - anti waste campaign, calling for cuts of 175m out of the 1136m expenditure

Geddes axe - target unreached, so Eric Geddes used to find remaining 100m worth of cuts, calling for 86m of cuts in housing, education, hospitals. Only cut 64m in the end

symbols of retrenchment and end of reconstruction - made him lose working class support

Reconstruction

promised a land fit for heroes , and the immediate post war boom slightly helped the attempt

ideas for more state intervention was required, to create a “minimum standard”

1917 - made a ministry of Reconstruction - improve housing

Hosing policy

due to Tudor Walters Report - Addison estimated 400,000 were unfit homes, so aimed to create 700,000 houses a year of high standard, costing £260 per house 

-due to short supply of bricklayers only 200,000 were made by July 1921

-he was overcharged on the pricing, spending £910 per house 

Geddes axe identified of required cuts, which caused new house production to stop after 1922

However set a precedent of the gov providing housing - as a public service  

1918 Fisher act - Education act

based on the Lewis report, BR working class lacked education and falling behind other nations

-school leaving age raised from 12 to 14 

-LEAs encouraged to provide education part time for 18 y.o

-nursery schools for 3-5

-state scholarships intro for working class kids to got to uni 

• plans for funding post 14 education dropped due to Geddes Axe 

• often didn’t happen as not backed by funds

significant act as moved school financing from LEAs and towards central gov 

social policy successes

-Demobilisation - Churchill demobilized 5m soldiers without sig increasing unemployment 

provided special unemployment benefits until March 1921

-1920 - war rent controls continued

-1918 - act to stop wage reduction ran till SEP 1920

-7 hour days established for miners

Unemployment insurance 

2m unemployed by 1921, not falling back to this until WW2

-occurred due to scale of unemployment, fear of revolution, desire to help returning soldiers

1920 Unemployment act - extended to all workers earning less than £250  - 12m ppl

• aim to cover short term unemployment

• gov accepting principle that state should provide for unemployed

act insured men to claim 15 shillings a week, women 12 - for 15 weeks for one year 

-low compared to jobs 

1921 Unemployed Insurance act

extended to cover those who did not find a job the 15 weeks or not insured

-benefits given for 2 periods of 16weeks 

-claimed Dole - only given in special cases 

unemployed wanted work, not Dole + middle class saw it as unfair taxation 

due to not being able to cope with scale of unemployment, males and women under 18 were cut

1921 Unemployed workers Dependants act

for dependants - wife 5 shillings, 1 shilling per child ( max 4 )

very low - but steps towards family allowance 

Old age pensions

extended and improved

pay-out was doubled 

qualifying age remained at 70

Women and children

widow pensions introduced

maternity and child welfare act 1918 updated benefits

Care for the sick

hospitals were private ran or by charity - private hospitals had public wards for panel patients and working class sick

babies born at home

-Minister of Health made in 1919 - centralization of healthcare

-Industrial Courts act 1919 - help employees get compensation for injuries

-gov extended health insurance to those up to £250

Growing discontent

many Tories wanted more tory policies and less spending + intro of tariffs

Industrial unrest

-pre war LG worked hard to resolve disputes and build links e.g. conciliation boards

union membership doubled to 8m in 1920 

amalgamation of unions more common e.g. General Workers Union led by Ernest Bevin

strikes occurring post war over wages and rationing

army mutinies led to mass demobilisation e.g. soldiers refusing to board ships in 1919 to assist USSR + created own also union

-success of the revolution, could have turned ideology for increased strikes 

1919 Glasgow strikes

Jan 1919 red flag raised in Glasgow during a 90,000 worker ship building strike, calling for 40 hour weeks 

gov feared socialist revolution 

-men dispersed by firing of  troops + tanks, and failed their goal 

Coal industry

pre war was troubled market as outdated.

Miners union wanted re-nationalisation continuing, as treated better during war:

• had higher wages + 7 hour days

Sankey Commission - due to entire industry going on strike LG - used the Sankey Commission to investigate coal industry, but decided. found:

-miners wanted to remain under gov

-wanted 30% wage increase and 6h days

-no agreement on final decision 

-LG sympathetic to miners, but conservatives could not adopt nationalisation, so rail and mines returned to private ownership

General strike

1921 seemed imminent due to re-privatisation

triple alliance of rail, miners and transport workers threatened action

miner owners cutting wages immediately with unprofitability and fall in demand 

 -LG intervened general strike by dividing unions, causing only miners to go out on April 15 1921

defeated in 3 months and compelled to accept wage reduction, despite a gov subsidy of 10m 

-general strike averted at LG cost of popularity with TUs

Railway

returned to private owners

1921 Railway act - 4 big companies rather than 120 - efficient 

Industrial relation comments

more general strikes in FR, Ger and Italy, with BR  violence minimal 

-were strikes prior to Sankey commission with police 

-sense of betrayal among workers and strikes increased

-lose of support, and turning to Labour

fall of LG :Chanak Affair

angered tories due to LG sending troops to help Greece against Turkey in 1922

-caused Turks to withdraw, but his actions were unnecessary and dangerous

-accused without acting with coalition and foreign sec

-conservatives also had tradition to be pro truk 

Bl -”we can’t act as the policemen of the world”

LG corruption

“lloyde George fund” - selling honours and titles, when they were usual given through donation and good rep

-LG way of gaining funds, and split sales between him and Conservatives - felt tainted by scandal 

-eventually forced to accept Privy council would decide honours

LG personal life

open relationship with mistress 25 years younger

-also his wife remained in Wales whilst Frances Stevenson was at Downing street - later married her

Carlton Club - 19 OCT 1922

Conservative party meeting 

Austen Chamberlain - claimed needed LG support for Coalition 

BL and Baldwin - spoke for opponents of LG, calling him unworthy of their trust

vote 187 to 87 backbenchers wanting to fight next election on their own

BL new PM 

LG downfall reasons

irish policy, corruption, Chanaka, tories wanting end to coalition

policies towards the empire

use of external advisors + lot of time abroad at conferences and not in parliament - Dictator

lack of morals in private life

dependence on Conservatives

slump, high interest, high unemployment ,

Irish civil war + Anglo Irish war

moderate extreme demands in Treaty of Versailles

loss of BL sup

usage of troops + black and tans

Successes of LG coalition

50 years irish peace

won war

no general strike

old age pensions

14 y.o leaving age

widow pensions

increased unemployment insurance