Britain 1- The Liberal crisis

Question 1

what were the conservatives key ideology and policys? (1900-1906)

Answer 1

continued union with Ireland, maintenance of empire, limited intervention in businesses, strong foreign policy

Question 2

what was the impact of the Boar wars on the conservatives? (1900-1906)

Answer 2

support decreased after revelations of Britain’s tactics in the Boar war and ‘Chinese slavery’ scandal

Question 3

conservatives

what was Lord Salisbury’s impact on the conservatives?

Answer 3

Described as an adept political manipulator, became conservative leader in 1881, he became prime minister 3 times, the Conservatives dominated British politics under Salisbury as prime minister

Question 4

what was Arthur Balfour’s impact on the conservatives?

Answer 4

leader of the conservative party (1891) and prime minister (1902), indecisive and weak leader, his party was seen as divided

Question 5

he was a Liberal

what was Joseph Chamberlain’s impact on the conservative party?

Answer 5

first a radical Liberal and then a Liberal unionist, Salisbury has constantly struggled to keep him on a tight leash

Question 6

what were the failures of the conservatives after 1900?

Answer 6

Balfour’s government appeared increasingly short of ideas, enthusiasm for the empire waned after revelations of British tactics in the Boar wars and ‘Chinese slavery scandal’, social investigators (e.g. Booth and Rowntree) had exposed the depth of poverty in Britain yet the conservatives had not introduced any major reforms for 20 years

Question 7

what were the Liberals key ideology and policys? (1900-1906)

Answer 7

Laissez-Faire (supported limited state intervention) for a minimum living standard for all, free trade, quotas, defending the rights and freedoms of the individuals, reducing privilege and educating working classes

Question 8

what was Herbert Asquith’s impact on the Liberals?

Answer 8

After the Boar wars, he and other Liberals believed that war should be supported largely to prevent accusations of a lack of patriotism, he was Campbell Bannerman’s chancellor, he was a skilled debater and fearsome political strategist, longest serving prime minister in the first half of the century winning 2 elections in 1910, reputation was tarnished by his failure to respond to the government crisis caused by WWI

Question 9

what was David Lloyd George’s impact on the Liberals?

Answer 9

challenged Liberal Imperialists (such as Asquith) + believed war was morally wrong so was branded ‘pro- Boar’, prime minister 1916-22

Question 10

what was Henry Campbell Bannerman’s impact on the Liberal party?

Answer 10

as war dragged on and lost its appeal the Liberals began to re-group under his leadership, faced with the prospect of a minority government, he called an election to contrast the conservative’s fighting within the party over Tariff reform woth the firm commitment to free trade, this gamble won them 400 seats

Question 11

what was the impact of the Boar war on the Liberals?

Answer 11

the war caused divide within the party between ‘pro boars’ and people who agreed with the war.

Question 12

successes of the Liberal party (1900-1914) (2)

Answer 12

New Liberalism was formed which gave them a new appeal to the working class, won 400 seats in the 1906 election

Question 13

what were the failures of the Liberal Party (1900-14)? (2)

Answer 13

Boar war caused a divide in party (‘pro-Boars’ and ‘pro-wars’), conservative majority still in HOL

Question 14

what was the labour party’s main support base?

Answer 14

trade unions and working class

Question 15

what pact did Ramsay Macdonald (labour) agree to with the Liberals in 1903 and what did this mean?

Answer 15

the electoral pact which meant 31 LRC candidates fight the conservatives alone

Question 16

what were the successes of the Labour party (1900-14)? (3)

Answer 16

formed an electoral pact with Liberals allowing 31 LRC candidates to fight conservatives, trade disputes act in 1906 reversed the Taff Vale decision, more unions began to affiliate to Labour + increased their seats to 42 in December 1910

Question 17

what was the failure of the Labour party (1900-14)?

Answer 17

initially, they lacked funds and only managed to contest 15 seats in the 100 election and had only one two of these

Question 18

what 3 social problems did the British state face in 1906?

Answer 18

stark contrast between wealth and poverty, inequality (4 million lived at or below substinence, educational opportunities were still limited for the vast majority

Question 19

what 2 political problems did the British state face in 1906?

Answer 19

women and many men did not yet have the right to vote in parliamentary elections, UK was England centered, demands were growing for devolved power especially in Ireland

Question 20

what 2 economic problems did the British state face in 1906?

Answer 20

Britain’s industrial and commercial supremacy was being challenged by USA and Germany, there were stark contrasts between wealth and poverty (10% of people owned 90% of the countries wealth.

Question 21

why did the education act cause the conservatives to lose support before the 1906 General election?

Answer 21

it roused the fury of non-conformists who were outraged that their taxes might be spent on church of England schools

Question 22

why did the Licensing act of 1904 cause the conservatives to lose votes and Liberals to gain before the 1906 General election?

Answer 22

this annoyed the temperance section of the non-conformists voters who switched to voting for Liberal

Question 23

why did the chinese labour issue cause the conservatives to lose votes and Liberals to gain before the 1906 General election?

Answer 23

it damaged the conservative government in the eyes of non-conformists and trade unions as non-conformists disagreed with the treatment of the Chinese and trade unions feared a decrease in wages

Question 24

why did the Taff Vale case cause the conservatives to lose votes and Liberals to gain before the 1906 General election?

Answer 24

the conservatives failed to take the part of the trade unions during the cse when they ruled the company as within its rights to sue the trade unions. trade unions were horrified and now unable to call successful strikes so no longer supported the conservatives and voted Liberals in order to campaign against them.

Question 25

what were the three reasons for the Liberals introducing a series of reforms?

Answer 25

political strategy (gaining support), improving national efficiency, genuine desire to reduce poverty

Question 26

what were the differences between old and new Liberalism?

Answer 26

old- Laisezz-faire, limited state intervention, ‘self-help’
new- state intervention, new ideas e.g national insurance, free school meals, ‘safety nets’, implied higher govt spending

Question 27

what two issues divided the Liberals before 1906?

Answer 27

free trade and Laissez faire

Question 28

which nations had inspired much of the new Liberals’ social reform?

Answer 28

New Zealand, Germany

Question 29

who were the four main new Liberals?

Answer 29

Henry Campbell Bannerman, H.H Asquith, David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill

Question 30

why was national efficiency a reason for the Liberal’s social reforms? (1906-14)

Answer 30

need for healthy working class for military and economic reasons

Question 31

why were political interests a reason for the Liberal’s social reforms? (1906-14) (3)

Answer 31

thought that limited amount of reform would satisfy the people + prevent working class voters from supporting radical ideas; not too much reform as middle class would resent the extra taxes needed; ambitions of individuals=a (Lloyd George and Churchill)

Question 32

3 successes of the early Labour party

Answer 32

30 MPs in Parliament, trade union memebership increased (900,000 to 1.5 million), Local labour societies 1906= 83 to 1914= 158

Question 33

3 failures of the early Labour party

Answer 33

new MPs (working class men mainly) had limited education and administrative experience so were intimidated; financial crisis- lost their funding and salaries for MPs; they did not form a strong cohesive body

Question 34

how did the conservatives still remain poweful after losing a majority in the HOC?

Answer 34

used their majority in the HOL to block the Liberal policies

Question 35

what was the HOL’s nicknamed following the 1906 election?

Answer 35

‘Balfour’s poodle’

Question 36

how did intellectuals contribute to the emergence of new liberalism?

Answer 36

intellectuals such as T.H. Green, L.T. Hobhouse and J.A Hobson argued that old Liberalism put too much stress on the individual and not enough on the role of the state in society therefore they supported the idea of state intervention.

Question 37

how did Herbert Asquith contribute to the emergence of new Liberalism? (3)

Answer 37

passes a range of new Liberalism influenced reforms, appointed Lloyd George and Churchill who both supported radical social legislation, good debating skills so dominated HOC

Question 38

how did David Lloyd George contribute to the emergence of new Liberalism? (3)

Answer 38

introduced Old Age Pensions Bill (1908), planned national insurance scheme, genuine concern to improve standard of living for very poor

Question 39

how did Winston Churchill contribute to the emergence of new Liberalism? (2)

Answer 39

played key role in trade boards act + setting up labour exchanges, concerned about the issue of low wages and unemployment

Question 40

how did Campbell-Bannerman contribute to the emergence of new Liberalism?

Answer 40

passed multiple reforms (e.g free school meals); passed the first wave of reform legislation, united different factions of the Liberal party

Question 41

when was the Lib-Lab pact?

Answer 41

1903

Question 42

name two reasons why the labour movement was growing at grassroots level

Answer 42

increase in trade unions, minimum standard of living

Question 43

who led the conservatives in the House of Lords?

Answer 43

Balfour

Question 44

what bill put forward by the Liberals had to be abandoned due to the response from the lords?

Answer 44

the peoples budget

Question 45

why was the 1909 budget so contentious?

Answer 45

money for the reform meant taxing rich land owners

Question 46

what was the education act (1902) and who did it anger?

Answer 46

The act meant all schools were funded from local rates and was created to improve how schools were payed for

Question 47

what did the 1904 Licensing act reduce the power of?

Answer 47

public houses

Question 48

what was the Taff Vale Case and who did it anger?

Answer 48

the Conservatives ruled that a company was within its rights to sue a trade union which infuriated trade unions as it made it almost impossible for them to call successful strikes.

Question 49

what was the Tariff reform campaign? (1903)

Answer 49

Chamberlain wanted to reintroduce taxes on imported goods with a lower level tariff for goods imported from countries within the British empire compared to from non-empire countries

Question 50

what is Irish Home Rule?

Answer 50

the idea that Ireland should have its own parliament and government whilst still remaining within the UK.

Question 51

how much of the country was considered ‘poor’? (1906)

Answer 51

30%

Question 52

which two reforms were an attempt to reach a healthy workforce for national efficiency (1906-14)

Answer 52

health insurance and old age pensions

Question 53

which two individuals contributed to social reform during 1906-14 due to ambition?

Answer 53

Lloyd George and Churchill

Question 54

what was the order of the Liberal leaders? (1898-1931)

Answer 54

Henry Campbell Bannerman 1898-1908, H.H Asquith 1908-1926, David Lloyd George 1926-1931

Question 55

who were the three main individuals linked to the conservative party?

Answer 55

Lord Salisbury, Arthur Balfour, Joseph Chamberlain

Question 56

who were the three main individuals linked to the Liberals?

Answer 56

Herbert Asquith, David Lloyd George, Henry Campbell-Bannerman

Question 57

why did Chamberlain break away from the radical wing of the Liberal party and who did he join instead?

Answer 57

because he didnt believe in home rule for Ireland, he oined the Liberal Unionists