constitutional crisis 1900 Flashcards
(15 cards)
How did the Lords act towards the legislation of HCB’s government?
Unionists were able to amend the licensing and education bills (as well as Scottish land bills) to such an extent that eventually the government had to abandon them.
What was incleued in DLG’s budget
- indirect taxes on motor cars/petrol (then a luxury) and beer/tobacco (worth £3.5m)
- an increase in income tax from 1s to 1s and 2d in the pound on incomes over £3,000 pa
- a new super tax on incomes over £5,000 pa (affecting only 12,000 people)
- increased death duties on estates worth £5000 or above
- new land taxes involving (20%) taxation on any unearned increase in land valuation plus a smaller tax on land that was left undeveloped.
- Stamp duties on land purchases were also increased.
- The proportion of direct
to indirect taxation inevitably increased to meet the deficit and had increased already under Asquith.
What was the amount needed to be raised by the budget?
- deficit of £16m (£1bn + today) in government revenues.
Who and what bore the burden of taxation in DLG’s budget?
- the richer those earning over £2,000 pa
Where did DLG make his famous speeches in 1909 and why were considered controversial?
- limehouse
- speech against the rich and their opposition to the budget
- implied class conflict - Newcastle
- attacked the lords, aristocratic opposition and the lack of patriotism and social concern
Name the pressure groups fighting over the budget.
- budget league - for the budget
- budget protest league - against the budget
When did the Lords veto the budget?
- 30th November
Give four reasons why the Lords’ veto had important constitutional implications.
- unprecedented for the lords to veto a money bill
- challenged the principle of not taxation without representation by taking the financial power of the elected chamber
- by denying the government the right to raise finances they were claiming the power to make or unmake an elected government
- by suggesting they could force an election they were undermining the monarch power to do so
- they were hereditary lords unelected and accountable to no one
What were the Unionist arguments for the Lords’ veto?
- the government lacked a mandate for the budget
- as it amounted to a fundamental and socialistic attack on property that unfairly targeted one section if society
- saw the liberals as responsible class war
What were the Irish consequences of the constitutional crisis and when?
- On 10 December, in order to strengthen Irish support, Asquith publically committed a newly elected Liberal govt to introduce Irish Home rule.
Summarise briefly the results of the January 1910 election and identify the consequences.
- Libs 275, Unionists 273, Labour 40 & INP 82.
- Liberal majority substantially reduced
- Liberals were able to form their second government of the period with the support of Labour and the INP (majority of 124).
1. Lords accepted defeat over the budget which was passed in April
2. INP were able to demand the introduction of a (third) Irish Home Rule (IHR) bill by the Libs
3. Liberals began to consider how to reform the Lords to eliminate repeated obstruction, something that was also necessary before IHR was introduced since the Lords had vetoed it in 1893.
What was the ultimate and drastic solution to the Lords veto and why was it not used?
- consult the King in order to obtain the creation of 100s of new Liberal peers in the Lords should the Unionist peers veto any legislation reforming their powers or composition of the upper house.
- Unfortunately, Asquith had not pushed King Edward VII hard for Liberal peers before the election and he was unable to ask him to do so afterwards since Edward died in May.
- It was considered insensitive and poor politics to ask the new King, George V, for new peers since he had only just succeeded to the throne.
Identify two attempts to resolve the constitutional crisis between January and November 1910 and why do you think Ireland was relevant to their failure?
- talks with the Unionists to resolve the problem by offering a commission on tariffs and foreign competition
- drafted the Parliament Bill which proposed to remove the veto altogether replacing it with the power of delay over legislation for two years
- They would have no right to amend or delay a Money Bill (a budget).
To what extent did the election result of December 1910 differ from the one in January 1910?
- The results of the general election in December were nearly identical to the one in January:Libs 272, Unionists 272, Labour 42 andINP 84,
- gap in votes between the Libs and the Unionists had decreased further.
What was the majority in the Lords that passed the Parliament Act and what were the hard-line opponents of it called?
the Unionist majority in the Lords faced utter destruction by Asquith’s very public threat of the appointment of 100s of Liberal peers if they vetoed the parliament bill again. Yet when it was reintroduced to the Lords most of the Unionist peers continued to resist the
Parliament bill (last dithers).
