Politics 1906-1914 Flashcards
(28 cards)
How many seats did the Liberals win in 1906?
400 seats
Contrasts to 184 seats in 1900
Why were the Conservatives so weak in this period?
Balfour as PM decreased their popularity and caused WC voters to abandon them
1903 Tariff reform split the party
Increase in food prices turned WC away, labelled them as ‘stomach tax’
Salisbury gave up office in 1902
Revealed about the 30,000 women and children who died in concentration camps during the Boer War
Strengths of New Liberalism
Intervention necessary to achieve minimum standard of living
Poverty is beyond a person’s control
Tax the rich to fund welfare
Bannerman wanted to unite the party to defeat the Tories
What law was passed in 1906?
Trade Disputes Act
What was the Trade Disputes Act?
Reversed Taff Vale
Gave unions legal protection
What happened in 1908?
Asquith became leader of the Liberals and Prime Minister
What happened in 1909?
People’s budget and subsequent Constitutional crisis
Why was the People’s Budget in 1909 necessary?
Lloyd-George needed to find £15million worth of revenue to pay for social services
Naval Race with Germany led people to demand “we want 8, we won’t wait!”
What were Lloyd George’s motives?
Favoured redistribution of wealth
Wanted to prove to the WC that they did not need to vote Labour in order to get radical measures
Wanted to punish the Conservative Lords for their opposition
What did the budget propose?
Super tax on incomes over £5000
Increased death duties on estates over £5000 a year
Indirect taxes on luxury goods like motor cars, petrol, beer and tobacco
What was the average annual income at this period?
£500 a year
What % of people did the increase in income tax effect?
Less than 10%
What happened to the People’s budget?
The Lords blocked it, 350 to 75 votes
What were the consequences of the Lords blocking the budget?
Liberals were determined that the Lords should never block a measure passed by the Commons
What did the Liberals draft in 1910?
A bill to curb the power of the Lords by taking away its power of veto
What agreement did Asquith make with the King?
He was going to create new Liberal peers to flood the Lords
What were the Lords divided into by August 1911?
Diehards - those who were determined to vote against the bill
Rats - those who would rather vote for the bill than lose their dominance
Hedgers - those who were going to abstain
What was the result of the vote in the Lords?
Rats beat the Diehards - 131 to 114
Who did Balfour support?
The Hedgers
What happened to the Conservatives during this event?
They were extremely divided and Balfour was forced to resign. Replaced by Bonar Law in November 1911
Who benefited from the 1911 Parliament Act?
Liberals - Tories could never block their bills in the Lords, reduced the powers of the aristocracy
Irish Nationalists - Bills could only be delayed for 2 years, increased chances of Home Rule passing. Liberals lost lots of seats in Jan 1910, dependant on Irish
Labour - went to 40 seats in Jan 1910, increased opportunities
Who lost out because of the Parliament Act?
Conservatives - Decreased power and influence in the Lords because they could no longer veto legislation
Liberals - Reliant on Irish nationalists who wanted Home Rule, could divide the party again
How many LRC union workers were there by 1908?
Over one million
1910 election results
Liberals - 274
Conservatives - 272
Labour - 40
Irish Nationalists - 72
