Politics in wartime 1914-22 Flashcards
(45 cards)
1
Q
What was the liberal motto at the start of the war?
A
“business as usual”
2
Q
How did DORA affect people’s lives directly?
A
- Passports required for foreign travel
- Limited freedom of movement
- Conscription
- Detaining without trial
- Rationing
3
Q
How did DORA generally affect people?
A
- Censorship
- Control of factories
4
Q
How was DORA extended? How many were made during the war?
A
- DORRs (Defence of the Realm Regulations)
- 260 made
5
Q
Why did people have issues with Asquith’s leadership?
A
- He refused to be rushed into action
- His demeanour was overwhelmingly calm, making him simply looking like he lacked any dynamic action
- He was known to write love letters to a woman named Venetia during war cabinet meetings
6
Q
What did the political parties agree upon during the war?
A
A political truce, where business was undertaken in a way acceptable to all
7
Q
Who mainly criticised Asquith? What topics specifically?
A
- Conservatives
- About Gallipoli and the shell shortage
8
Q
What measures did DLG introduce as Chancellor of Exchequer?
A
- Two wartime budgets — income tax doubled to allow gov spending to increase
- Also taxed alcohol and tobacco
9
Q
How did they resolve conservative criticism against Asquith?
A
They began a wartime coalition with Asquith remaining PM
10
Q
What does DLG become in the first wartime coalition?
A
Minister of munitions
11
Q
What was DLG’s main aim at the Ministry of Munitions? Did he succeed?
A
- Produce more shells
- Supply of shells exceeds demand by 1918
12
Q
How did DLG increase the number of shells so dramatically?
A
Ministry of munitions oversees coordination of production and controls resources and labour to streamline processes and eliminate inefficiency
13
Q
How did Asquith feel about conscription?
A
- Tried to avoid it by proposing all sorts of half measures
- Knew his party would dislike it
14
Q
Who voted against conscription? Why? Any specific people?
A
- 50 Libs vote against
- They claim it’s an invasion of personal liberty
- Edward Gray and Reginald McKenna strongly against
15
Q
Why did most Liberals vote conscription in? How does this impact liberalism?
A
- They believed the circumstances made it necessary
- Damages liberalism as a political philosophy
16
Q
How did DLG react to conscription?
A
- Threatened to resign if it WASN’T voted in
- Objected to conscientious objectors being allowed to avoid it
17
Q
How did DLG use the conscription act?
A
Threatened munitions workers that they’d be sent straight to the front unless they stopped striking
18
Q
What happened in June 1916?
A
- Lord Kitchener dies at sea
- DLG was originally going to be with him, but had to stay to deal with easter rising
- DLG becomes war minister
19
Q
Why did DLG end proposing a war cabinet? Who would it consist of?
A
- Became exasperated with military incompetence
- Believed such incompetence stemmed from the fact that there were so many different opinions in the war cabinet of 23
- Proposes him, Bonar Law and Carson only on the cabinet
20
Q
What leads to the creation of a second war cabinet?
A
- Asquith insists that he be head of war cabinet
- DLG resigns and so do cons, saying they won’t serve in a cabinet w/o DLG
- Asquith also forced to resign, because he doesn’t have a majority now
21
Q
Why couldn’t Asquith find any natural allies?
A
- Labour don’t directly support him, they support the war
- Irish MPs preoccupies with Easter Rising
- Just under half (130/272) Liberal MPs declare support for Lloyd George
22
Q
How does DLG finally become PM?
A
- Bonar Law invited to form a government. He only agrees if Asquith serves under him
- Asquith says no
- DLG forms a gov instead
23
Q
What was the composition of the new war cabinet?
A
- War cabinet of 5
- Top jobs are cons
24
Q
What new secretariats were formed at this point?
A
- Committee of Imperial Defence to retain control of new gov agencies.
- “Garden Suburb” — DLG’s own private secretariat which helped instant decision-making needed for war by giving DLG expert opinions
25
What was the Maurice Debate?
British gov publicly accused by General Maurice of distorting troop strength figures to suggest that the army was stronger than in reality
26
How did Asquith use the Maurice Debate? How did DLG turn this around?
- Further split the libs. Asquith uses the accusation to ask for a no-confidence vote in government
- DLG defends himself so confidently that Asquith has no choice but to back down and loses the vote
- Even though DLG’s defence is a weak bluff claiming that any figures were provided by Maurice himself, Asquith came out looking like a deliberate trouble-maker in a time of war
27
Who was given the vote in the 1918 Representation of the People Act?
- Women over 30 (provided they met certain other conditions)
- Servicemen over 19 and all men over 21
28
Who had the right to vote taken from them by the Representation of the People Act?
Conscientious objectors had vote suspended for 5 yrs
29
What did Baldwin say about the partnership between Bonar Law and DLG?
‘The most perfect partnership in political history’
30
What were the reasons for continuing the coalition after the war?
- DLG and Bonar Law complemented eachother well
- They were fairly popular — DLG seen as “The man who won the war”, Bonar Law successfully raising war funds as chancellor
- Asquith had all the liberal funds, so ongoing liberal division meant that it was hard for DLG to stand alone
- Some believed keeping the coalition would preserve wartime unity
31
What was the Union of Democratic Control?
- Pressure group of Liberal and Labour politicians
- Protested war and campaigned for negotiated peace
32
How did DLG try to convince people once more of his liberalism?
- Introduced social reform just before the Coupon Election
- Raised the school leaving age to 14 and abolished fees for elementary education
33
How did the war destroy the Liberal ideology?
- Lost their rep as a peaceful party
- Abandoned free trade
- Conscription
34
What has been suggested as establishing Labour as the second party?
- Reform of the Franchise expanded votes into working men
- However, the no. of Labour MPs didn’t go up as significantly as this may suggest =
35
How did Labour split during the war? How was this resolved?
- Divided about whether to support war
- Ramsay Mac refuses and the press attacks him for it
- In the end, most end up supporting war
- Arthur Henderson worries about how much it’d damage their reputation to go against it
36
What was the No Conscription Fellowship?
Resisted any attempts by the state to oblige people to fight
37
What measures in government gave Labour some credibility?
Introduction of “fair play” (controls of war profiteering), fixing wartime rents at pre-war levels
38
What impact did the Stockholm Conference have on wartime cooperation? What was the Stockholm conference?
- Ended Lab coalition cooperation, with Henderson resigning from cabinet
- When a new russian gov proposed a peace settlement to be created without indemnity
- They ask all socialist parties to meet in neutral stockholm to discuss this peace
- Henderson permitted to go at first
- Then DLG backtracks after French complain to DLG about no war indemnities
39
What did Labour do after resigning from Cabinet?
- Henderson and MacDonald together create a new constitution based on ideas by activist, Sidney Webb
- Clause IV commits them to nationalisation. They also promise coop w/unions in policy formation and redistribution of wealth
- Gives party a sense of stability and confidence, since before they’d never stated their main ideas into one doc
40
Name some post-war problems DLG faced
- Demobilising 1 million men
- High inflation and declining exports
- National debt still growing
- Reintegration of servicemen into society
41
What act was intended to housing in DLG’s coalition? How did it backfire?
- Housing and Town Planning Act by Christopher Addison
- Done by a minister with lacking understanding of economics involved, meaning building industry massively overcharged and the gov ended up subsidising the building industry with public money
- Act withdrawn in 1922. Had built 200,000 houses for almost triple the building cost
42
What social policies did the post-war coalition implement?
- National Insurance extended against short-term employment
- Agricultural Act guaranteed minimum wage and maintained some wartime prices
43
What takes place at the Carlton Club?
- Baldwin warns that DLG already shattered the Liberal party and shouldn’t be allowed to do the same to the Cons
- Bonar Law also makes a speech against DLG
44
Name the scandals of DLG
- Chanak Affair
- Honours Scandal (supported by the Marconi scandal that came before, too)
45
Who replaced Bonar Law in 1921?
- Austen Chamberlain
- A DLG critic
