The 1st Constitutional Crisis Flashcards
(19 cards)
What did the Constitutional Crisis involve?
The crisis of 1909-11 involved 2 general elections and a threat to flood the House of Lords with newly created Liberal peers. The power of the House of Lords had been brewing for some time, especially in an ever increasingly democratic country.
What was the ‘Disraeli Doctrine’?
In the 1870s, Conservative Benjamin Disraeli introduced how the House of Lords should use their powers to only veto or amend bills in certain circumstances;
-when opinions in the commons were very divided and a bill had passed with only a small majority
-when public opinion was against the proposal
-if the issue would result in huge, fundamental change that it should go to a general election for the people’s opinion
Why were the Unionists concerned with the power of the Lords?
The Liberals had such a massive majority in the Commons after the Liberal landslide, meaning most bills would be passed easily, therefore limiting the power of the Lords, who were mostly Conservative, when interfering with Liberal actions.
Why were the Conservatives focused on the House of Lords after the 1906 election?
The Conservatives were reduced to a mere 157 MPs, so they began to consider how they could use their continued dominance in the House of Lords to restrict the Liberals.
What did Henry Campbell-Bannerman do in 1907?
He introduced a series of resolutions calling for limitations on the powers of the lords in the amendments of legislations.
Why were Bannerman’s actions risky?
Despite the widespread support received, the Liberals were not on the safest political ground to make such judgements, with fears of Conservative revival at the next general election as they won 43% of the votes.
How did the Constitutional Crisis begin?
With the House of Lords’ rejection of the People’s budget in November 1909.
When was the People’s budget introduced?
April 1909
What did the People’s Budget propose?
- required a raised income tax on incomes over £3000 p/a from 9d to 1s 2d, and an additional tax known as ‘supertax’ on incomes over £5000.
- child allowances of £10 a year for children under 16, payable to families with an annual income of less than £500.
Why were people opposed to the People’s Budget?
- extremely radical for conservatives + as conservatives were made up of predominantly wealthy men the raised taxes would directly affect them
- would lead to increased prices on imported food
What happened in April 1909?
The People’s Budget was introduced by Exchequer Lloyd George to pay for social reform and defence.
What happened on 30th November 1909?
The House of Lords reject the budget. This was extremely controversial as the HoL was not meant to interfere in ‘money bills’. As the government had no authority to collect taxes, they had to call for a general election on the issue.
What happened in January 1910?
The general election.
What did the Liberals campaign for in this election?
The Liberals campaigned ‘the issue of democracy’ against the power of the hereditary House of Lords, it was given the name ‘Peers Vs the People’.
What were the results of this election?
The Liberals won narrowly, ruining the majority they had won in the 1906 election;
Liberals- 275 Conservatives- 273 Labour/Irish Nationalists- 40
What was the significance of the general election’s result?
The Liberals now had to rely on the support of the Labour and the Irish Nationalists for a majority in order to pass the budget. The Irish Nationalists believed this would put them in a good bargaining position to push for Irish Home Rule.
When did the People’s Budget become law?
28th April 1910
What was Edward VII’s opinion on the budget?
Despite Edward VII’s private warnings for the HoL to pass the budget to avoid such a crisis, the HoL vetoes the new budget on 30th November 1909. However they clarified they would pass the bill as soon as the Liberals obtained the electoral mandate for it.
Was the budget a success economically?
Yes, it raised more money than revenue estimates had predicted, giving a surplus of £5.6m in 1910-11.
