Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
UNIT 2: CHALLENGES TO THE STATUS QUO, C1886-1914 - Coggle Diagram
UNIT 2: CHALLENGES TO THE STATUS QUO, C1886-1914
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS C1886-1905
Sailsbury + Chamberlain
Sailsbury: sought to uphold traditional institutions such as monarchy and the government.
Chamberlain: wasn’t trusted, contributed to the falls of both the Labour Party over home rule and Balfour’s conservative government in 1905.
Reasons for conservative dominance to 1905
Divisions in the liberal party: the defection of the liberal unionists after the home rule issue strengthened the conservative position in parliament.
Middle class support: in 1865, no conservatives has returned for a London borough. In 1900, 67 out of 75 seats were held by tories- known as villa tories.
Attitudes towards imperialism: conservatives had pride in the nation and for imperialism, especially after the Boer wars. The liberals did not.
Improved Conservative Party organisation: Middleton revamped the national union, which was set up in 1867 and was used as a propaganda tool to attract working class voters in the boroughs.
Balfour 1902-1905
Nicknamed “bloody Balfour”.
His policy decisions on education, tariff reforms and lack of any real social reform programme turned the electorate away from voting conservatives.
Announced his party’s resignation from government in December 1905.
Problems of the liberal party
Gladstone believed home rule would solve the Irish problem. The 1886 home rule bill would split the party.
Gladstone was too fixated on Ireland, he failed to acknowledge home problems.
He failed to acknowledge the problems that faced the new electorate he educated (1870) and extended the franchise to (1884).
Divisions in the liberal party
There were many factors that led to the split in 1886.
Home rule: chamberlain left the party over home rule. Party split into liberals + liberal unionists, who wanted to keep Britain’s union with Ireland. Liberal unionists move to conservatives by 1895.
Divisions over social reform: old Laissez faire liberals and radical liberals, such as chamberlain, had tensions, where they favoured a stronger social reform programme.
Personal tensions: Gladstone and Chamberlain had tensions over the home rule issue. Gladstone didn’t trust him enough and refused to give him a good position in cabinet.
The development of socialist thinking and ideas
Socialism: the state controls the nations affairs, where they try to achieve equality for all.
Lots of socialist societies were being set up, such as the Fabian society set up by Sidney and Beatrice Webb in 1884.
Fabianism: the belief in gradual introduction and spread of socialism.
Believed if socialist ideas were brought about respectfully, public would support them.
Emergence of the Independent Labour Party (ILP)
Kier Hardie set it up in Bradford, January 1893.
Stood for practical reforms that would benefit the working people.
Demanded 8 hour working days, a national scheme of unemployment and sickness insurance and the end of child labour.
The Labour Representation Committee (LRC)
By 1899, the trade union movement experienced changes: it was dominated by big mass unions which resulted in the older craft unions lowering subscription rates and became more militant.
1899 TUC, agreed to hold a conference of labour groups and societies and union representatives to discuss how to gain more parliamentary representation.
LRC formed in February 1900 from union representatives, ILP and socialist groups. It’s purpose was to represent working class interests in parliament and was represented by Ramsay Macdonald.
The lib-lab pact 1903
An agreement by the LRC and the liberals in 1903 over electoral policy.
The LRC agreed not to put up candidates against liberals in any election in which the anti-conservative vote may be split.
The Liberals agreed to give the LRC a free run in 35 constituencies, where the LRC had a fair chance of winning.
LRC renamed the Labour Party in 1906.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 1906-1914
1906 election
Landslide victory for the liberals.
Liberals won around 400 seats, conservatives 157, labour 29 seats.
New liberals
Interested in moving away from Laissez faire ideology to a new view that state intervention was necessary to achieve an acceptable minimum standard of living.
More humanitarian approach to social reforms, recognising poorer areas needed state intervention and that poverty was often caused by external factors, rather than feckleness.
Herbert Samuel brought an awareness of the suffering caused by the cycle of poverty. Influenced by Booth and Rowntree.
David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill become 2 prominent figures of the new liberals.
Influence of the new liberals on politics
Campbell-bannermann compromised a cabinet made up of traditional Gladstonians, moderates (Asquith), new liberals (Lloyd George) and a labour MP. For the first time the landed classes did not dominate the cabinet.
New liberals originally had limited influence.
Scared of turning voters to labour, the liberals introduced social reforms, as a result of new liberalism.
Influence of new liberalism from 1908
Asquith appointed leader in 1908 and cabinet is shuffled to place more emphasis on social reforms.
Lloyd George becomes chancellor of exchequer, Winston Churchill the president of the board of trade.
G.R Searle
, on the liberal position in 1908:
“ there was henceforward a commitment to collectivist welfare, aimed at improving the lives of the urban poor. A new era of welfare politics had began”.
The conservatives and the house of lords
Balfour regains his seats in a by-election and lord lansdowne becomes a member of the house of lords.
Majority of the lords have conservative opinions and tendencies.
Balfour convinced lansdowne to encourage the lords to vote against liberal legislation.
Lords rejected the liberals 1909 budget under Balfour’s instructions, the lords saw it as a way of taking back power.
The people’s budget 1909
Lloyd George put through budget which aimed to raise money to finance social reforms through direct taxation or income tax.
House of Lords saw it as an attack to their landed wealth so in November threw out the budget.
Lloyd George
had confidence he would bring them back around:
“ let them realise what they are doing. They are forcing a revolution and they will get it.”
1911 parliament act
Asquith declares lords actions as unconstitutional and calls for an elections, the liberals won by 2 seats.
Proposed to deny the lords power to amend/ veto a money bill, to impose a maximum 2 year delay on a bill and hold elections every 5 years instead of 7.
Irish nationalists supported as long as home rule was re-introduced. John redmond.
Prevented undemocratic conservative dominance in the lords.
Labour influence on liberal reform legislation
Labour looked to the liberals to acknowledge it’s concerns over working conditions, unemployment and the reversal of the taff vale judgement.
Trades dispute act 1906- reversal of taff vale judgement,
Labour thought many reforms were not far enough.
Trade union support
1900, LRC was dependent on union funds.
Members of workers who belonged to unions supporting them had rose from 350,00 in 1900 to over 1 million in 1908.
More funds meant more candidates they could put up in the 1906 election.