britain transformed 1918-79

• what were the growing problems facing the liberal party in 1918?

  - Home Rule in Ireland

  - women's suffrage

  - trade union power

  - division within the party
• why was the liberal party divided?

  - consrciption

  - coalition with the conservatives
• what was the labour party created from and when?

  set up by the Trade Union Congress in 1900
• when was the Representation of the People Act?

  1918
• what did RoPA do for the Labour Party?

  expanded the voter base as it triple the elecorate so most of the working class could vote.
• what was the conservative party like in 1918?

  - presented as the party for the middle class

  - in a coalition with DLG (liberal) until 1922
• what did RoPA do for the Conservative Party?

  because women over 30 were alowed to vote, they used conservative ideas to attract women.
• why did the liberal party decline?

  - Asquith Vs. D.L.G. division

  - conservatives in the coalition were 3x more popular than DLG's liberals.

  - DLG sold 1500 knighthoods, damaging his credibility.

  - conservatives left the coalition in 1922

  - growth of Labour Party - strong opposition.

  - unable to respond to changes (home rule, women's vote)

  - rise of class based politics (broad church failing)
• what were the effects of WW1 on liberal leadership?

  - split in leadership

  - D.L.G's leadership attacked by Asquith after he lied to parliament about the no. of troops on the front

  - criticisms of liberal leadership

  - the message of progressive, 'new liberalism' was set aside during the war

  - many policies needed during the war went against traditional liberal values and ideologies.
• how did electoral changes affect the liberals?

  - they failed to reach out to new groups after RoPA

  - RoPA gave the vote to working class - natural labour voters

  - redistribution of seats + new constituencies reflected increased population and conservative voters in affluent areas.

  - electoral deposits were expensive for liberals

  - FPTP system encouraged a 2 party system and liberals were the 3rd

  - they struggled to understand the new electorate
• how did post-war organisation affect the liberals?

  - they failed to reorganise party operations after the war

  - DLG sold knighthoods

  - 2 liberal parties fought the elections - DLG vs. Asquith

  - labour party provided competition for the progressive vote

  - they failed to understand public demand

  - they failed to have a convicning message

  - party split

  -
• why did the labour party grow?

  - RoPA created high voters base

  - seen as party for the working class

  - labour emerged united after the war unlike the liberals.

  - trade unions membership surged during the war and unionists formed majority of the party's membership.
• why did the labour party fail to benefit more from liberal decline?

  - had to emphasize moderateness

  - they faced financial problems when in power

  - difficult industrial relations threatened party funding

  - 1924 zinoviev letter

  - they were linked to communism

  - working class lacked political drive

  - working class saw unions as political representation

  - working class women more appealed to conservative family values
• when was D. L. George prime minister?

  1916-1922
• when was MacDonald prime minister?

  - 1924 (9 months)

  - 1929-1935 (national gov. from 1931)
• when was the zinoviev letter published and what was it?

  - 1924

  - letter published by the Daily Mail supposedly from a soviet politician to the british communist party saying the Labour Party promoted communism.
• what did the 1924 housing act do and who passed it?

  - MacDonald (labour)

  - provided funds to local authorities to build houses.
• when was Stanley Baldwin PM?

  - 1923-24

  - 1924-29

  - 1935-37
• why was Stanley Baldwin popular?

  - seen as moderate

  - he didn't care about political conflict

  - he appealed to all social classes

  - used radio to talk to people
• what was the 1930 housing act?

  Cleared 750,000 slum housing and replaced them with modern ones by 1939
• what was the 1930 coal miners act?

  attempted to ensure better pay for miners but owners were able to ignore it
• what happened to the pound in 1931?

  it devalued
• why was MacDonald expelled from the labour party in 1931?

  because of the spending cuts MacDonald pushed through
• what percentage cut did MacDonald make to unemployment benefits?

  10%
• why was the national government formed in 1931?

  1. Pound devalued due to WSC so MacDonald proposed spending cuts

  2. spending cuts enforced by MacDonald expelled him from the labour party, leaving him party-less as PM

  3. MacDonald continued as PM under a National Government to face the economic crisis created by the WSC
• why did the government begin rearmament in 1934?

  - threat of Hitler/fascism in Europe

  - threat of fascism within Britain
• how many members did the BUF have in 1934?

  50,000
• what was the BUF?

  British Union of Fascists
• who led the BUF?

  Oswald Mosley
• what domoniated MacDonald's premiership in 1931-35?

  the great depression + its effects
• when was the gold standard abandoned?

  1914 and finally in 1931
• which party began to regain popularity and votes in the 1930s, against the national government?

  labour
• what did labour become divided over during Stanley's premiership in 1935-37?

  - peace and security

  - the left of the party believed rearmmament made war more likely.

  - the centre of the party (led by Atlee) thought collective security would make war impossible so rearmament was unnecessary.
• what policy was Chamberlain known for?

  his policy of appeasement for Hitler.
• why did British voters reject communism?

  largely due to the traditions + strength of the trade union + Labour movements.
• what was consensus?


  an agreement between parties on running the economy + welfare state
• what did both labour and conservatives believe in after WW2?

  - full employment

  - mixed economy + heavy industries nationalised

  - welfare state + NHS
• why did labour (under Atlee) win the 1945 election?

  - negative memories of conservative pre-war government + economic hardship

  - they promised housing, jobs, social security + a NHS

  - they promised to implement the recommendations of the 1942 Beveridge Report

  - lacklustre election campaign by Churchill.

  - Labour more in tune with the people's demands

  - many labour ministers made responsible and successful wartime contributions
• what was the beveridge report and when was it?

  - 1942

  - it was a report calling for the creation of a welfare state to tackle the '5 giant evils' - Idleness, Squalor, Disease, Ignorance and want
• why did labour's vote decline during their premiership in 1945-51?

  - middle class stopped voting labour

  - working class size slowly declining - from 78% in 1931 to 72% in 1951.

  - austerity

  - rationing continued after the war

  - tax in 1949 was 45%