Was the 1918 Representation of the People Act the main reason for the decline of Liberals and the rise of the Labour Party in the years 1918-1929?
Though the Representation of the People Act 1918 was significant reason for the decline of the Liberals and the rise of the Labour Party in the years 1918-1929 it was however not the main reason, the concept of Unity within the three most prevalent parties in Britain( Conservatives, Labour, and Liberal )was. This essay will explore and evaluate the reasons for the descent of Liberal Party and the ascension of the Labour Party by exploring the significance of each reason being: the concept of Unity, the 1918 Representation of the People Act, Economic Problems and lastly Opposition towards the Liberals.
…show more content…
Evidently the size of the electorate act tripled from 7.7 million people who were entitled to vote to 21.4 million with women making 43% percent of the overall electorate. This resulted in the working class people now possessing great electoral opportunity which involved discovering new, different sympathies in the Labour Party who was heavily connected to trade unions, exclusively working for the rights of the working class, making it appealing to vote for Labour as the party had gained more acceptance and were immediately the option for the working class to create Britain with more equality. Therefore with so many people enfranchised in Britain people felt they had a better chance of electing their preferred parties into government making it so that Labour became a real contender in the 1918 coupon election where it …show more content…
David Lloyd George's promise of social reform was not met and the lack thereof resulted the Liberals decline in popularity. His failure to provide social reform and in fact his implementation of cuts such as in the case of the Geddes Axe where spending cuts of £86 million were proposed notably in education and health undercut Lloyd George's promise of a ‘land fit for heroes’. Because of these economic problems high unemployment prevailed reaching 2 million as the staple industries were uncompetitive and therefore as industrial unrest existed in events such as 1921 April national miners’ strike because of wage cuts. All this economic uses resulted in anxiety within the coalition government who feared Lloyd George dictatorial style seen in the Chanak Affair where he without consulting his coalition partners ordered British troops to protect Greece from Turkish forces, would split the party. Lloyd George's resignation after the Carlton club meeting after 187 to 87 Conservative MPs agreed to abandon the coalition demonstrated that the Liberals were no Longer fit to govern and made space for the Liberal party to establish itself as the 2nd major party in the Britain. Later in the years 1924-1929 Conservative dominance would serve as another key reason for Liberals decline
The focus of chapter one is on the tactics employed by the suffragist movement and highlights the importance of a parliamentary
This essay will address whether New Labour contained policies with which it wished to pursue, or was solely developed in order to win elections. It is important to realise whether a political party that held office for approximately 13 years only possessed the goal of winning elections, or promoted policies which it wished to pursue. If a party that held no substance was governing for 13 years, it would be unfair to the people. New Labour was designed to win elections, but still contained policies which it wished to pursue. To adequately defend this thesis, one must look at the re-branding steps taken by New Labour and the new policies the party was going to pursue. Through analysis, it will be shown that New Labour promoted policies in regards
Conservative Dominance in British Politics Between 1885 and 1902 During this period in history, it is clear to say that the conservatives dominated British politics. However, is it due to conservative strengths or liberal weaknesses? Although the weakness and the divisions within the liberal party helped the conservative cause, the latter party were dominant due to their unrivalled strength in politics. There were many reasons for these strengths, but it is safe to say that this was the main factor for supremacy in politics in the later 1800's.
The Licensing Act and the 1902 Education Act went against the strict political and social views of the non-conformists. This was enough for them to go out and vote Liberal in 1906. This accounts for a 25% increase in Liberal votes in 1906. After years of Tory dominance the Liberals turned the 1900 election result on its head. A major significance was... ...
rrick Thomas To conclude, in my opinion it would be fair to allocate much of the blame for the result of the 1906 election to the Conservative Party under Balfour. Though in fairness the Liberals, through clever policy did capitalise on Balfour’s mistakes. Perhaps Balfour’s biggest mistake was his constant misjudgement of public opinion, this is especially true in regards to the working classes. Between 1900 and 1906 Balfour failed to realise the potential of the working class, he continued to upset them through such political misjudgements as Taff Vale, or the Unemployment Workers Act 1905.
Lloyd George's Policies How did Lloyd George become an outdated asset in 1922 from a wartime hero in 1918 in the space of four years? Lloyd George’s own policies and his dependence on the conservatives did play a part in his political decline; however this alone didn’t account for his failure and fall. A range of events, issues and reactions played a pivotal part in his downfall. Before 1918 LG had long been the most dynamic Liberal minister, he injected energy into the Liberal party to show that the party wasn’t doomed to decline. During the war he was made Minister of Munitions, where he was the one undoubted success of the coalition.
Socially, America was gaining strength, with women such as Jane Addams, a women's rights activist, entering the progressive fight. According to a study, the percent of eligible voters who cast ballots in Presidential elections were at a somewhat steady rate from 1904 to 1916, ranging from 59-65%, but in the 1920 election, only 49% of eligible voters actually cast ballots. (Document J) Although some may argue that the percent decrease was due to most Americans not liking any of the elected Presidential candidates, and therefore not voting, this is untrue because this was the first election in which women could vote, which threw of the ratio of voters and non-voters. In addition, all four candidates running for the title of President, Debs, Roosevelt, Wilson, and Taft, were all progressives, and wanted to reduce the number of trusts. This gave all voters, men or women, no incentive to vote. In the end of the election, Woodrow Wilson won, with 435 electoral votes, while Roosevelt had 88, and Taft received a mere e...
The 1918 Representation of the People Act changed the status of women a great deal, firstly it obviously allowed the women that qualified to vote, and this was a great improvement to what they could previously do before this act was passed, however now that women could vote there was a chance for many different acts to be passed that could further advance the rights of women in Britain. One of these acts that was passed from women being able to vote was the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919. This act enabled women to go in to jobs in the legal profession and civil service. This then further showed the equality between men and woman becoming closer and women were slowly but surely achieving their goals and receiving different abilities and privileges as a result of their campaigns. Women's status in society also changed a lot after these two acts as women could now do more in society, for example it would now be a great deal easier for a woman to go in to a shop and purchase something for themselves with nowhere near as much hassle; this co...
There were two major political consequences of the Great Depression. The first was that new political parties were formed in Canada. The new political parties were the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), the Social Credit Party, and the Union Nationale (UN). The CCF was founded by J.S. Woodsworth and believed in the establishment of minimum wage, accident and sickness insurance, old age pensions and unemployment insurance. The Social Credit Party was founded by William Aberhart. He believed that governments should issue money to everyone so that they could buy goods in a form of “social credits”. In the 1935 provincial elections he took 56 of 63 seats giving him a total victory. The UN was founded by Maurice Duplessis due to the union of Action Liberale Nationale and the Conservative Party. They promoted the traditional values of the Catholic Church and believed in a rural lifestyle. The second political consequence was a conflicted relationship between the federal and the provincial governments. The depression showed the federal government that provincial governments did not have enough money to carry out significant projects.
Before 1870 there were few bills passed to achieve much for the movement. One bill that was passed, which did not directly affect women in too many ways was one of the starting points of the campaign for the vote. This was the 1867 Reform Act. In 1832, the Great Reform Act was passed, this allowed most middle class men to vote, but not working class men. But, the 1867 Reform Act changed this. This Act lead to all men who had lived at the same address for 12 months to be able vote. This meant that many more working class men were able to vote in the General elections. After this Act, many women felt that if the majority of men, regardless of class, were able to vote, why should women not be able to vote as well.
The Populist Party grew and their views on reform and their thoughts with the help of the Progressives became Amendments and laws. This period was characterized as the “ Age of Reform” my beliefs on this characterization was that is was perfect fit for this time period. The change within the country was for the better of the working class and the Adamson Act and the Sixteenth Amendment was the thoughts of the Populist Party but with the help of the Progressives it became what they are today. With the struggles of the 1893 it looked like people in 1920 where better off and they strived from that and keep moving to help create a better country year after
When the Great Depression occurred right around 1930, William Lyon Mackenzie King and his government did not respond strongly . Although the depression was evidently obvious, King believed that the economic crisis was temporarily and only patience was needed to overcome it . It took a while for King to realize how the depression was affecting the politics . King believed that welfare was a provincial responsibility and no one else’s . During the depression, all provinces wanted to increase the tax in Ottawa, but he did not understand the concept of it since other provinces were going to use the tax for themselves. King thought that it was necessary for the provinces to take initiative and increase their taxes . As the depression hit rock bottom many Canadians were unemployed. As Canada was changing right in front of his eyes, King’s perspectives did not show change. In one of his speeches he declared, “I submit that there is not evidence in Canada today of an emergency situation which demands anything of that kind” . King did not face with depression in the most orderly matter but he was a great Liberal leader, he kept the Liberals together when the Conservatives were falling apart and new political parties were developed to compete for the votes . During the depression, King held an election that was one of the most important events that occurred in...
During the early 1900’s the president of the United States of America was a man called Theodore Roosevelt. Although he began his term as president with the death of President McKinley, his period in the White House turned out to be one of the most progressive periods in American history. His progressive policies influenced the direction that the country would take in the twentieth century. In the following paper I will explain several of Theodore Roosevelt’s progressive polices. Specifically I will deal with his labor policies and his new nationalism policy. My thesis will be that these policies had a genuinely positive effect on America as a whole nation.
After the end of the World War I in 1920, the United States entered in a period where great changes were made. During this period known as the New Era of the 1920’s, many innovations were taking place as well as many economic developments, which were stimulating the way through a change in America’s society. However, while for some Americans this was an era of better opportunities for living, some others were suffering the consequences. Later on, with an unequal distribution of wealth and low incomes, America’s economy was in a vulnerable point of a catastrophic collapse. And so it was. By the end of the 1920’s, when the stock market crashed, the prosperity of that period disappeared and the nation was sunk into an economic catastrophe known as the Great Depression. Many factors constituted the reasons for this collapse, for example, the Wall Street crash, the oligopolies domination over American industries, the weaknesses in some industries (textile, coal and agriculture), and also the government policies and international economic difficulties. Then, by the early 1930 with the depression spreading and affecting the entire society, the policies, philosophy and optimism that Herbert Hoover had brought to his presidency was being challenged. As a result, by the time of the elections in 1932, Hoover lost the presidency against the candidate of the Democratic Party, Franklin D. Roosevelt and his campaign of what he called the New Deal. Based on this, FDR pushed towards many solutions for the “crises of a collapsing financial system, crippling unemployment, and agricultural and industrial breakdown” (Goldfield, Page 704). Even thought when various changes were made, it was during the period right after the elections of 1936 that polit...
It was always very difficult for people to agree about politics in the 1900s. Many people wanted to make changes or improvements in the government to promote a stronger d...