The Liberal Crisis 1906-1914

Key Parties and ideology
1. Liberals
  1. faddist
  2. after 1886 only 3/20 years did they form a government
    1. home rule caused a split in the party
    2. Liberal unionists moved to conservatives
    3. Boer War caused a division of imperialism
  3. pro free trade
  4. Whigs - a group who dominated politics
  5. non conformists
  6. working class - traditionally trade union pre 1900
  7. New Liberalism 1906
    1. stressed freedom from evils such as poverty, low wages and insecurity
    2. believed in intervention by the state
    3. eradicated 'self help' and recognised that poorer sections of society needed help
      1. 'safety nets' to prevent hard-working but vulnerable citizens falling into destitution
    4. continued to believe in free trade and in freedman to do business without control
      1. therefore did not intend to provide welfare for all workers only for the 'deserving poor'
    5. redistribution of income through taxation and spending
      1. it would stimulate the economy and general prosperity
    6. this new ideology could reunite the party and keep their support from WC through reforms to reduce competition from Labour and give Liberal a clear alternative to Cons policies
    7. social reforms were key to improving national efficient and maintaing their position in the world
    8. Lloyd George, Asquith and Churchill were key supporters however the entire party had not been converted by 1906
    9. leading thinkers included the economist J.A. Hobson and the socialist L.T Hobhouse
      1. argued that old liberalism had been too concerned with individual liberty and it was out of touch with the working class
      2. T.H Green also emphasised that society was more than just a collection of individuals but more like a living creature in which all the parts worked together and depended on each other for process and so there should be a fairer distribution of wealth
2. Conservatives
  1. 1905 faced criticism and a downturn in trade
  2. 1870s support from MC,WC,UC
  3. wanted limited interference in business
  4. wanted to keep Ireland part of GB
  5. wanted a strong foreign policy
  6. great landowners, church of england and big businesses
Social
1. Context
  1. society was divided into classes; Upper class (wealthy landowners factory owners), Middle class ('entrepreneurs' and 'professionals'), lower middle class (shop assistants, clerks), the working class (75% of pop manual labour)
  2. Poverty
    1. In 1889 extent of poverty was around 30.7% and people within this lived below the poverty line
      1. Seebohm Rowntree concluded that the main causes were economic; unemployment or low wages
    2. Rowntree found out that 28% of the population of York were living in poverty
    3. the findings of Booth and Rowntree contributed to the growth of New Liberalism which was to have impact of the range and extent of social legislation that was passed after 1906
  3. Changes in taxation and the people's budget
    1. had to introduced in order to pay for social reforms which were going to cost £16 million
    2. Lloyd George introduced a rang of new taxes designed to tax the rich
      1. included 'progressive taxation' incomes under 3000 paid 9d per pound and over 3000 a year paid 1s2d per pound
        Super tax for those who earned over 5000 addition 6d
        3d per gallon tax on petrol
    3. fierce resistance from the house of lords
      1. Conservatives claimed it was a deliberate act of class war against the rich
2. The social and welfare reforms
  1. at start of 20th century no state provision for the poor due to laissez faire
    1. last resort was poor law offering wither 'outdoor relief' or the parish workhouse
  2. 1906 Education Act; local authorities could provide free school meals
    1. By 1914 14 million free school meals a year
    2. permissive. In 1913 only half of LEAs were providing school meals
  3. 1907 Education Act (medical inspection)
    1. By 1914 3/4 of LEAs provided medical inspection
    2. provided only a very cursory check and not always treatment
  4. 1908 children's Act made parental neglect illegal and illegal to sell tobacco or alcohol to children
    1. state offering minimum standards to care and protection
  5. 1908 Old age pension Act
    1. provided 5 shillings a week for singles persons and 7s for married
    2. scheme was no contributory i.e. paid by other people. 1 million pensioners by 1915
    3. Only paid elderly poor only poorest got full amount. It was only the bar minimum for survival
  6. 1909 Trades borads set up to fix minimum wages and regulate conditions
    1. covered 200,000 workers in four trades e.g lace making and tailoring
    2. extended to 6 trades by 1913
    3. only covered the 'sweated trades' and too few inspectors
  7. 1909 Labour exchanges set up places where job seekers and employers could meet
    1. 2 million workers ha registered by 1914and 430 exchangers were finding 3000 jobs a day
    2. every worker who found a job three did not and state was not creating jobs for the unemployed
  8. 1911 National Insurance (unemployment act)
    1. the fund enabled contributing workers to receive a weekly benefit if unemployed
    2. covered 2.25 million workers enabled unemployed families to avoid destitution
    3. only applied to certain trades e.g. building and shipbuilding and only became operational in 1912
  9. 1911 National Insurance (sickness) Act
    1. compulsory fund which workers and employers contributed to
    2. covered 13 million workers and there was a maternity grant for women and a disability benefit
    3. only covered workers earning below 160 pa and only covered the contributor so not the whole family
      1. only 13 million of the 45 million pop were included
  10. provided a 'lifebelt' and set a firm foundation for later reform
  11. Limitations
    1. major areas were left untouched
      1. housing remained in short supply 1909 town planning act was left 'permissive'
      2. no reform of poor law
      3. no reform to education 1906 education bill was destroyed by HofL
    2. large families received no specific aid
    3. not all legislation was compulsory
Economy
1. Staple Industries
  1. Positives
    1. 60% of exports came from the textile, steel, coal and shipbuilding industries
    2. Britain owned half of the world's shipping before 1914
    3. despite competition output of steel and iron increased
    4. coal output increased; 100 million mined in 1870 and 287 million in 1913
    5. new industries such as electronic engineering, chemicals and motor vehicle production were prospering rapidly
      1. expanding faster than the economy as a whole e.g growth rate of 3.8% a year compared with an overall growth rate in manufacturing of just over 2%
    6. London remained the commercial centre of the world and its dominance was unchallenged
    7. the availability of cheaper food meant that the value of wages was consistently rising
  2. Limitations
    1. By 1913 there were concerns about Britain's dominant position being eroded by Germany and America
      1. 'late-Victorian recession'
    2. in 1914 Britain had 25% of the world's trade this had decreased from 40% in 1870
    3. lack of investments in new technologies to improve production of goods which led to foreign competition and decrease in profits
      1. America and Germany rivals pioneered more efficient and effective ways of making iron and the British steel industry was regarded as 'pessimism and a lack of courage'
      2. lack of investment due industries being so established therefore less modern and thus making it more expensive to change
      3. only 8% of coal was mechanically cut in 1914 compared to 25% in America in 1900
    4. imports grew faster than exports leading to a 'trade gap'
    5. Lack of progress in 'new' industries
      1. By 1906 new industries based on advanced science were becoming more important and Germany and USA kept up with these changes
      2. e.g. German chemical industry was twice the size of the British by 1913
      3. the large scale development of electrification of tramways and factories began ten years after America
    6. a 'low wage economy'
      1. The Americans introduced a 'high wage' economy where the workers were paid enough to buy the goods they produced. This ensured high demand and production
      2. whereas in Britain only the rich and middle class could buy the new manufactured products therefore keeping the domestic market quite small
    7. In long-term decline
    8. Free Trade 1906 therefore lost out on domestic trade
2. Agriculture
  1. positives
    1. 1914 changed their focus of production to dairy farming and beef cattle
    2. home demand for fresh milk and high-quiality meat remained strong
  2. limitations
    1. 1850 just under 2 million were working in agriculture by 1901 this had decreased to under 1,400,000
      1. due to mechanisation and because the britsh were eating more food imported from foreign countries
    2. agricultural depression and foreign competition for cheap grain
    3. farmland was used to gain social status as countrymen bought by factory owners and traders
    4. Foreign Comp from America (wheat) and NZ and Australia (meat)
3. Trade and Invisible Earnings
  1. positives
    1. world's leading trading nation
      1. 1914 30% of the goods an services produced in GB were sold abroad
    2. GB world leader in banking investment an insurance; countries invested in British enterprises
    3. helped Britain maintain a healthy balance of payments
    4. By 1913 around 32% of Britain's total national wealth was in investments overseas
      1. about 40% of it went to the British Empire an most to the USA and South America
Political
1. Liberals won the 1906 election with an overall majority; 401 seats against 157 for the Conservatives
  1. Conservatives downfall: Why did they lose the 1906 election l
    1. Boer War 1899-1902
      1. S-T in 1900 helped cons win an electoral victory because of the patriotic support for the gov and the war split the Liberal party
        Cons 402 seats and Libs 184
      2. L-T effects
        lasted 3 years therefore costly in lives and money
        national efficiency
        needed 450,000 troops to defeat 600,000 Dutch Boers
        volunteers weren't fit for military service
        gave the party a poor reputation
        'methods of barbarism' Henry Campbell-Bannerman
        concentration camps
        26000 women and children died
        lack of sanitation
        Chinese Slavery 1902-04
        sent Chinese Labourers to work in gold mines as they would work for very low wages
        moral outcry by non conformists about treatment
        men and women separated, cramped
        Britain trade unions feared that employers might bring them into britain so pushing down all wages
        took British jobs therefore increasing unemployment and so causing opposition which took away voters
        Balfour failed to foresee the anger would cause amongst WC
      3. Dispute between British and Dutch settlers as to who controlled S-A
      4. proved to be the principal catalyst for change
    2. Balfour's Education Act 1902
      1. before 1902, Anglican and Catholic schools had been funded by their churches
      2. The Act provided for all schools to be funded from local rates
        upset the non conformists who were traditional Liberal supporters
        their taxes might be spent on schools to which they strongly objected i.e Roman Catholic and church of england schools
        70 000 people protested by not paying rates in 1903
        granted subsidies to church schools from local rates
        Therefore if non-conformists lived in an area where there was a Church of England or a Catholic school, the rates they pay would go in part to towards the funding of that school
        Their fierce campaign was supported by the Liberals and resulted in a Liberal revival
        Led to thousands of dissenters who had abandoned Gladstonian Liberalism over Home Rule returning to the party
      3. improved the education system
        extended the principle of state education into secondary
        raised school leaving age to 12
        national efficiency
        created local education authorities
      4. According to Blewett, an analysis of by-election results after 1900 shows that there was a marked increase in support for the Liberals after the passage of the education act
        the unionist alliance had been winning by elections e.g. had won 9/10 between 1900 and 1902
        This is when the Boer war ended in victory and the economic conditions were fair - two factors that should have favoured the conservative government
    3. The Taff Vale case 1901
      1. lost support due to their failure to take part of the trade unions
      2. dispute between Taff Vale railway company and the railway workers' trade union which led to strike action
        workers were sued by company for £23,000 making future strike action v difficult
      3. Balfour could have reversed it but he only set up the royal commission this upset the WC as they needed parliamentary representation
        he believed it was a matter for the courts
        this therefore reinforced the conviction amongst workers that the Cons were opposed to their interests
    4. Licensing Act 1904
      1. Aimed at reducing the number of public houses
      2. annoyed non conformists because they proposed to compensate brewers and publicans for the cancellation of licenses
        they counted for 600,000 votes
      3. resorted unionist voters back to Liberal
    5. Tariff Reform campaign
      1. biggest policy misjudgement
      2. launched in 1903 by Chamberlain - he wanted to reintroduce tariffs
        'imperial preference'
        Annotations:
        lower tariff for goods coming into Britain from the British Empire than goods imported from non-empire countries
        he argued that tariffs would protect British industry which would result in more jobs, provide revenue for social reform and strengthen british empire
        made a speech in Birmingham and resulted in Churchill defecting to the Liberals
        In September 1903, Chamberlain resigned from the government and leading free traders in the Cabinet also resigned
      3. WC and MC feared this would mean dearer food and falling living standards
      4. reform divided the party.e. the unionist alliance and gov and Churchill voted against the issue with the Liberals in 1904 after defecting the floor in Birmingham
        Duke of Devonshire resigned from politics
      5. sparked by the Boer War concern over national efficiency
      6. Between August 1903 and January 1906 there were 17 by elections and none of these were won by the conservatives
    6. Lib-Lap Pact 1903
      1. Liberals agreed that they would not oppose Labour candidates in th next election in 30 selected constituencies
      2. In return the LRC promised to restrict their candidates in other constituencies and so prevent a split in the anti-conservative vote
    7. Balfour Himself
      1. Balfour's timing of the Election
        conservatives were clearly weak but he thought Liberals were weaker due to the public clashing of November 1905 between Lord Rosebury and Campbell Bannerman
        liberals weren't divided as Rosebury was unpopular
      2. The Education Act
        Salisbury is known to have been concerned about the political consequences of the 1902 education bill and he felt that the party couldn't afford to strain too far the loyalties of a powerful section of their followers namely the liberal unionists
        The Act was a mistake and since Balfour closely supported it he can be said to be responsible
      3. Tariff Reform
        didn't take a strong enough stance against tariffs even though it is said that he realised that the British public opinion would never accept food taxes
        since Balfour was Prime Minister and he realised that Chamberlain's policy would be electorally damaging, he should have acted decisively to prevent this happening
      4. The Working Class
        the Chinese Slavery and Taff Vale both alienated the working class
        given that there had been substantial support for unionist candidates from working votes in 1900, this may have had an important bearing on the 1906 election
  2. Liberal's Win
    1. strong leadership and a united party
      1. e.g. free trade, education act and feelings over Boer War
    2. Election Campaigns
      1. propaganda to exploit conservative mistakes e.g. 'bread and butter issue'
        e.g. a poster campaign played on people's fears by showing two loaves that could be bought for the same money - a large one under free trade and a small one under protection
      2. Campbell Bannerman was to promote the party as a "Broad Church" in which no party policy should be allowed to predominate
    3. promised welsh disestablishment of the Anglican Church
      1. support from non-conformists also from education act
    4. put home rule aside therefore increase in support from irish
    5. Lib-Lab pact
    6. Boer War removed the Irish shadow from the party and diverted attention away from internal disputes
    7. 1906 Election won 397 seats giving thm an overall majority of 241
2. Position of Labour
  1. as a result of the Lib Lab pact of 1903 the LRC won 29 sears
  2. once in parliament renamed themselves the Labour Party
  3. Limitations
    1. The new MPs were working men with limited formal education and administrative experience
    2. The 30 MPs did not form a strong cohesive body as it consisted of ILP socialists an trade union officials
    3. Keir Hradie did not have the qualities to hold the MPs together and create and effective force within the HofC
    4. ILP criticised Labour party for not having a programme independent from that of the Liberal party
    5. The Osbourne Judgement
      1. challenged the right of his union to demand political levy
        However act repealed in 1913
    6. Confusion over what kind of programme they wanted
      1. e.g. a radical socialist programmes which aimed for collective ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange
      2. e.g. or a more pragmatic programme i.e. getting broad agreement in Parliament for a number of limited, practical approaches to improve working conditions
    7. relied on support/membership from the TUC
    8. In 12 by-elections between 1910 and 1914 Labour failed to win one seat and lost three to the Liberals
      1. suggests a working class base of support for the Liberals
        However there are questions over whether the Liberal Party's reliance on business for finance fatally undermined its ability to appeal to the working class
  4. Positives
    1. 1906-1914 trade union membership rose from 900,00 to 1.5 million
      1. number of trade union affiliations to Labour grew by 80% between 1906 and 1914
    2. In 1906 there were 83 local Labour societies by 1914 this number has increased to 158
    3. 30 Labour MPs had been elected in Jan 1906 and 24 Liberal MPs were trade unionists
    4. 1884 Reform Act enfranchised a lot more of the working class
    5. the Independent Labour Party formed in 1893 where 120 delegates attended including socialists from labour clubs, the SDF and Fabians - It drew on grassroots support from a number of regions
      1. 35,000 members by 1895
      2. however the ILP lost in all 28 constituencies where it had candidates and Hardie also lost his seat leaving the party with no representation in the commons
    6. LRC formed in 1899 with the added representation of trade unions
      1. however in 1900 only won 2 seats in parliament
      2. Taff Vale influenced a swing of trade unionist support behind the LRC. E.g. membership rose to 850,000 and annual revenue had grown to £5000 by 1903 which helped to finance elections
    7. Lib-Lab Pact allowed the LRC to boost their numbers in Parliament as the Liberals would not oppose the LRC candidate in some constituencies to avoid splitting the vote in return for support for the Liberals in Parliament
      1. 1906 election 29 LRC MPS returned to Parliament
    8. Labour was well organised and making progress e.g. 14 Labour seats outnumbered the Liberal's 12 in Leeds
      1. Labour were also successful in London County Council elections
    9. The Daily Herald newspaper was founded in 1911 to spread and support the Labour message
    10. 1911 Lloyd George granted all MPs a salary of £400 which would have made it more appealing for trade unionist s to become MPS and support the Labour party

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The Liberal Crisis 1906-1914

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	Created by Niamh Quinn over 9 years ago