A complete overview of the social, political, economic and military developments in Britain between 1919 and 1939. Includes statistics, timelines and historian views on the changes in interwar Britain. Made for the CIE/CAIE A level History syllabus but can be used for other exam boards. Covers the ...
Britain: 1919-39
How and why did politics change
during this period?
The growth and periods in power of the Labour
Party and its leadership
Issues faced by the Labour Party during office
Social/Cultural Issues
● Country was not ready for drastic change .
● Campbell Case - involved charges against a British communist newspaper editor, J.
R. Campbell, for alleged "incitement to mutiny" caused by his publication of a
provocative open letter to members of the military. The charges were overturned by
MacDonald who was interfering in the course of justice.
➔ Scandal led to Macdonald resigning.
Military Issues
● Decided to cut short a lot of things during the Depression.
● Cut the military budget which resulted in Britain being under prepared for the war.
Economic Issues
● Wall Street Crash
○ Unable to cope with rising employment
○ Government took little action
○ Liberals offered solutions which was rejected by the Labour Party which led to
them being blamed
● Financial Crisis in the government due to the Wall Street Crash and their inability to
deal with it
○ Severe pay cuts for public sector workers were imposed
● Large withdrawal of gold from the country by investors.
○ Proposed pay cuts (10% cut in unemployment benefit) which were extremely
controversial (won 11 votes to 9)
○ Due to this controversiality, MacDonald offered to resign but was kept as
Prime Minister of the National Government
Political/Ideological Issues
● First problem was that they were a minority government meaning that they were
reliant on other parties to implement anything.
○ Somewhat successful as they were able to cooperate.
● Myths that the Party would seek to make radical changes in 1924.
● The Zinovievb letter was a fake document published and sensationalised by the
British Daily Mail newspaper four days before the general election of October 1924.
Daily Mail published articles saying that they were a communist party in disguise
controlled by the Russians which led to them losing the next election.
● Formation of BUF, opposed ideology of syndicalism.
● MacDonald appointed minister who were not fit and struggled with their department
,Key People of MacDonald’s 1924 Labour government
MacDonald - Prime minister and Foreign Secretary
● Successes in foreign policy
○ Most notably the Dawes Plan
Arthur Henderson - Home Secretary
● Was in the war coalition government
Philip Snowden - Chancellor of the Exchequer
Successes and Failures
Successes Failures
● They showed the public that they ● They did not manage well with the
were not a radical party. crisis - did not propose solutions or
● Dawes Plan - MacDonald helped to accept others’ proposals
formulate. ● Main goal was to deal with
● Creation of National Government in unemployment - but not able to
a time of crisis - prevent damage successfully deal with it. Harshly
from WSC. restricted.
● Public perception of them was
tarnished by media campaigns - e.g.
Campbell case and the Daily Mail.
● Ruined the economy - did not take
on board Keynesian economic
policy.
The changing fortunes of the Conservative and
Liberal Parties and leadership
Liberal Party
A.J.P. Taylor goes as far as to suggest that ‘Old-fashioned British liberalism really ended in
1874’ since the British Party of the early 20th century no longer, for the most part, followed
the ideology of classical liberalism.
How did the Versailles settlement impact on the Liberals?
● Originally British people approved of the Treaty
● Initially Lloyd George pledged that there would be no revenge peace, using the harsh
settlement that Germany had imposed on France as a warning
● He quickly changed opinion as the 1918 General Election approached. Sensing that
the people wanted revenge, he began using aggressive slogans like ‘Punish the
Kaiser’, and ‘Make Germany Pay’.
● Following the Peace conference, he continued to publicly express a wish for revenge,
convinced by the domestic political pressures, though privately, he showed pity for
Germany (through supporting the delay to set the reparations and saying that they
are “in many respect terrible terms to impose on a country”)
, ● Surprisingly the Treaty did not split the Liberals further as Asquith supported the
Treaty, praising Lloyd George on the reparations.
Why was economic reconstruction a failure?
● Britain stayed out of foreign affairs and hoped that laissez-faire economics would
jump-start the post-war economy
● Immediately after World War I, workers in many key industries began to strike,
demanding higher wages, better working conditions, and shorter hours now that the
war was ended
Why was Ireland a problem for the Liberals?
In 1921, the Irish Free State gained independence. Independence from the UK resulted in
the loss of 80 Nationalist MP’s, who had supported the Liberals. In contrast the
Conservatives continued to receive support from 10 Northern Irish MP’s.
The leadership of Lloyd George
● He continued to run the government as he had during the war, using only his closest
advisors to discuss and execute policy decisions
● Lloyd George had made his name as a champion of limiting the rights of the
privileged and the ‘man who won the war’.
● Cash-for-honours scandal
○ In June 1922, a scandal emerged where he was selling knighthoods and
peerages amassing a huge political fortune - a knighthood could be bought
for £10 000 -[which he refused to share with the Liberals unless they followed
his ideas].
○ The scandal did much damage to his credibility and he was portrayed as
corrupt.
● At the same time, he was seen as a warmonger, threatening Turkey if it sought to
revise the terms of the peace treaty in the Chanak Incident.
● These events led to the Conservatives withdrawing from the coalition and forcing
Lloyd George to resign.
● The subsequent election saw the Conservatives win a handsome majority with Lloyd
George’s National Liberals in third place, overtaken by Labour
Conservative Party
Why did the Conservatives take office in 1922?
● The electoral system of 1918.
● Weaknesses of opposition parties.
○ The Liberals split during the war
■ Due to the Defence of the Realm Act (1914, DORA) which gave the
government extended powers, such as economic controls, which was
against Liberal ideology (all about individual freedom and laissez-faire)
■ There was Asquith’s Liberal Party and Lloyd George’s National Liberal
Party
● Effective party organisation.
○ Feb. 22nd, 1922: Carlton Club meeting - Austen Chamberlain convinced all
the conservative coalition MPs to withdraw from the coalition and fight the
general election with the conservative party
, ■ Since Lloyd George’s Liberals were dependent on the Conservatives
(133 seats vs 335 seats), Lloyd George was forced to resign after this.
○ Because the Conservatives were seen as the ‘party of property’, funding was
not a problem. Therefore, the party was able to field more candidates,
distribute party materials more widely and to exploit new technologies, such
as the cinema, to get across its message.
○ The Conservatives developed a true national party structure with organised
local branches and a network of professional agents.
● Effective leadership and image.
○ The rebranding of the Conservative Party began in the 1870s moving away
from the party of wealth and privilege to ‘one nation Tories’ - which promoted
empire, patriotism and national defence. This move was designed to attract
the uncommitted working class voter – which it did.
● The war acted as a turning point
○ The war coalition gave ministerial experience to key figures of the
conservative party such as Bonar Law, Balfour and Austen Chamberlain.
○ War helped restore Conservative confidence and unity following the divisions
over tariff reform and constitutional crisis.
What challenges faced this government?
● Post-war economy
● Growing industrial unrest
Why did the Conservatives lose office in 1924?
● Difficulties regarding foreign policy
● Protectionist tariffs (to address unemployment) - not established as the conservative
party did not win a majority (despite having the most seats)
● Industrial unrest led to the Labour party seeming like a more attractive option
How far did the Conservatives dominate the National Government from 1931?
● In 1931, the Labour government was deeply divided over how to handle the
economic crisis and were decimated in the general election of that year.
Reasons for, and impact, of the National
Government
Why was the National Government formed in 1931?
1. The outcome of the 1929 General Election.
2. Weaknesses of the minority Labour government of 1929-31.
3. Economic problems caused by the Great Depression.
4. Role of Ramsay MacDonald.
What was the outcome of the 1929 General Election?
● On the back of an uninspired ‘Safety First’ election campaign, the Conservatives did
not do enough to retain office as a single party government.
● The results of the General Election were unusual in that the Conservatives won the
largest share of the vote with 38.2% but this was not translated into an overall
majority of seats as they won 260 of the 605 seats contested while Labour won 287
seats.
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