History for Edexcel A Level: Democracies in change: Britain and the USA in the twentieth century
Knowledge and information sheets for the Britain Transformed topic at A-level. Fantastic for teaching or revision!
Includes:
- 12 Knowledge Sheets packed with information and analysis
- Split into easy to understand sections
- Contains all the course material from 1918-79 as well as the Thatcher ...
Changing Party Fortunes, 1918-31 - Flashcards/Q+As
How far could the historian make use of sources 1 and 2 together to investigate the impact of second world war on the status of Black American workers?
Edexcel History A-Level: Britain Transformed 1918-1997 A* Quizlet Flashcards
All for this textbook (29)
Written for
A/AS Level
PEARSON (PEARSON)
History 2015
Unit 1H - Britain transformed, 1918-97
All documents for this subject (67)
Seller
Follow
adamwildsmith7
Reviews received
Content preview
1A Changes in the political landscape
Decline of the Liberal Party Rise of the Labour Party
Development of the party in interwar politics:
Factors in the party’s fall:
1918 ‘Coupon Election’: - 1918 General Election the party had 57 seats. This increased to 142 seats in the 1922 election; they were in go
1. Collapse of party unity - 1918 Election was contested by 2 liberal parties – the one who - In December 1923: LAB and LIB form a coalition; 191-158 seats.
2. Impact of the Representation of the People Act
supported Lloyd George and the other who supported Asquith. - CON win 1924 election, after accusations the Labour party are Soviet sympathisers.
3. Impact of the 1918 General Election - DLG made a coalition with the conservatives – who were - Labor won 287 seats in the 1929 General Election and forms a minority government which lasted 2 years.
4. Failure of Lloyd George after 1922
desperate for office after an absence of 18 years. They
supported DLG, a popular figure after the war, who did not Labour in 1918:
First World War & party unity:
have enough Liberals to support him. - Formed in 1900; youngest party in Britain
- Liberals implemented the Defence of the Realm Act (1914) which - Candidates who stood for the coalition were issued with a - Was formed from the Labour Representation Committee of the TUC and therefore was closely tied to the union
gave the government powers, e.g. economic controls, conscription
‘coupon’ saying such. - Working Class representation was made easier in 1911, when a law passed allowing MPs to take a wage.
and rationing. - Coalition won in a landslide: CON 335 seats, DLG Liberals - Labour’s rise was made easier by the ROPA which tripled the size of the electorate – including nearly all workin
- These measures were opposed by many in the party, they were
133 seats, and the Asquith Liberals won only 28 seats, with - Wartime saw a huge increase in Trade Union membership. Between 1915 and 1918 membership went from 4.3
seen as ‘illiberal measures’
Asquith loosing his own. support.
- However, DORA was supported by leading and popular liberal,
David Lloyd George, whom managed to oust Hebert Asquith as
Damage to the Liberals in 1922: Factors in the Party’s development:
Prime Minister in 1916.
Cash for honours scandal - 1. Preserved party unity
- Split solidified of Maurice Debate – General Maurice wrote a public - emerged saying DLG was selling knighthoods and peerages 2. Grassroots
letter accusing Lloyd George of lying to Parliament about how
amassing a huge political fortune – a knighthood could be 3. Independence from the Liberal Party
many troops were on the Western Front. When the issue was
bought fro £10,000.
debated in Parliament, Asquith criticised Lloyd George and - Refused to share this sum with the Liberals unless they Party Unity:
demanded an inquiry.
followed his ideas. - Formed from the TUC, giving the party a distinct working class identity; loyalty from the working man.
- Asquith led an attempt to oust Lloyd George, but this failed. - Scandal did damage to his credibility; portrayed as a crook. - Strong divisions over whether to support the war effort. This division was healed when in 1917 Labour Ministers
- Effective leadership of Arthur Henderson: able to reflect a consensus view of the Labour movement; the first lab
Impact of the Representation of the People Act:
Chanak Incident – level.
Act’s damage Limited damage to party
- Seen as a warmonger, after threatening Turkey if it sought to
revise the terms of the peace treaty in the Chanak Incident. Organisation of the Labour Party:
- ROPA expanded electorate - Working class vote dud not - Thanks to union backing, the party was able to run a national political machine.
by 13 million, including increase to the extent where Events led to the Tories abandoning the coalition; forcing Lloyd - In 1917, the party began to develop local party branches and by 1924, only 19 constituencies did not have a loc
working class men and it could have been the only
George to resign. The 1922 election saw the Tories with a healthy
(some) women. factor in the decline of such
- Working class composed a number of liberal seats. majority. The Liberals had slipped into third place with Labour
80% of the electorate - Liberals failed to challenge emerging in second. Changes to the voting system:
- Labour, unlike the Liberals, the development of the - ROPA: did expand the size of the electorate, but the extent to which these votes swayed towards Labour, still re
could adapt to the new FPTP system and this only -
1922 General Election: 1918 Election was heavily influenced by patriotism. Those Labour politicians who took a popular, anti-German p
areas of the electorate. damaged them into the
- Between 1910 and 1923, 1930s.
- Liberals lacked the funds to run an effective campaign Labour candidates were heavily defeated.
Labour went from having - Share of the vote fell to 12% by 1924 – lost faith among their - Internal organisation allowed more Labour candidates to stand for election: not only boosted Labour’s chances
7.1% share of the vote to traditional voting base. national political force.
30.5%. Meanwhile the - ‘Yellow book’ policies never attracted support from the
Liberals decli9ned from
43.9% to 29.6% - evidence electorate. Labour breaking away from Liberal influence:
that the new influx of voter - FPTP further limited their ability to gain seats, as it favoured a - Before 1914, there were close links between the Liberal and Labour parties; both left-wing parties.
led to a rise in Labour’s two party race. - After 1914, Labour began to establish a separate identity by promoting free trade, social reform and internationa
power. - Labour drew up a new constitution in 1918, tying itself to the nationalisation of key industries.
- This led to a more ruthless approach in General Elections, as Labour tried to forge a new identity.
- 1923 Election: LAB capitalised on the splits in the Liberals and was able to sweep up much of their support.
Conservative Dominance The National Government
Overview: -
Factors in the formation of the National Government:
- Tories withdrew from the DLG coalition and won a healthy majority in 1922 Divisions within the opposition parties:
1. Outcome of the 1929 General Election
Election. - By 1931, many of the right-wing Liberals had split from the official party
2. Weakness of the minority Labour Government
- In December 1923, the conservatives lose the election, but remain the largest forming the National Liberals who would eventually merge with the
3. Economic problems caused by the Great Depression
parliamentary party with 258 seats. Conservatives.
4. Role of Ramsay MacDonald
- Conservatives win the 1924 election with a healthy majority - Labour found it difficult to establish themselves outside the traditional
- Tories lose the 1929 election, although no party has an overall majority industrial heartlands.
1929 General Election:
- Agree to participate in the National Government and become the dominant force - In 1931, the labour government was deeply divided over how to handle
- Whilst the Tories won the greatest share of the vote (38.2%), Labour won the most seats
in British politics from 1931 to 1945. the economic crisis and were decimated in the 1931 General Election.
- Labour returned to power under Ramsay MacDonald, supported by 59 Liberal MPs.
Factors for the party’s dominance: Conservative's Organisation:
1929-31 Labour Government:
1. Electoral system - ‘Party of property’ funding was not a problem.
- Labour had been in power only once before, in 1924.
2.
Weakness of opposition parties - Developed a true national party structure – local branches and a
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller adamwildsmith7. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $13.05. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
