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1918-1979: A Changing Political And Economic Environment

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1918-1979: A Changing Political And Economic Environment
A changing political and economic environment 1918-1979.
Liberal, Labour and Conservative party in 1918:
Liberal believed in free trade and the government having a limited role. Social reform.
Before WW1 Liberal party had dominated the government however there was growing unrest about Home Rule in Ireland and the women's suffrage movement and the increasing militant trade unions.
Appeal of the Liberal party to its traditional members (middle class, high upper class) began to decline.
The experience of war divided the Liberal party: many opposed the gown in power (especially conscription), war resulted in a coalition, many believed this decreased the Liberal parties principles and they were becoming like the conservative party.
Labour …show more content…
After 1918 a large proportion of Conservative votes came from newly enfranchised property owning women.
Within 4 years of the end of WW1 Liberals suddenly declined, not having a majority ever again.
Decline of the Liberal party:
By 1918 the Liberal party was split.
Liberal-conservatives won a landslide victory in 1918.
Conservatives were becoming a more popular party; 3x more votes than coalition liberals.
Immediate cause of decline were the actions of Lloyd George.
Lloyd George was considered a nation hero however by 1922 this changed. He had been involved in a scandal involving selling knighthoods and peerages.
He sold 1,500 knighthoods and nearly a 100 peerages.
This made the election in 1922 a disaster for the Liberal Party.
The National Labour Party (run by Lloyd George) was reduced to 53 MPS.
Rise of the Labour Party:
First Labour party was run by MacDonald in 1924. It was a minority government.
Committed to parliamentary democracy and demonstrated how moderate it was.
Opponents in Conservative party liked to compare it to the repressive regime in
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