British History Outlines Section 7: the Lloyd George
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Pre-U, Paper 1c: British History Outlines Section 7: The Lloyd George Coalition There are four key issues, though we will look at the decline of the Liberals separately • Electoral success in 1918. • Policies at home and abroad: Reconstruction; Reforms; the Economy; trade unions; unrest; Ireland; Versailles; diplomacy; Chanak. • Reasons for fall in 1922: revival of Conservatives. • The decline of the Liberals: features, extent, reasons. Lloyd George as PM will be important and his legacy. THE COUPON ELECTION Read Flagship, pp 117-19 Analyse the result of the Coupon Election Why did the Coalition continue? The role of the Coupon The Representation of the People Act A Conservative victory? How far was Lloyd George a ‘prisoner of the Tories’ Answer Qs 1 & 2, p119 POLICIES Read Lynch, pp 83-91, Pearce & Stewart pp 220-223 ‘Homes fit for Heroes’: Christopher Addison & The Town and Country Planning Act, 1919 Extension of National Insurance Increase in Old Age Pensions Fisher’s Education Act, teacher’s salaries Maternity & Child Welfare Act The 1920 recession Industrial relations: the Sankey Commission, Black Friday The Geddes Axe The Irish Question: o Sinn Fein & the IRA o the Troubles (aka the War of Independence) o the Government of Ireland Act, 1921 o The Anglo-Irish Treaty, 1921 o The Irish Free State o Northern Ireland How far was this Lloyd George’s greatest achievement? Would it be fair to say that the policies of this government were good policies but bad politics? That is, that the government did sensible things but suffered political damage as a result. Which policies alienated the Conservatives, which would have alienated him from the left. PARTY POLITICS & THE FALL OF LLOYD GEORGE 1918-22 Use Flagship. Pp 118-24 We need to be thinking about these issues: Lloyd George’s failure to create a political base by either creating a new Centre Party, or re- uniting the Liberals, or by creating a viable Lloyd George Liberal Party The developing discontent with the coalition in the Conservative Party Lloyd George’s reputation Why Lloyd George fell in 1922 The nature of the coalition From the Conservative point of view, support for the coalition was largely top down. Look at the roles of the following: o Bonar Law See the blog article: https://rgshistory.wordpress.com/2017/05/26/some-thoughts-on-tory-leaders-of- yore-andrew-bonar-law/ o Lord Birkenhead o Lord Curzon o Austen Chamberlain o Baldwin See the blog article: https://rgshistory.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/tiger-stanley-baldwin-the-gambler- 1922-24/ o Conservative Central Office & the National Union o Sir George Younger Is it fair to say that Bonar Law’s retirement in 1921 meant the coalition was doomed? What was Fusion? Why was its failure in 1919/20, and its possible resurrection in 1922, significant? The possibility of a general election, and the prospect of it being fought in coalition, aroused opposition on the Tory backbenches. Lloyd George’s style of government alienated many Conservatives The Garden Suburb, the Cabinet Secretary (Sir Maurice Hankey) and Tom Jones Lloyd George’s misuse of the honours system alienated Conservatives: Maundy Gregory & the Lloyd George Fund (& remember the Marconi Scandal) Many Conservatives remembered the House of Lords crisis The bitterness of the Liberal split made Liberal reunion impossible Asquith and the ‘Squiffites refused to take office after 1916: the Maurice Debate widened the split The slaughter of the ‘Squiffites in the Coupon Election left a legacy of bitter hatreds The 1920 Leamington Spa Conference saw coalitionist Liberals bitterly attacked The Lloyd George Liberals were nothing more than a ‘stage army’ The Chanak Crisis crystallised Tory concerns about Lloyd George’s style of government Robert Pearce, Britain Domestic Politics 1918-39, pp28-29 At the Carlton Club the Tory backbenchers, led by Baldwin, Bonar Law (and with Curzon’s support) rebelled against their own leadership: Austen Chamberlain & Lloyd George both fell. Alan Clark called it ‘the peasants’ revolt’ LLOYD GEORGE’S REPUTATION Read Pearce & Stewart, pp 219-20, & Lynch, pp 92-96 How far can we call Lloyd George great? FURTHER READING, LISTENING & VIEWING Sixth form history needs you to do reading of your own. Already, this guide had given you references to the Flagship textbook, and some other resources. You need to take steps beyond that both online and, of course, by resorting to another revolutionary technology, the book. For modern British history, there is a dizzying array of printed and online resources, of startlingly variable quality. If you do find something not on here that’s good, let the rest of us know through the Facebook page or email [email protected] and we’ll add it. For each topic or area, we have colour coded each book or article: Blue is essential Yellow means if you want to develop a deeper understanding you should read one or all of these Green means this is a monograph, or a sophisticated or highly detailed account. Learn how to dip into real history books, a vital study skill; you might sometimes find full books actually become more engrossing Pink is for choices that are more loosely related, and have grabbed someone’s interest at some point. Try one or two, they might be fun A WORD ABOUT ONLINE RESOURCES Three of the best resources are, of course, the History department’s very own Blog, Facebook page and Twitter feed. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) Beyond that, for the British history course, get used to using one of the best resources available, and for free; the DNB. Any local library card will get you in: anyone can join the City Library via this link https://eforms.newcastle.gov.uk/popup.aspx/RenderForm/?F.Name=JVpTDqdaf2o Once you have a library card number, got to http://www.oxforddnb.com/ and fill in your number. You then have access to it all. They vary in quality from the good to absolutely excellent, and they are all written by leaders in the field. The best have a particularly good last section, dealing with how history has viewed these men and women, and their historiography. There are also some very good Themes, such as the one above on the Union of Democratic Control. History Today Beyond that, another invaluable resource is History Today. We have institutional access to the entire archive, here: http://www.historytoday.com/user/login Username: Tilbrook Password: historian You can search at your leisure, and find all sorts. These guides will flag some up for you. Philip Allan Resources Another good resources is Philip Allan Magazines Online, aimed very much at sixth-form students: here http://my.dynamic-learning.co.uk/default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2farchive.aspx Username: [email protected] Password: rgs1 The archive is then searchable FURTHER READING: textbooks and student introductions There is a range of series aimed at sixth form history students. None make for exciting reading, and they vary in quality, but you should always aim to read at least one. The politics of the coalition are pretty well covered in the following: Michael Lynch, Britain 1900-51 (Access to History) (Lon 2008), pp 81-97 Robert Pearce, Britain: Domestic Politics 1918-39 (Access to History) (Lon 1992), ch2 Here are some other overviews: Malcolm Pearce & Geoffrey Stewart, British Political History 1867-2001 (3rd ed, Lon 2002), pp 219- 223 John Charmley, A History of Conservative Politics 1900-1996 (Lon 1996), pp 58-62 A breezy account from a Conservative point of view, highly opinionated and very much focused on party politics Peter Clarke, Hope and Glory: Britain 1900-1990 (Lon 1996), ch 2 TO Lloyd, Empire, Welfare State, Europe: English History 1906-92 (4th ed, Oxford 1993), ch 4 Two classic works: CL Mowatt, Britain Between the Wars (Lon 1955) AJP Taylor, English History 1914-45 (Oxford 1965) is brilliant on Lloyd George The episode of Andrew Marr’s The Making of Modern Britain on the 1920s is worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDVmnG1V93s There is also a BBC biography with Huw Edwards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pguRnH5bt38 There is a BBC Timewatch on Lloyd George as a war leader: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovTer2sFmEo There is a programme by Dan Snow, his great grandson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d8lQGquWfs Here is the original Pathe News footage of the meeting at the Carlton Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOQCs7g67fU The DNB entries on Lloyd George and Asquith are essential, but others are also worth a look Robert Pearce, The Fall of Lloyd George (2007) History Today: http://www.historytoday.com/robert-pearce/fall-lloyd-george Stuart Ball, The Conservative Party & British Politics 1902-1951 (Seminar Studies) (Lon 1996)pp 64-69 Covers the fall of the coalition well Margaret Macmillan, The Peacemakers (2001), pp 44-49 A brilliant pen portrait of Lloyd George at the peak of his powers Kenneth O Morgan, Lloyd George and the Modern World Philip Allan 20th Century History Review | Modern History Vol 9 | 2 November 1997 A good overview of Lloyd George The Age of Lloyd George, 1914–22: British Politics and War 20th Century History Review | Modern History Vol 5 | 3 February 1994 http://my.dynamic-learning.co.uk/default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2farchive.aspx Lucy Masterman, Recollections of Lloyd George, Parts I & II (1959) Lucy Masterman’s husband was one of Lloyd George’s closest associates during the formation of the National Health Insurance and the controversies over the Parliament Act of 1909-1911. Mrs. Masterman draws on the records she kept at the time to offer a vivid portrait of Lloyd George’s intuitive political genius.