F963: England and a New Century, 1900-1924 A: Why Were The
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F963: England and a New Century, 1900-1924 A: Why were the fortunes of political parties so varied in the period from 1900 to 1914? The progress of the Labour Party from 1900 to 1914 . After the legal recognition of the Trade Unions in 1868, the tactic employed by the TUC was to try to influence the existing political parties rather than to try to establish an independent working class party. Whilst there seemed to be political parity between the Liberals and Conservatives this tactic seemed to be working with a number of concessions won from Gladstone and Disraeli. The split in the Liberal Party (1886) meant that apart from a brief period (1892-5), Britain appeared to be a period of one party dominating Westminster. The domination of the Liberal Party by a small number of businessmen who refused to countenance working class candidates meant that there was a demand for greater political activity amongst trade unionists. A series of legal decisions convinced the TU movement of the need for greater political action. Temperton v Russell (1893), Lyons v Wilkins (1896) and, greatest of all, Taff Vale (1901. These judgements under-mined the gains made through the legislation of Gladstone and Disraeli. The Rise of Labour . The Independent Labour Party was founded in 1892 by James Keir Hardie, who had been elected MP for West Ham. It attracted little support initially because most unions did not wish to become directly involved in politics. A series of legal decisions convinced the TU movement of the need for greater political action. Temperton v Russell (1893), Lyons v Wilkins (1896) and, greatest of all, Taff Vale (1901. These judgements under-mined the gains made through the legislation of Gladstone and Disraeli. In 1900 the Labour Representation Committee formed from the Independent Labour Party, the Fabians, the Social Democratic Federation and the Trade Union movement. The secretary of the LRC was James Ramsay Macdonald. In 1901, the Taff Vale Case threatened the right to strike. The Taff Vale Railway Company sued the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants for damages after a strike. The company won and the ASRS had to pay damages and costs of £51,000. After Taff Vale, there was an increased willingness of trade unions to affiliate to the LRC. Membership rose from 376,000 (1901) to 998,338 (1906). 1 . Balfour failed to take action to tackle the effects of the Taff Vale judgment, so the LRC sought an alliance with the Liberal Party. Many working men traditional voted Liberal and the first working class MPs (the Lib-Labs) had been elected in the 1880s. The Macdonald-Gladstone Pact was formed in 1903. The two parties agreed not to fight against each other in constituencies at the next general election. The LRC would then support Liberal reforms which would reverse Taff Vale. The Liberals also offered the prospect of social reforms How did the Labour Party develop before 1914? . Growth in TU membership would inevitably have an electoral impact in favour of Labour. 1910 Trade Unions had 2.5 million members, but in 1914 4.0 million members. Number of socialist societies doubled between 1906 and 1914. By 1915 85 Trades Councils had affiliated to the Labour Party and they had 73 local Labour parties (only had 8 in total in 1906). Number of Labour candidates and successes at local elections increased. 1907 340 candidates 86 elected Net Gain of 10 1913 494 196 85 . There were also gains in Scotland (59 town councillors in 1913). Gains were variable; strong in Bradford (20/84 councillors) and Leicester (14/48). By 1914 more than half of Labour’s sitting councillors were in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In contrast, Labour was weak in cities such as Birmingham (8/120). 1909 and the accession of the miners union to the Labour Party. Miners had 900,000 members. Potentially, the miners controlled 90 seats. 1911 The Daily Herald founded and was to become an outstanding newspaper with a Labour bias. 1914 London Labour Party was founded. 2 The uneven progress of the Unionist (Conservative) Party Why did the Unionist Party become unpopular in the years after 1900? The Boer War . The Boer War had begun in 1899 with expectations of an early and easy victory. But in the first year the British Army suffered a series of heavy defeats. The Boers were flexible and fast moving and moved far more easily over vast distances. The only significant British successes in the first year were the relief of Ladysmith and Mafeking. Kitchener adopted different tactics; using blockhouses to strangle the Boers and moving tens of thousands into concentration camps. This proved unpopular. British casualties were heavy; 6% of the 450,000 men recruited. The war showed up the inadequacy of the army and the unhealthy state of many recruits; 37% failed the medical (see below). The financial cost of the war was far greater than had originally been anticipated. The effect on national morale was even more serious: Britain had only just managed to defeat an army made up largely of farmers. This led to the debate over National Efficiency . The conduct of the war was condemned in 1904 by the Committee of Imperial Defence. The Education Act, 1902 . Balfour’s Education Act (1902) brought all elementary schools under local council control. This was a much needed reform which was intended to establish parity between the schools across the country. But the Act angered Non-Conformists, whose schools were now largely controlled by Anglicans. They feared this would mean Anglican control of religious education. Some Non-Conformist schools refused to accept council supervision and went independent, but by 1906 most had been forced to give in because of lack of funds. Coolie labour . In 1903, a Commission reported on the use of coolie (mostly Chinese) labour in the British Empire. Coolies were indentured labourers who had been brought to the West Indies and South Africa. The Commission criticised their treatment and there was a national scandal. Tariff Reform . In 1903, Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary) and the Tariff Reform League proposed duties on many imports to counter competition from cheaper foreign goods. The Empire would have been given preferential treatment. 3 . Balfour refused to accept the proposals because they would have increased the price of food and ended the policy of free trade that had been followed since the 1840s. Chamberlain resigned in September 1903 to campaign for Imperial Preference. This split the Unionist (Conservative) Party and gave the Liberals a major advantage. Balfour attempted to bridge the gap by using a threat of retaliation to force other countries to reduce tariffs. This only served to make Balfour look weak and indecisive. The Liberals were able to use Tariff reform in the 1906 campaign, when the Unionists (Conservatives) were painted as the party of expensive food. Why did Balfour resign in 1905? . Balfour felt there was no real fear of losing the general election. At that time, there were many divisions within the Liberal Party which, he thought, would cause them difficulties in forming a government. There had been much debate within the Liberal Party about the Boer War. The Liberal Imperialists had supported the war and those such as Lloyd George and Campbell-Bannerman had opposed it. (See below for a different Lloyd George after 1914) . Balfour was aware of the continuing debate within the Liberals about Home Rule in Ireland and felt that the Radicals would never come to terms with the more conservative elements of the party. Furthermore, Balfour felt that the Liberals were not in a position to present a clear set of policies to the electorate. He miscalculated and the 1906 election saw the Liberals win a handsome majority. The Liberals under Campbell-Bannerman took office on December 4th 1905. The Unionists had become rather unpopular and had become divided over the issue of tariff reform. Moreover, the Prime Minister, Balfour, had shown that he could not hold his party together and hence decided to resign. The 1906 General Election New Liberalism . The Liberals won 377 seats and the Unionists slumped to 157. Campbell-Bannerman, the Liberal leader, had promised support for free trade, changes in trade union legislation, education, licensing laws and there were some vague noises about social reform. There was no hint of a series of radical welfare reforms in 1906. The major changes came after 1908. The Lib-Lab pact of 1903 had assisted both parties to defeat Unionists in certain constituencies and the newly named Labour Party won 29 seats. 4 . 24 of the Labour victories were won in straight fights with the Conservatives. Historians have argued that Labour won votes as a result of questionable Conservative policies- tough legislation against trade unions, tariff reform (the working classes feared huge rises in the price of food) and the issue of Chinese Slavery. The Liberals had won the support of a wide range of voters from a variety of social backgrounds – they won many seats in working class areas traditionally held by the Unionists (Lancashire, London and the South-East). There was also a drift of some middle class voters to the Liberals. The reasons which brought these groups together never recurred. In the next election (Jan. 1910) the Liberals lost 100 seats). In a speech at Nottingham in 1906, Balfour said: ‘The great Unionist party should still control, whether in power or opposition, the destinies of this great Empire.’ . The activities of the Unionist party in the years 1906-14 do indicate that it was unwilling to accept defeat at the polls. Balfour wrote after the election that the Liberal victory would lead to the eventual break-up of that party.