Lloyd George's Coaltion Government 1918-1922

COUPON ELECTION 1918

Why?

• Not been an election since 1910
• Representation of the Peoples 1918: Men over 21, women over 30 - redistrubtion of seats
• Bound to win - LG wanted mandate to carry on w post-war reconstruction

Campaign

• Didn't want to reunite with Liberal split - jeopardise supremacy
• Reconstruction needed a coalition government w LG as leader
• Rejection of Asquith Lib mending = 
  • asking Cons & Libs to get on for coaltion was difficult - hence the "coupon" = LG sent each MP he deemed coaltion supporters so only one would run - 159 recieved letter (thus approval)
  • Liberal supporters needed encouraging to support Conservatives
    • used traditional Liberal policies temporarily to butter up - soon forgotten
• Coalition in favour = won the war - 478 across coaltion Lib/Cons/Lab, Lab benefit from Lib split

Comment

• Conservative benefit - could ditch LG whenever - dominance
• Lib in disarray: Asquith's at 28 - A lost seat and returned to Paisley MP, 3rd in country
• Lab seen as Cons opposition w 22% of vote 
• 73 Sinn Fein refused @ Westminister & set up Dail
  • Countess Markiewicz (1st woman)
• LG lost reputation: "guilty of political assassination" - Seaman

Conclusion

Able men: Bonar Law, Chamberlain, Balfour, Curzon, Churchill, Birkenhead, Milner - continuity of personnel (younger gen traumatised by war) - before 1914 dominanted politics.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS & LABOUR UNREST

Causes

• 1921 - 85 million working days lost to strike
  • Inflation = wages not enough (boom from 1918-19)
  • 1 million unemployed by 1921
    
  • Anger at wartime profiteers (cement used at the Somme by Germans)
  • Return to privatisation of industries (relaxation of gov stance)
• LG's lack of interest didn't help - more interested in mending Europe

Examples

• Railway workers:
  
  • Strike 1919 - threatening wage cuts - govt gave in and agreed to abort
• T.U.C. & Russian relations:
  
  • resented govt support to Poles (at war with Bolsh) - "Jolly George" used to carry munitions to Poland boycotted 
    • Docker's banned boats to carry munitions against Russia 
  • threatened a gen strike - stopped by end to Russo-Polish conflict in 1921
• Police:
  
  • London & Liverpool on strike in 1919 & 1920 over wages & lack of union
  • Riots w looting - troops in Liverpool 1919
• Miners:
  • Worst unrest
  • Wanted nationalisation after state ownership through the war
  • 1919 Miners Fed:
    • 6 hour day
    • 30% increase in earnings
    • nationalisation of mines & minerals
  • 6:1 miners voted in favour of strike when LG said no - LG difused anger using Sankey Commission (invited leaders to investigate)
  • Bonar Law: govt was prepared to carry out "in the spirit and in the letter"

Sankey Commission 1919 - "brought forth a mouse" (Mowat)

• Act of Parliament - not government - power to compel involvement
  
  • Sir John Sankey (Chairman)
  • Industry: 3 x coalowners & industrialists
  • Labour: 3 x miner's leaders & economists sympathetic w miners
    • Economists, Sankey, mine leaders = nationalisation
    • Owners = privatisation
    • Industrialists = amalgamation
• Raise false hopes and play for time
• Refused nationalisation: "decieved, betrayed and duped" - Hartshorn (Welsh mine leader)
• Attention turned…