The Fall of Lloyd George

* When Bonar Law resigned in 1921 Lloyd Georges relations with the conservatives started to break down * In 1922 Lloyd George was accused of selling peerages to finance his own party in the ‘honours scandal’ * In the ‘Chanak Affair’ Lloyd George was accused of ordering British troops into action without consulting government * The Conservatives believed that they could stand for election successfully without Lloyd George after their success at Newport * In the famous Carlton Club meeting of 1922 they decided to go into the election independently * Bonar Law and Baldwin made key speeches in the meeting * The conservatives won the following election which was in 1922. The Asquithian Liberals and Lloyd George won 116 seats between them. Labour managed to win 142 seats which was the first sign of the Liberal decline and Labour becoming the key party to battle the Conservatives for government

The Conservatives and Labour Governments 1923-9

* As the British political described is often described as a two-horse-race with the fall of the Liberals fall came the rise of the Labour Party * Labour managed to get into power under Ramsay MacDonald in 1923-4 and 1929 but these were minority governments * After eight months Bonar law had to resign due to illness and was replaced by Baldwin who called an election on tariff reform and lost * The Labour party went some way to prove they could be adequate in office by introducing new reform; raising old age pensions, Wheatley’s Housing Act of 1924 (0.5 million new council houses but plans withdrew when they were out of power the following year) * MacDonald was seen as soft on communism and he did not deal with the Campbell case. Campbell was a communist who persuaded men to disobey orders and this was seen as outrageous so he ended up resigning.

Economic Problems 1923-9

* Staple industries accounted for half Britain’s output, quarter of employment and three quarters of exports before 1914 * Britain’s share of exports fell from 18 percent to 11 percent * Britain struggled with paying for their imports due to the lack of overseas investments * The US dollar replaced the pound as the major currency

* Industries in chemicals, motor vehicles, electrical goods and canned foods did very well * The production of cars had increased to three times from 1913 to 1925 * The National grid meant power was transferred much quicker

Industrial Unrest

* Economic difficulties brought unrest and the injuries and deaths in the coal mines. * High costs led to owners trying to reducing costs so wages were cut * People feared a communist revolution in Britain led by the British Communist party and backed by Bolshevik Russia.