Impacts of WW1 on Britain
- Created by: LibbyCB
- Created on: 10-05-18 11:12
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- Impact Of WW1 on Britain.
- Nearly 1 million British soldiers, sailors and airmen had been killed during the war and a further 2 million had been severely disabled ( over 40,000 had lost limbs. All of these men needed medical treatment, financial help/support and on-going care. This would put huge amounts of strain and stress on the government and medical professionals.
- The 'King's National Roll', a 1919 scheme that encouraged firms to employ disabled ex-servicemen, had little success. However, in 1927 a training school for war-disabled taxi drivers was set up in London
- The Representation of the People Act (June 1918) gave the vote for the first time to all men over the age of 21 (subject to a six-month residency qualification) and to women over the age of 30. As a result, it almost trebled the franchise in Britain, from 7.7 million to 21.4 million. Historians have long debated the relative impact of this and the war itself on the dramatic reconfiguration of party politics after 1918.
- The Liberal Party - divided between supporters of the Lloyd George coalition that regained power in the 'coupon election' (December 1918) and supporters of the former prime minister Asquith - went into steep electoral decline during the 1920s and never recovered. Its status as Britain's 'second' party of government was taken by the Labour Party, a development confirmed when the first-ever Labour government - a coalition led by Ramsay MacDonald - took office in January 1924.
- During the First World War, Britain incurred debts equivalent to 136% of its gross national product, and its major creditor, the USA, began to emerge as the world's strongest economy.
- Society was more democratic. Previously sorted into groups such as women and the working class. These groups became better organised and more powerful during the war. This encouraged the growth of less deferential attitudes, as did the cross-class experiences of the trenches
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