Outcome of the 1918 election
- Created by: lyd_kate
- Created on: 23-06-17 09:16
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- Outcome of the 1918
election
- By 1918
- Most Cons and some Liberals wanted to carry on the coalition.
- Most Liberals supported Asquith. Labour also quit to be independent
- Reasons for Coalition
- Lloyd George had gained power and prestige through his alliance
- Cons depended on LG, own leader (Bonar Law) was not dynamic and there few specific Con policies to attract electorate
- LG & Cons were concerned about rise of Labour, united to stop this.
- Bitter wartime disagreements meant it would've been hard for LG to return to Liberals
- Results
- Coalition govt won with a large majority. Cons outnumbered coaltion Liberals 3-1
- Liberals were deeply divided, with coalition Liberals gaining slightly more seats
- Coalition Liberals in govt. Opposition from Labour & Liberals. Liberals not completely gone yet.
- Why did the coalition win?
- Letter of endorsement by LG & Bonar Law meant that there was no split in vote between cons and co-Libs. Libs and lab had no pact.
- Coalition had met demands of war and extending franchise in 1918 (women who could vote more likely to vote Con)
- Some Cons were helped by the fact that arrangements for more working class male votes were not yet in place
- Coalition had more dynamic ministers, unlike Asquith. Non coalition candidates were also divided, despite 3m votes
- Promised better life for Britons and both promised harsh treatment of Germans
- Aftermath
- LG was very dependent on Cons
- 260 Con MPs who were businessmen and industrialists (difficult to control, did not want traditional policies), Labour had more from TU's. Represented different economic interests more
- By 1918
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