Why was the 1922 - 1923 Government so shortlived?

1. The 1922 Election

The Election of 1922 showed disarray of Parties, with there now being 3 parties in a 2-party system.People were unsure what they were voting for in 1922     ↪ AJP Taylor: "1918 - Plebiscite for Lloyd-George                                 1922 - Plebiscite against Lloyd-George"The Conservative Party gained a majority despite votes being split equally between the 3 parties

2. Make-Up of the Government

Churchill: "Government of the Second XI"                     ↪ The Cabinet was made up of the reservesThere were capable MinistersN. Chamberlain - HealthBaldwin - Chancellor However Curzon (Foreign Office) was the only Minister who had a reputationLeading lights of the Party (A. Chamberlain; Balfour) rejected the Carlton Club decision and became IndependentConservatives [i.e. could not join Bonar-Law's Cabinet]

3. Policies

Had a Constructive startHousing subsidiary of £6 per house for 20 years; available for both Public and Private housing- But tended to benefit the Lower Middle Class rather than the Working Class, alienating votersCurzon replaced the hated Treaty of Sevres with the Treaty of Lousanne.However relations with France decreased with the Invasion of the Ruhr (January 1923)Also the issue of War Debts to the USA although a negotiation was made to pay them back over 62 years

4. Bonar-Law's resignation

Bonar-Law resigned in May 1923 due to Throat Cancer, but refused to elect a successor.Therefore King George V had to choose the next leader.The King's choice was Stanley Baldwin            ↪ Surprising since many expected it to be Lord Curzon                               - Member of Lloyd-George's Cabinet                              - Intellectual and Hard-working                              - ArrogantCurzon - "[Baldwin] is a person of the utmost insignificance"Maybe this was a good thing (Taylor)+ Baldwin was good at reflecting the mood of the Country

5. Free Trade vs. Protectionism

The question of whether to adopt Free Trade or Protectionism economic policies was highly damaging                                          - Lost the election in 1906 because of itBaldwin called an election over the issue in December 1923     ↪ Protecting home industry would then help employment     ↪ If social problems were solved, class confrontation could be avoided     ↪ Believed it would help reunite lost ConservativesBy fighting over Free Trade in 1923, this allowed for the reuniting of the Liberal Party