Constitutional and Political Reform

Lords Powers - House of Lords were still ran by Conservative Aristocrats and they still have the power to veto any law that the Liberals tried to pass
Vetoing has already proven an issue before - 1892-1895 dozens of 'blackwoodsmen' who never bothered to attend the Lords showed up to vote against he Liberals Legislation for Home Rule
Vetoed Legislations
1. Education Bill 1906
2. Scottish Land Bill
3. Abolition of Plural Voting Bill
4. Licensing Bill 1908
People's Budget 1909-10
1. Why?
  1. Lloyd-George Chancellor of the Exchequer needed to find £15million to provide social reforms
2. What?
  1. Increased income tax from 1s to 1s2p for those who earned over £3000 a year
  2. New super tax incomes over £5000
  3. Increased death duties on estates over £5000
  4. - new land taxes, taxi on profits made by those who earned it just from owning the land - tax for those who prevented development on land for when the value increased
  5. Indirect tax on luxury goods - petrol, cars, cigarettes, alcohol - this also effected the lower classes
3. Budget Protest League set up
  1. denounced the taxes as confiscation and robbery 'a class war'
4. Jan 1910 Vote
  1. Why?
    1. The Liberals decided to hold a general election in order to deduce the Lords powers
  2. Results
    1. Liberals won narrowly 275:273 seats. Irish nationalists 80 and Labour 40 joined with the Liberals to over-rule the Conservatives and Lords
  3. Lloyd Georges Argument
    1. Peers vs People Lords were selfish, aristocratic rich and unpatriotic
  4. Conservative argument
    1. Other ways of getting the money - Tariff Reforms. Lords job to prevent the government making sweeping choices that could seriously break the Nation
Parliament Act 1911
1. Why
  1. Liberals never wanted the Lords to be able to veto a Commons legislation ever again
2. Conditions
  1. Never Reject Budgets
  2. delay no longer than 2 years
    1. not allowed to veto
  3. Maximum period between general elections was to be reduced from seven to five
3. Asquiths Solution
  1. Asquith asked King Edward to create more Liberal Peers to outvote the Conservatives but he didn't approve
  2. King Edward died May 1910
    1. King George V wanted the Conservatives and Liberals to come to an agreement. Constitutional Conference hed in June and November
      1. Conservative Solution - Offered reform of the position of the Lords Still thought Lords reserved the right to veto change in consititution unless allowed in referendum.
      2. Break-down of Conference - After the Conference broke-down King George agree to create more Liberal peers as long as the Liberals won in a general election
December 1910 vote
1. Results - The Liberal won, this time only because of the support of the IN and Labour Party
2. Nicknames
  1. 'the rats' - Lords that wanted to cooperate with the Commons
  2. 'the hedgers' - led by Lord Lansdowne were undecided
  3. 'ditchers' - led by Lord Willoughby de Broke determined to oppose the Parliament Bill
3. Resignitioin of Arthur Balfour - After the split in Conservatives over the Parliament act Arthur Balfour was forced into resignition and was succeeded by Andrew Bonar-Law
Other Political Reforms
1. Labour's Reforms
  1. Brought in to keep on side Labour - 1906 Workmens comepensation act - 1906 Trades Dispute Act
2. Osbourne Case - Didn't want some of his yearly subscription to the Liberals going to the Labour House of Lords agreed Labour almost collapsed, depended on Trade Unions for funding
  1. Payment of MP's act 1911
    1. - only private income could afford to be MP's New Act provided £400 per year so more working class men could be Members of Parliament
  2. Trade Union Act 1913
    1. Impose 'political levy' as part of membership fees Members could contract out
3. Still no movement on votes for women
Home Rule Bill 1912
1. Irish Matter - Moderate Gave Ireland its own parliament Only Irish matters
2. British Matters - Foreign Policy, Defence Trade, Pensions, National Insurance
3. Conservative Opposition
  1. Liberals had no right to change the constitution of the UK because it had not been an issue in the 1910 elections
  2. Undermine Britain's powers by breaking up the UK Break up the great British Empire
  3. Industrial - Ulster was the only industrial part of Ireland Did not want loose their control over this wealth Did not want their industries heavily taxed to help poorer rural parts of Ireland
4. Before and After 1912
  1. Before - Relied on Conservative Lords to veto Home Rule
  2. After
    1. Ulster Covenant - 200,000 Ulstermen signed, some in their own blood Purpose to frighten off Liberals government to attempt Home Rule over Ulster
    2. Ulster Volunteer Force - Set up after Home Rule 1913 30,000 riffles smuggled in 1914 3 million rounds of ammunition
    3. Curragh Mutiny - British officers in Ireland threatened to resign rather than fight against this Ulster Unionist resistance
      1. Irish Volunteers - Formed after the threat of resign of British officer Also smuggled riffles and ammunitions Threat of civil war

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