Revealed the effects of poverty
and the need of social reforms
Liberals gained support by
claiming the Conservatives
neglected social reforms
Encouraged Joseph
Chamberlain to push his
campaign for tariff reform
Balfour- 1902 Education Act
It brought all schools under local
council control which angered non
conformist
The schools were mostly controlled by
Anglicans and they feared that Anglicans
would control the schools = religion
It led to great campaign
against the act
Some refused to pay tax
Some non-conformist schools refused to
accept council supervision and went
independent
Lib-Lab Pact
The Conservatives = failed to do
anything about the effects of the Taff
Vale Judgement
The Labour Party and
Liberal Party formed an
alliance
They formed in 1903
The two parties agreed not to fight against
each other in constituencies at the next general
election.
Labour would support Liberal
reforms which would reverse Taff Vale
The Liberals offered the
prospect of social reforms
Chinese Slavery 1902-1904
Chinese labourers were working
for low wages
They were imported into
South Africa
It raised moral outcry of the
treatment of the Chinese
Trade union feared that employers
might bring them into Brtiain
It may cause the wages to go down in Britain
and with employments very high in 1905
Taff Vale Case
1901, a dispute had broken out in
Wales between the Taff Vale Railway
Company and the railway workers trade union
Led to strike action
The company took the trade union to court
for compensation for loss of profits during
the strike
In 1902, the House of Lords, the highest court
ruled that a company was within its rights to sue
a trade union.
The trade union were
horrified
Only the Act of Parliament could over rule a Lord's
judgement and the Conservatives refused
The Tariff Reform Campaign
This was the
Conservatives biggest
misjudgement
It was launched by Joseph
Chamberlain
Proposed duties on many
imports to counter
competition from cheaper
foreign goods.
He wanted to reintroduce tariffs with a lower
tariff for goods coming into Britain from the
empire than for goods, imported from
non-empire countries. This was the Imperial
Protectionism
Argued it was to protect British
jobs, help pay for social reforms
and strength Britain's position in
the world
Damaged the
Conservatives
Everyone feared the tariffs
because of dearer food and
falling living standards.
Tariff Reforms divided the
Conservatives government &
party
Helped Liberals reunite and
strengthen them since they believe in
Free Trade
Balfour
He was highly intelligent but
lacked political skills
Failed to forsee the anger that the Chinese
labour and his refusal to reverse the Taff Vale
Case
Misunderstood the working
men's reaction to the tariff
reform
Allowed Chamberlain to
make tariff reforms a key
unisonist
Responsible for the 1906
election through his
unusual decison
He was indecisive on tarrifs and
miscalculated the reation of the
workin class on key issues.
Attraction to Liberal
They reunited in 1905
The issues that divided them were
pushed aside
All agreed and supported Free Trade and
exploited this during the 1906 election
Exploited Conservative mistakes which led
to winning the nonconformist support
Irish voters in Britain were more likely to
vote Liberal with is support for the Home
Rule this the anti-Home Rule Unionist.
Neglect Of Social
Reform
Growing awareness of the
extent of poverty
Boer War exposed the
amount of malnutrition
Led to concerns about the
physical decline of the Britain
Some Liberals were
already working out a
new form of liberalism
The Conservatives produced
nothing other than the
Education Act