Stanley Baldwin was the most important reason why the Conservative Party dominated British Politics in the period 1922-1929 How far do you agree with this statement?

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Jennifer Hatton 12NHB

“Stanley Baldwin was the most important reason why the Conservative Party dominated British Politics in the period 1922-1929” – How far do you agree with this statement?

The Conservative Party dominated British politics in that period. They held a government for most of that period – under Andrew Bonar-Law in 1922-23 and under Stanley Baldwin in 1923, and 1924-29. There was a minority Labour government in 1923-24, under Ramsay MacDonald, which lasted only 9 months. Stanley Baldwin did lead 2 governments in that period, however there were other factors which may have led to the Conservative Party dominating politics, like the comparative weakness of the opposition, the nature of the electoral system, which favoured Conservative candidates.

        Stanley Baldwin first entered Commons in 1908. He gained his first major position in 1917 when he became Financial Secretary to the Treasury. At the end of the David-Lloyd George Coalition in 1922, Bonar-Law was presented with the challenge of forming a government, when the Conservative Party was split after the Carlton Club meeting on the 19th October 1922. He had little choice but to promote the little known Baldwin to Chancellor of the Exchequer. In December 1922 he was handed the difficult task of negotiating in Washington for the reduction of the British wartime debts. The Americans drove a hard bargain and Baldwin agreed that Britain would pay back the full amount over the next 62 years, with interest at 3% per year. In May 1923 Bonar-Law resigned and the King made Baldwin Prime Minister. Baldwin was liked by all sides in the Commons, and also in tune with public opinions. In December 1923 Baldwin called a general election over taxes on imports. He made a speech, trying to put across the impression of being an honest, average sort of person who could be trusted. However even though the Conservative’s gained almost the same number of votes; they secured around 100 fewer seats. This is mainly due to the Liberal party reuniting in defence of free trade. This lead to a “Hung parliament” and Baldwin felt he could not carry on, and let the second largest party take control – Labour. In the General Election of October 1924 the Conservatives gained 48.3% of the vote – and secured 419 seats. Baldwin had used the months in opposition to re-unite the Conservative party, and brought back leading figures such as Austin Chamberlin, Arthur Balfour and Birkenhead. He also made an unusual and significant appointment – Winston Churchill (until recently a Liberal) as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Baldwin had contemplated the idea of “new Conservatism” – that combined efficiency and moral purpose, which made the Conservatives appeal to the masses – working class men had gained the vote in 1918, Baldwin knew that in order to remain a major party the Conservatives would have to change their ideology. The return to the Gold Standard in 1925 was also a mistake.  The General Strike in 1926 had been the last thing that Baldwin wanted, however he did at least handle it effectively. Now he could go back to being a man of compromise and peace.

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        The weakness of the opposition during this period helped the Conservative party to dominate British politics. Since the downfall of the David Lloyd-George Coalition in 1922, the Liberal party was losing votes and support from the public. In 1906 the Liberals gained 49% of the total vote, and won a landslide victory. In 1923 that was down to 29.6% and in 1924 the Liberals gained only 40 seats and got only 17.6% of the vote. In 1923 the Liberal party was reunited with Lloyd-George working somewhat uneasily under his old enemy Herbert Asquith. In 1925 Asquith rose to the House ...

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