The prevailing atmosphere of the Boer war made sure that Conservative credibility was undermined when the ‘Chinese slavery’ affair was publicised. The public seemed to be impressed by this issue. Political insensitivity of Balfour’s government was indicated as tens of thousands of Chinese workers were exploited by their employers, working almost like slaves. The conditions under which they were employed involved compulsory attachment to their masters by a form of indenture and segregation into special compounds. They were used as ‘coolies’ to compensate a shortage in kaffir labour. Balfour’s government received criticisms from all corners of
The empire and the Liberals once again managed to capitalise on Conservative misfortunes.
People felt that the Conservative party were using the machinery of law and government to deprive the working man of rights. This was confirmed in the taff vale case where the House of Lords had forced the rail union to pay for damages as a result of a strike that took place in 1900. This basically meant that the working man wasn’t able to voice concerns protesting against working conditions, without risking bankruptcy. This case aroused sympathy and lost votes for the Tory’s.
A policy of free trade as opposed to protectionism was a focal point in British politics leading up to the 20th century and eventually a free trade policy had been adopted, basically countries could trade freely without the disincentive of government taxes. This was suitable during the period in which Britain was the leading industrial nation, but as competition with other countries intensified it was to the detriment of British manufacturers and farmers. The problem needed to be solved.
There were efforts by Lord Churchill to implement further domestic reforms in the tradition of Tory democracy were unsuccessful, but the popular imperialist emphasis remained. In this period the party was gradually drawing closer to business class interests, but the insistence of Joseph Chamberlain on a pro-empire tariff reform split the party. He proposed that a protectionist tariffs needed to be introduced as it would protect British industry (i.e. industrialists and farmers). He also wanted to make possible a system of imperial preference, which was to the determent of most of the cabinet. The programme was strongly opposed by a small group of free traders. More seriously, working class fears that duties on food imports would raise the cost of living made it an electoral liability. The internal divisions caused a purge of the cabinet in 1903 and did much to cause three consecutive electoral defeats.
The tariff reform campaign, which was launched in 1903, resulted in Chamberlain resigning and setting up a splinter group known as the tariff reform league. The Conservative leader Balfour failed to compromise the situation between the separate divisions and was never was able to unite the party.
Amongst the misfortunes of the Conservative party they also had some fortunes. Tracing predecessors of Arthur Balfour we come across Disraeli. He was a man of very different political views and opened up the possibility of a realignment of political attitudes and loyalties during the late 1800’s. He was socially and globally focused. His idea of ‘Tory Democracy’ was to understand the problems of the working class but his views weren’t shared by his successor, Salisbury who was Balfour’s uncle. Disraeli’s ideas however remained central to Conservatism ever since, and those who profess the notion of ‘One Nation’ Conservatism look back to Disraeli as their inspiration.
In terms of political fortunes Balfours government achieved various things. The Tory’s passed the Irish land Purchase act (1903), created the Committee of Imperial Defence (1904), and inaugurated the Franco-British entente (1904). However his most important governmental achievement was the educational reform (1902). The Act abolished all school boards and handed over their duties to local borough or county councils. These new Local Education Authorities (LEAs) were given powers to establish new secondary and technical schools as well as developing the existing system of elementary schools. The Balfour Education Act was focused on providing opportunities for the lower and middle classes. However Nonconformists and
Supporters of the Liberal and the upcoming Labour parties campaigned against the 1902 Education Act.
The Liberals were fortunate in their ‘landslide’ victory of 1906 for a number of reasons. The Liberals took the initiative in capitalising on any mistakes made by the Tory’s. The issue of Tariff reform gave the Liberals room to manoeuvre on one of their fundamental principals that of free trade. This allowed the Liberals to capitalise in gaining support of those who would least benefit under the protectionist system proposed by the Tory’s.
The Liberals also had some very skilful politicians, which enabled them to run a very effective campaign. Herbert Gladstone, the Liberal Chief Whip, stalled the threat of the emergence of the Labour party as he made a secret electoral pact in 1903 with James Ramsay MacDonald, the secretary of the Labour Party Representation Committee, to unite ‘the forces of progress’ in the general election. It avoided a direct competition for the working class vote by allowing Labour to have a free run in selected constituencies, this also worked vice versa.
The Liberals were steered to the ‘landslide’ victory of 1906 by Henry Campbell-Bannerman. He was the leader of the party and ‘prayed on Balfour’s mistakes’. The Liberal party had an inclusive environment in which no single faction was given the opportunity to predominate in contrast with Balfour’s government with Chamberlain in the party. Henry Cambell-Bannermann was a classic Liberal. He was radical; he keenly supported Irish devolution and wanted to extend trade union rights and reform education. He was an opponent of the Boer War and advocated comprehensive social reforms and in doing so established himself as one of the most important figures on the progressive wing of the party. When the Lords blocked his policies he laid plans to curb their power. He also supported women’s suffrage and introduced the Old age pension.
Overall, it can be argued that the split in the Conservative party was to blame for the Liberal ‘landslide’ victory of 1906 however I feel that there are many other factors that played its part. Although the division of the Conservative party lacked the unity of the Liberals, it was difficult to point out to any Tory reform which was specifically intended to offer benefits of the working class and there is hardly any evidence that the Conservatives had genuinely succeeded in widening their power base. The post-Victorian era and the turn of the century gave a new dimension to politics. The voices of the working class had to be heard. The Conservatives were unprepared for 20th century Politics and were defeated for good reasons but largely over the wrong issues. The Tory’s were vulnerable to the emergence of a new party with a broader appeal to the working-class vote than its own. The general election loss of 1906 wasn’t due to the split of the Conservative party but rather complacency and neglect of working men’s interests. Many Conservatives attributed the 1906 defeat to the natural swing of the electoral pendulum after ten years of Conservative government. The idea was ‘the turn’ of the Liberals to win.
