To what extent did the Conservatives lose the election rather than the Liberals win the election? "The election of 1906 was a significant watershed in the political history of Britain" Kenneth Owen Fox

Part of the Liberals manifesto in 1906 was the verdict of Taff Vale was to be reversed. This obviously suggested to the working classes that the Liberal Party did care and that they understood the working class plight. At this some of the working classes pledged support to the Liberal Party, thereby boosting the Liberal Party votes. This is an example of the Liberal Party taking political advantage of a mistake made by Balfour's government to benefit the Liberal Party in the 1906 election.

Another reason perhaps that the Liberal Party won such a landside victory is that in the build up to the election, they seemed unified and strong, something that at this point the Conservatives lacked. In the run up to the election the Liberals had pulled together. Foreign policy was no longer an area of disagreement and at that point Home Rule for Ireland was not a prominent issue, and so they lost no votes over this. Whereas in the Conservative camp they were anything but united, part of the reason for this was because of Joseph Chamberlain and the issue of Tariff Reform. Tariff Reform split the Conservative Party into three groups, those who supported Joseph Chamberlain and Tariff Reform, those who supported the idea of free trade, and those who backed Balfour. At the height of tension, over this divide, Joseph Chamberlain resigned and as a result the Conservative lost support from the Liberal unionists that supported Joseph Chamberlain. Also the departure of many key Conservative figures in the run up to the election had a predominantly negative affect on the Conservative Party. For example the departure of Captain Richard Middleton, a key Party member, he was effectively responsible for the election campaign. His departure severely effected the Conservative's ability to run an effective electoral campaign. This lack of unity and strength within the Party implied to the voters that the Conservative Party had weakened and therefore many thought them unfit to run the country at a time when a strong government was needed. This obviously translates to a loss of votes and support for the Conservative Party.

Also, Balfour having lost the working class vote through Taff Vale seemed unsatisfied and through more disastrous decisions proceeded to also lose the vote of the middle classes. An example of a decision that lost the middle class votes is that of Chinese slavery. Though directly it was not a decision of Balfour's it again shows his lack of awareness of public opinion. This affected the middle classes as it tarnished the imperial vision, and generally those with an education realised that in fact, this use of Chinese slaves was morally wrong, because of this the educated middle classes generally disliked the decision made by Milner the foreign secretary. But yet again the people who came off worse at this were the working classes; it seemed to them that Balfour's government regarded the working class as being a commodity. It occurred to the working class that there was very little to stop Balfour from bringing slaves into Britain to boost the economy, an idea much opposed by the working class, as this would effectively put them out of work. Again Balfour's government seemed to have little regard for the welfare of the working class. And as a result Balfour had little or no support from the working class. Many of whom turned to the Liberal Party for support, thus boosting the Liberal vote at the 1906 election.

"The liberal manifesto, though traditional played up to the unpopular nature of the conservative reforms." Arnold Frayling

It could also be argued that the reason such a landslide victory was achieved was due to the clever political tactics of the Liberal Party, I would disagree with this statement as during the election the Liberal policy's remained traditional and consistent. For example they continued to support Free Trade and opposed food taxes, a policy they had during the 1900 election. But perhaps what attracted the voter's support was the repeal and reversal of many of the unpopular Conservative reforms. For example part of their manifesto was to repeal the Education Act of 1902. This repeal pleased nonconformists as when the reform was passed under Conservative governing it proved to be very unpopular with nonconformists. This is clear in the way the nonconformists dealt with it, 7000 of them refused outright to pay for sectarian schools, and as a result many of which were prosecuted for not paying the tax. The heavy-handed manner in which Balfour reacted to the nonconformists also was very unpopular. Generally the whole reform was a fiasco for the Conservative Party in regards to the popularity of the Party. The nonconformists wanted this act to be repealed, so the Liberal's vague suggestions of repeal were enough to ensure nonconformist support. Also by pledging to repeal the Licensing Act of 1904, the Liberals gained the support of the temperance lobby. The temperance group originally supported Balfour's reform, and yet due to his decision to compensate the landlords, he as per usual lost the support of a potentially important political group. The vague suggestions of Home Rule for Ireland also pleased the Irish, who rallied for Home Rule, therefore pledging their support. Yet because of the vagueness of the policy, in regards to Home Rule, if they failed to deliver this there would be fewer outcries from the Irish, as it was unclear of the nature of the Liberal promise, this could be viewed as clever political movement. The clever repealing of the unpopular Conservative reforms, coupled with a united Liberal traditional view, obviously proved to be a more attractive alternative to voters than another term of Conservative governing.

"Balfour it seems was not the man for the job." Merrick Thomas

To conclude, in my opinion it would be fair to allocate much of the blame for the result of the 1906 election to the Conservative Party under Balfour. Though in fairness the Liberals, through clever policy did capitalise on Balfour's mistakes. Perhaps Balfour's biggest mistake was his constant misjudgement of public opinion, this is especially true in regards to the working classes. Between 1900 and 1906 Balfour failed to realise the potential of the working class, he continued to upset them through such political misjudgements as Taff Vale, or the Unemployment Workers Act 1905. In the run up to the election therefore the Liberals won the working class support. It was perhaps the working class who had the biggest effect on the result of the election, this proved to be in favour of the Liberal Party.