Why did the Liberals win a landslide victory in the 1906 elcections?

Why did the Liberals win a landslide victory in the 1906 election?

The general election of 1906 produced a remarkable transformation of the political scene in Britain. An era of Conservative domination ended, and what turned out to be a period of Liberal reform began. It has been described as the first 'landslide' victory of the 20th century.

In December 1905, the Conservatives were in power but faced mounting criticism and a downturn in trade. The Conservative Prime Minister, A.J Balfour, did something unusual. Rather than call a general election he decided to simply announce his party’s resignation from government. As a result, a Liberal government took over and in January 1906 the Liberals, under Campbell Bannerman, called a general election.

Not only did the Liberals win a majority, they won a huge overall majority in the election with around 400 seats against 157 seats for the Conservatives. There were many reasons for this stunning reversal of political fortunes, not only in the leadership of the two main parties but also in the impact of recent events and political developments.

One event which caused ‘would-be’ Conservative voters to rethink their options was the Boer War. In the short term it had benefited the Conservatives because of patriotic support and the fact that the war had, at first, split the Liberal party, however in the long term the war became very costly in terms of money and loss of life. Also, some of the methods used to defeat the Boers caused moral outrage in Britain. The war also revealed the effect of poverty in the cities and the need for social reforms. The Liberals used this to gain support by claiming that the Conservatives had neglected the working-class people of Britain.

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The 1902 Education Act roused non conformists and led many of them to revert to the Liberal party. This was because before 1902 Anglican and Catholic churches were funded by the church but the Education Act meant that all schools would be funded from local rates. Non conformists were outraged that their taxes be spent on schools which they strongly objected to.

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The Chinese labour issue was another scandal that damaged the conservative government, not just in the eyes of non conformists but also the trade unionists. Chinese labourers who worked for very low wages were being imported into South Africa, apart from causing moral outcry it made the Trade Unionists fear that employers might bring them into Britain and therefore push down wages and reduce the amount of work for British people.

The Conservatives also lost support because of their failure to take the part of the trade unions over the Taff Vale case. In 1901, a dispute had broken out in Wales between the Taff Vale rail company and the railway workers’ trade union to court, demanding compensation for loss of profits during the strike. In 1902, the House of Lords ruled that a company was within its rights to sue a trade union. The trade unions were outraged, because this made it almost impossible fir them to call successful strikes. Only an Act of Parliament could over rule a Lord’s judgement and the Conservatives refused to introduce such legalisation. This encouraged the trade unions support for the idea of a labour group in parliament and for campaigning against the Conservatives in the election.

However the biggest Conservative misjudgement came over Tariff Reforms. In 1903, the tariff reform campaign was launched in Birmingham by Joseph Chamberlain. He wanted to reintroduce tariffs, with a lower level tariff for good coming into Britain from the empire than for goods from out of the empire. The policy was known as Imperial Protectionism. Chamberlain argued that this would protect British jobs, help pay for social reforms and strengthen Britain’s economy. However Tariff reform damaged the Conservatives. Many voters both working and middle class, feared that tariffs would mean dearer food and falling living standards. One leading Conservative, one Winston Churchill, actually voted for the Liberals on the issue in 1904. The Liberals were also strongly reunited over the issue because of a strong belief in Free Trade felt by all Liberals.

Although the 1906 election was not fought on the issue of social reform, there was a growing awareness of the extent of poverty in Britain. The Boer War had exposed the amount of malnutrition especially in the cities and led to concerns about the physical decline of the British race. Some Liberals were already working out a new form of Liberalism in which the state would play a greater role in ensuring minimum living standards for the most vulnerable.

All the above reasons are Conservative mistakes, and it could be said that it was more down to the Conservatives losing the election because of these mistakes rather than as a master stroke by the Liberals. However although the Conservatives did make mistakes the Liberal party did well to pick up on them and use them to their advantage.

By 1905, the Liberals were a reunited party. Issues that had divided them, such as Irish Home Rule, were put to one side, the Boer War was over and agreement had been reached about the leadership of the party. The Liberals were also united behind a banner of Free Trade. During the electoral campaign in 1906, the Liberals exploited this commitment. Free Trade was a ‘bread and butter’ issue of great concern to voters in all classes.

In conclusion, The Liberals were able to exploit Conservative mistakes in regard to the trade unions, by promising to ensure trade unions could not be sued for striking (Trade Disputes Act 1906). They could also win nonconformist votes by exploiting Conservative misjudgement over education and licensing, as well as by promising Welsh Disestablishment. Irish voters in Britain were more likely to vote Liberal due to their support for Home Rule rather than the anti-home rule Conservatives.

For these reasons Liberals attracted votes from people who were dissatisfied with the Conservative government and instead looked to the best alternative, which at the time were the Liberals. So although it could be said that the Conservatives effectively ‘threw away’ votes, the Liberal party did well to offer a better alternative and win by a landslide.

DOM ANSELL