Evolution of the British Party System: 1885-1940

by Self,Robert C.

• ISBN13: 9780582381766
• ISBN10: 0582381762
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2000-11-06
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The roots of the modern British party system can be traced back to the late nineteenth century. In many ways, the critical watershed arrived in the mid-1880s with the culmination of development in the electoral system which inaugurated a period of so-called 'mass democracy' while eradicating the worst elements of electoral corruption and coercion. These events had profound implications for the structure and scope of party organization and for constitutional thought, as earlier notions of 'parliamentary government' were superseded by the concept of 'party government'. Over the next sixty years, the modern party system evolved with regard to both the mechanics of electoral mobilization and the nature of the underlying discourse based on cleavages of class and ideology. In this book, Robert Self Examines the evolution of the modern party system in Britain. Evolution of the British Party System, 1885-1940describes and analyzes the complex and dynamic interaction of these developments in order to explain the profound changes which took place in the nature of party system voting and electoral competition both at Westminster and in the constituencies. In doing so, Robert Self seeks to provide an accessible and comprehensive text for readers confronting a now almost overwhelming body of specialist literature on the subject.For those interested in British history. Also available in Hardcover - 0-582- 38177-0, $ 69.95Y.

Author Biography

Robert is Senior Lecturer in Politics at London Guildhall University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	xi
Introduction	1	(5)
Notes and references	4	(2)
Development of the electoral system before 1914	6	(15)
The Franchise and Redistribution Acts, 1884-1885	6	(4)
The elimination of corruption and intimidation	10	(3)
The franchise in Britain after 1885: `Democracy tempered by registration'	13	(8)
Notes and references	18	(3)
The rise of modern party organisation	21	(20)
Extra-parliamentary organisation	22	(6)
Linking the grassroots to the leaders: the National Union and the Liberal caucus	28	(3)
The emergence of a central party bureaucracy	31	(3)
Discipline and control in the parliamentary parties	34	(2)
The rise of national campaigning, manifestos and programmatic politics	36	(5)
Notes and references	38	(3)
Party realignment and Unionist ascendancy, 1885-1905	41	(28)
Gladstonian Liberalism and the schism of 1886	41	(3)
Liberal malaise, 1886-1902	44	(6)
Liberals, Labour and the birth of the Progressive Alliance	50	(5)
Lord Salisbury and the Unionist alliance	55	(6)
Unionist decline and Liberal revival, 1900-1906	61	(8)
Notes and references	64	(5)
The challenge of New Liberalism, 1906-1914	69	(30)
The reformulation of Liberalism	69	(2)
The conversion of the Liberal party	71	(3)
Liberals and the politics of taxation	74	(3)
Unionist crisis and the politics of taxation, 1906-1910	77	(3)
Labour, the Progressive Alliance and the New Liberalism	80	(4)
Rumours of a `Strange Death', 1910-1914	84	(4)
The electorate and the New Liberalism	88	(4)
Conclusion: the significance of the New Liberalism	92	(7)
Notes and references	94	(5)
War and the party system	99	(25)
Liberalism divided	99	(6)
Liberal ideology and the strains of war	105	(4)
Conservatism and the challenge of war	109	(3)
Collapse of the Progressive Alliance and Labour's bid for independence	112	(3)
Labour, `socialism' and the impact of war	115	(3)
The `coupon' election of December 1918	118	(6)
Notes and references	120	(4)
The Lloyd George Coalition, 1918-1922	124	(16)
The impact of Labour	124	(3)
Coalition, reconstruction and resistance to socialism	127	(2)
Slump and the destruction of `national unity'	129	(3)
Anti-socialist `fusion' and the realignment of the centre-right	132	(1)
The fall of the Coalition	133	(7)
Notes and references	138	(2)
Three-party confusion in the 1920s	140	(36)
Explanations for party realignment	140	(2)
The `franchise factor' and the Fourth Reform Act of 1918	142	(4)
The organisational factor in Labour rise and Liberal decline	146	(3)
Labour, Liberals and the battle of ideas	149	(7)
The impact of the first Labour government	156	(3)
The foundations of Conservative electoral hegemony	159	(9)
The 1929 election: the end of the three-party era	168	(8)
Notes and references	171	(5)
The National Governments	176	(31)
The party crisis, 1929-1931	176	(3)
The political crisis and the National Government	179	(4)
The character of the National Government	183	(5)
The collapse of independent Liberalism	188	(1)
Labour responses to 1931: leadership, power and organisation	189	(2)
Labour's ideological response to 1931	191	(4)
Party politics and the `impact of Hitler'	195	(2)
The failure of political extremism in the 1930s	197	(2)
Electoral competition and the onset of war	199	(8)
Notes and references	202	(5)
Select Bibliography	207	(4)
General background histories	207	(1)
The electoral system	207	(1)
Party development and management	207	(1)
Elections and electoral behaviour	208	(1)
Party histories: the Conservatives	208	(1)
The Labour party	209	(1)
The Liberal party	209	(1)
Extremist parties	209	(1)
Coalition and `National Government'	210	(1)
Party doctrine and thought	210	(1)
Index	211