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History
Staple industries: The key industries of the British economy on which Britain's wealth rested in the 19th century, such as cotton, coal, iron and steel, shipbuilding ad heavy engineering.
Nationalisation: Taking an industry into State ownership, organisation and control. Opposite of Privatisation.
Transport and General Workers Union(TGWU): Led by Ernest Bevin,this eventually became the trade union with the largest membership and covered a number of types of employment.
1) What industrial unrest occurred after 1918?(pg. 51)
There was unrest in he coalfields and trade unions were growing stronger. Membership of trade unions doubled from 4 million to 8 million between 1914 and 1920. New larger unions such and the TGWU were created through amalgamation. In 1919 there was a police strike in Liverpool, in May 1920 dockers refused to load a ship with weapons to be used against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War. in 1921 a national miners strike was sparked off by owners cutting wage rates.
2) Who was Ernest Bevin?(pg. 52)
Ernest Bevin was a self-educated Bristol labourer who became a leading trade unionist, founding Britain's largest trade union, the TGWU. during the Second World War, he held the key post of Minister of Labour in Churchill's wartime coalition and from 1945 to 1951 he was Lanour governments Forign Escratarh responsible for several major, if contrversial policies.
3) Explain the problem with Ireland(pg. 52)
In Ireland the 1912 Home Rule Bill was due to become law, however the devisions in Ireland were intense. The Irish National Party had been taken over by Sinn Fein and many of the men of the Easter Rising were considered heroes and martyrs. British rule was being challenge by the Dail in Dublin and the creation of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
The British government tried to control this by deploying the 'Black and Tans' who while managed to earn a reputation as being ruthless could not eliminate the IRA.
Finally in 1920 Lloyd George passed the Government of Ireland Act, which partitioned Ireland to preserve the Unionist north while allowing autonomy to the Catholic south. However, the Sinn Fein rejected this proposal as they wanted complete autonomy for all Ireland. Eventually a second solution was proposed where Irelsnd become a self governing dominion of the British Empire, Lloyd George persuaded the Sinn Fein representatives that while Ulster would still be part of the British Empire it would be so small it would soon join.
Lloyd George was heavily criticised for his actions during this time, for allowing such a regime to form in Ireland and also for the metods of the 'Black and Tans' while in Ireland. The Conservatives and Unionists never forgave him for allowing Ireland to split from the British Empire.
4) What was the honours scandal and the Chanak Affair
The honours scandal was when Lloyd George was accused of selling peerages in order to finance his own political party, this was then followed by the Chanak Affair, this was where Lloyd George ordered British troops to stop advancing Turkish Nationalists from capturing Chanak, however he did not consult his coalition partners and this damaged his reputation.
Homework question) Why did the converservatives decide to chose to break with Lloyd George in 1922?
With the damaged reputation of Lloyd George the other Conservatives began to believe they would be better off without being in the coalition, after winning a by Election at Newport they believed they had enough electoral support to win without them.
The conservatives voted overwhelmingly to fight in the next election without the coalition, within hours of this vote Lloyd George resigned and the coalition ended.