ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that changes in the structure of British politics are at least as significant as chronological developments in other words, that the changes in the franchise are at least as significant as the effects of the First World War. There can be little doubt that religion was a dominant factor in Lancashire politics, before and after the first war, and there is no evidence from Lancashire to support the view that high levels of enfranchisement conferred any benefit on the Liberals. If the Conservative and Liberal parties are of roughly equal size, and Liberal support divides equally between the Conservatives and an emergent Labour party, then one of the parties which result will be overwhelmingly larger than the other. In three-cornered contests, the Labour share of the vote rises in fourteen of fifteen constituencies, by an average of 5.8 per cent, while the Liberal share falls catastrophically from 31.8 per cent to 17.8 per cent.
