ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with a period in which the political landscape of Britain was dramatically altered. The Liberal Party, already suffering from the impact of the First World War on their unity and ideology, continued to decline, despite Lloyd George’s best efforts. The Conservatives by contrast, carefully exploited their wartime links with Lloyd George and the public demands for tranquility, to emerge as the chief party of government in the inter-war years, holding office either independently, or as part of a coalition for all but 30 months of the 21 years between the wars. They managed this, despite the creation of a full democracy in Britain in 1928, despite bitter industrial disputes which culminated in a general strike in 1926, and despite the apparent failure of capitalism in the depression which followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929. It was the rise of the Labour Party that seems most striking, however. Although they only held 63 seats in 1918, within six years they had formed their first government, and their leader, Ramsay MacDonald was chosen to head the ‘National Government’ that was formed by members of all three parties to resolve the financial crisis that confronted Britain in summer 1931. Labour, however, split with MacDonald over his action and never held office again in the 1930s.
