ABSTRACT
A Conservative government had held power since the 1895 election, headed by Lord Salisbury, and composed almost entirely of patricians – all but two of the cabinet were peers or great landowners. Salisbury, who retired in 1902, proved to be the last British Prime Minister to sit in the House of Lords, although a constitutional convention to the effect that a Prime Minister should sit in the Commons did not become established until much later. The war exposed several weaknesses in the existing governmental system and brought demands for greatly increased state intervention to improve the health of the nation, as the poor physique of men volunteering for military service became apparent. Education was a beneficiary of the post-war mood; it was accepted that standards must be improved to enable Britain to compete with its trading rivals and fight future wars. The Conservatives also greatly simplified the confused system of educational administration.
