At the end of World War One in November 1918 the Labour Party emerged as a strong political Party. Prior to this it was the Liberal Party that was expected to be the main opposition to the Conservatives, with Labour as a party who used the popularity of the Liberals to become noticed. However, it soon became apparent that the Liberals were a weak and flagging party who were unable to unite as one to make decisions. It is evident that the First World War may have been an important factor in the growth of Labour and the decline of the Liberals.It seems that the decline of the Liberals began with several problems that can be traced back to pre-war times. Between 1910 and 1914 there was a series of crises over the House of Lords, women’s suffrage, industrial unrest, and Irish Home Rule, which all had a damaging effect on the Liberals. The party, it seemed were ‘unable to cope with and adapt to pre-war politics’. There was increasing conflict between the House of Lords and the House of Commons between 1909 and 1911. The Conservatives used their in-built majority in the House of Lords to prevent bills being passed to become acts, such as education and licensing bills which were put forward. This also included Irish Home Rule. The Liberals vowed to push for Irish Home Rule in parliament, in return for the support of the Irish Nationalists in General Elections. In 1910 two General Elections resulted in the Liberals still being in office, but only just. It was then the Parliament Act was put forward. This would take away the Lords veto. In 1911 the Parliament Act was passed. Finally Bills (including Home Rule) could be passed. However, the Lords still had the power to delay Bills for two years, which gave them time to rally opposition.The hindered rate at which parliament attended to the matter of votes for women led to the development of a suffragist and a suffragette movement. The Liberals were hesitant to s...
