Coalition's return to normality.

The main aims due to the considerable talent found in the coalition government followed along the lines of:
• Making Britain a better place to forget about the first world war stresses
• The massive governmental debt (from 650 – 8000 mil) needed to be funded.
• Lloyd George also wanted unity within the Coalition as there was such a broad base of ideas.
• Lloyd George was also concerned with Foreign affairs of which he saw as essential after the war.

Lloyd George was determined to continue the liberal reformation of old, even before the War was over, he basically said that there was no turning back the clock on governmental intervention, and that these reforms would continue. He first, influenced by the Liberal Whitby, set up the Whitby Councils which contained employers and employees to talk about wages and working conditions. He next set up the Council of Reconstruction under Christopher Addison, the famous slogan ‘Homes fit for Heroes’ in reforms over housing, NH, banking and industry. He also proposed to extend pensions, and a new education act had been passes so that LEA’s had to set up schemes of work, and a min leaving age of 14.

After the war, it first aimed to improve pre-war reformation
- Maternity and child welfare act of 1918 Updated benefits of the ‘Children Act of 1908’
- Pensions had seen some of the restrictions removed
- Health insurance was for all earning under 250

Next were efforts to win the working class over
- Ex-servicemen allowed special unemployment benefits
- Act to prevent wage reductions after the drop in demand after the war
- New miner reforms

Then followed structural reforms, to deal with the social issues of the time
- The Unemployment Act of 1920, extended provisions to all employees (except a select few with their own schemes), but doing this at the time of high unemployment (due to the war) led to problems. This had to be changed as the Surplus made for the Act of 22 million had been wiped out. 1921 act changed this to after 26 weeks they would be put on a new uninsured scheme.
- Housing scheme under Addison followed next, where 70,000 homes would be built, offered at low rents until the market picked up.

The Economic problems dominated the governments concerns, as the war had led to high levels of taxation and government interference with the economy. Britain’s structure did remain intact however. The next aim happened to be lower taxation, which would be difficult as Britain’s military would be used in the LofN. At the Start, Death duties and profits tax was raised, but this was eventually changed back to normal.

The recovery was directed by the Geddes’ Committee who aimed to cut spending by 86 Million in education, health and military issues;

- Army and navy facing a 41 million cut.
- Education lost 18 million by docking wages
- Reductions in army personal
- Children under six removed from school
- Police pay was cut.

The government accepted a total of 64 Million in cuts.

The war exposed the agriculture and industry side of Britain as being to be weak, and needed modernisation. The government during the war often nationalised some of the weakening areas of the industry, such as the mines. The Sankey committee of 1919 reported that mining had be nationalised in order to survive. The mines were eventually returned to private ownership, but falling coal prices pushed down wages, which lead to the ‘Black Friday’ event, the breakdown of the national miners strike on Friday 15 april, 1921. The Railways act reduced 120 rail companies to four, with a Railway tribunal, as it had shown to be rather inefficient during the war.

Agriculture had shown its value during the war, as it reduced Britain’s dangerous dependence on foreign importing of food. The 1920’s act, set up a wage board, to guarantee prices for farmers, to protect the downturn period after the war. But what followed was a boom, so wages grew massively and THEN was hit by a slump in which prices plummeted.

The government however, did not create enough homes on the scale needed, nor did it develop social reform on what it introduced after the second world war, as the majority conservatives and even liberals did not embrace such deep reformation.

SUMMARY
LG wanted to focus on
- Make Britain a better place
- Tackling debt
- Industry/agriculture
- Continuation of reform
- International Co-op

LG – Intervention would increase but should be more private enterprise again
Whitby Councils – Working conditions and Wages
Council of Reconstruction – Addison ‘Homes of heroes’
Proposed extension of reforms, LEA'S SCHEME OF WORK + MIN leaving age
Improve pre-war reformation
- Pensions extended
- Updated 1908 children’s act (benefit)
- Health insurance
Efforts to win working class
- ex-service men extended benefits
- Act for miners
Structural
- Unemployment act, caused problems and had to be changed
- Housing scheme. 70’000 houses
¬Britain lower taxes, the Geddes Cut, military cuts, education cuts, totalling 64 Million. Industry was weak, and gov wanted mines to be privately owned, eventually happened but wage cuts followed.
General miners strike – Black Friday

Agriculture useful, Act introduced to support wages. However, there was post war boom, then slump so wages fell anyway.

NOT A FAILURE but not a success, Reforms not as extensive as they should be. HOUSING ACT WAS TOO SMALL, and poorly made houses. Coalition too CAUTIOUS, and un-nationalisation, not big enough