The 1922 General Election Reconsidered
High Politics and the Birth of the Modern British Election
G.H. Bennett (Author)
Series: History & Policy Shorts
Published in association with: Institute of Historical Research
The General Election of 15 November 1922 was a pivotal election in British political history. As parties adjusted to peacetime conditions and an electoral system changed forever by the enfranchisement of women and working-class men, the 1922 election stood as the first real test of party performance and engagement with voter priorities in a Britain fundamentally altered by the First World War. The result was a general election that would set national polling culture for the next century, and mark a significant step towards the decline of the Liberal Party and the emergence of a Conservative-Labour duopoly.
This book examines the way the 1922 election was fought, the performance of the parties and the operation of a semi-official, but undeclared, party pact between the Conservative and Coalition Liberal Parties to manage the outcome, as they emerged from the Lloyd George Coalition and attempted to shut the Labour Party out of power. Capturing the high and the low politics of the election, and making use of newly available archival collections and digitised resources, this concise and accessible volume shows how the 1922 election marked the birth of the modern British general election as we know it today.
This book represents a fascinating contribution to the study of British political history. By re-examining the 1922 General Election, it challenges entrenched narratives and provides new insights into the interplay of party politics, leadership, and voter behaviour during a transformative period. It will undoubtedly be of interest to historians of British politics, as well as political scientists studying electoral behaviour and party systems.
—Richard Toye, Director of Global Excellence (History), University of Exeter, UK
- Introduction
- 1 The Party Political Outlook in October 1918
- 2 The Position of the Four Main Parties
- 3 Locally Arranged Pacts
- 4 “There is no Pact – But”
- 5 “Co-operation” in the Constituencies
- 6 Impact of the Local Elections and Nomination Day
- 7 Defining Coalition Liberal Strategy
- 8 Trying to Broker a Deal with the Conservatives
- 9 Exchanges Between the Parties After 4 November
- 10 Methods and Tone
- 11 Final Positions
- 12 The Day of the Election and the Hours After
- 13 Results
- 14 Repercussions of the 1922 Election
- Conclusion
- Afterword – Considerations for British Politics
PDF: 9781914477737
EPUB: 9781914477744
Read Online: 9781914477720
Hardback: 9781914477706 / 160 pages / 220mm x 144mm
Paperback: 9781914477713 / 160 pages / 216mm x 140mm
G.H. Bennett (Author)
G.H. Bennett is Associate Professor of History at Plymouth University where he has taught since 1992. His is author of over 20 books on military, diplomatic and political history of the twentieth century.
This book represents a fascinating contribution to the study of British political history. By re-examining the 1922 General Election, it challenges entrenched narratives and provides new insights into the interplay of party politics, leadership, and voter behaviour during a transformative period. It will undoubtedly be of interest to historians of British politics, as well as political scientists studying electoral behaviour and party systems.
—Richard Toye, Director of Global Excellence (History), University of Exeter, UK
Subject: History
BISAC codes: HIS015070, POL008000
Thema codes: JPH, NHD
Keywords: 1922, Bonar Law, Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Lloyd George, coalition, general election, post-war British politics
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