And we’re off!

The 2010 general election is now upon us! To mark the occasion, we’ve pulled out some posters and flyers from the 1910 election – just to give a snapshot of elections 100 years ago.

There were in fact two general elections in 1910; the January election, dominated by disagreement over Lloyd George’s ‘People’s Budget’, resulted in a hung parliament and required a coalition between the reigning Liberals and the Irish Nationalists. Another election was called in December, but again, neither party managed to command a majority; the Liberals, led by H.H. Asquith, remained in place as the nation’s leaders, backed by the Irish Nationalists for a second time.

Free Trade was on everyone’s minds; the electors were also worried about naval strength.
Lloyd George’s ‘People’s Budget’ proved extraordinarily controversial; it called for increased taxes, including a land tax, in order to pay for social spending in areas such as pensions. The House of Lords vetoed the Budget, leading to renewed debates over House of Lords reform – generating the sort of sentiments shown in the poster below.



All images and text © Conservative Party Archive Trust

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