The end of the Tories?

[Calgacus]

Could the Liberal Party have moved to the right at the 1923 election (where they gained 158 seats, to the Tories 258 and Labour's 191) supporting the Conservatives as the new government, instead of Labour as in OTL? This scenario is hinted at by AN Wilson in After the Victorians, and in my neverending search to find a 'Liberal' TL, I wondered if this might be a way in which the balance of British politics could have been changed.

Considering the short life span of that Labour government, it would seem as though taking on the mantle of government in these circumstances would be disastrous for whichever party. Baldwin was actually offered the government by the King, but suggested that Macdonald be approached instead (knowing that such a move would a) destroy the Liberals as a political force and b) discredit Labour through a poor showing in government). In OTL, the Liberals stood back and opted not to support a Tory government. With hindsight that appears a mistake - if they had supported Baldwin for PM, they might then have reaped the benefit of a weak Tory government (which they would be in a position to undermine). The Liberals were already moving to the right in this period, so what if they had done so sooner, and seriously challenged a still divided Tory party?

[Calgacus]

bumped....

[stevep]

Originally Posted by Calgacus

Could the Liberal Party have moved to the right at the 1923 election (where they gained 158 seats, to the Tories 258 and Labour's 191) supporting the Conservatives as the new government, instead of Labour as in OTL? This scenario is hinted at by AN Wilson in After the Victorians, and in my neverending search to find a 'Liberal' TL, I wondered if this might be a way in which the balance of British politics could have been changed.

Considering the short life span of that Labour government, it would seem as though taking on the mantle of government in these circumstances would be disastrous for whichever party. Baldwin was actually offered the government by the King, but suggested that Macdonald be approached instead (knowing that such a move would a) destroy the Liberals as a political force and b) discredit Labour through a poor showing in government). In OTL, the Liberals stood back and opted not to support a Tory government. With hindsight that appears a mistake - if they had supported Baldwin for PM, they might then have reaped the benefit of a weak Tory government (which they would be in a position to undermine). The Liberals were already moving to the right in this period, so what if they had done so sooner, and seriously challenged a still divided Tory party?

Calgacus

I think it might make tactical sense for the Liberals but is highly unlikely. For one things the main problem as I understand was that the Tories had converted to protectionism while the Liberals were still committed to free trade. This was the primary reason why the Liberals supported Labour, which was also still supporting free trade. As such you would need to untie the party from the policy. [Not totally impossible, as I think L-G had developed an interest in protectionism a couple of years before]. Also, give the clear and large majority a Tory-Lib alliance would have under those circumstances, it would be a lot more stable than the historical Lib-Lab one. Also, going as the junior party in either bloc the Liberals will suffer from the problems of being the 3rd party in the electoral system. What they really need is to be the 2nd party rather than the 3rd. As such, whether in opposition or as the major party in a coalition, then would benefit from the drift from whoever was the 3rd party - probably Labour.

Steve