Arthur Balfour and the Defeat of Conservatives in 1906 Election

but other countries now putting tariffs on goods from Britain. Chamberlain proposed tariffs on goods coming from abroad thought there should be preferential tariffs for goods coming from colonies. This abandonment of free trade split the party e.

g. Chamberlain resigned and Churchill went over to the Liberals. So already cracks were beginning to show within the conservative party based around Tariff reforms.So it didn’t help when a man came to power, who according to the majorities opinion thought that he wasn’t really up to the job. The liberals gained 397 seats in parliament where as the conservatives only gained 156 seats.

In my opinion I think that to a large extent Arthur Balfour caused the defeat in the 1906 election because he took on the Tariff reform and he had didn’t really know what he was getting himself in to. Balfour's handling of the response to the bill encountered criticism from within the party and a BMG (Balfour Must Go) movement got under way.In 1911, citing age as a reason, an exasperated Balfour resigned the leadership. It is perhaps surprising that he held on to the leadership for as long as he did, carrying on for six years after the party had lost office. I think that Arthur Balfour had a bad reputation right from the start and the public were wary of him coming into such high power in Britain.

Also I think the public never really trusted him after it came about, that he was involved in Chinese labour. However he did earn some loyalty after he pushed the education act forward.Although, I think that the tariff reform was his major downfall

and cost him the election and also cost his fellow MP’s loss of office. He attempted to restore order among the tariff reform act and failed.

The risks were far to great in the end. In conclusion I think that Arthur Balfour was mainly to blames for the conservatives losing the general election in 1906. I think this because he wasn’t up for the job in the first place and this cause repercussions among the conservatives because his heart wasn’t in it.Also he took on something that had more risks than it did rewards.

Although it took a lot of courage to take it on and try and change Tariff reform for the better, it just didn’t pay off for the conservatives in the end and before Arthur Balfour even came to power there were cracks beginning to show among the party over free trade, and they needed a leader who was really dedicated and I think that Arthur Balfour wasn’t prepared for it.