‘Populist Constitutionalism’ and the Unionist Party during the 1911 House of Lords’ Crisis

Abstract

AbstractThis article reassesses the revolt against the 1911 Parliament Act by the ‘ditchers’ – the measure's diehard opponents in the house of lords. It shows that the ditchers had a clear and coherent platform on the constitution – referred to here as ‘populist constitutionalism’ – which sought to relegitimise aristocratic political power through the adoption of constitutional reforms including the introduction of referenda. This platform had evolved naturally from Lord Salisbury's ‘mandate theory’ that utilised the Unionist predominance in the second chamber to reject unpopular Liberal legislation. Where Salisbury had adopted a tactical, opportunistic perspective, however, populist constitutionalism was more programmatic. In contrast, Arthur Balfour, as Unionist leader, adopted a more cautious approach and avoided reform until his hand was forced by the constitutional crises of 1909–11. The ditchers, as part of the Edwardian ‘radical right’, were often frustrated with Balfour's refusal to advocate measures such as the referendum. This frustration reflected similar radical right criticisms of Balfour's leadership during the tariff reform debate. Hence the ditcher revolt represented the culmination of a decade of Unionist division over the Unionist platform, Balfour's leadership, and indeed the philosophical idea of Toryism itself.