{"product_id":"9781914487514-battles-at-the-ballot-ha","title":"Battles at the Ballot","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Politicians, Idealists and Cranks of Britain's WW1 By-elections\u003cbr\u003eThe history of WWI's home front when idealists, single-issue fanatics and chancers fought Westminster by-elections. Foreword by the BBC's John Curtice\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe previously untold story of Britain's home front during World War One\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntroduced by Sir John Curtice, the BBC's election expert\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWhen Britain entered the First World War (World War I \/ WWI), Westminster tried to freeze politics. The main parties agreed an “electoral truce”: if a seat fell vacant (outside Ireland), the incumbent party would replace the MP unopposed. But the country didn’t stop arguing—so the arguments erupted in the one place they couldn’t be fully controlled: the wartime by-election.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWith a foreword by Sir John Curtice, \u003ci\u003eBattles at the Ballot\u003c\/i\u003e is a vivid work of British political history and election history, revealing how democracy still operated under pressure on the Home Front. Between 1914 and 1918 there were 118 wartime vacancies; 89 passed unopposed, but 29 became real battles. Independents won three times—rare upsets that still sent shockwaves through Coalition government politics.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat you’ll find inside:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDramatic, detailed stories\u003c\/b\u003e of contested by-elections across Great Britain, with results, personalities, and local campaigning\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe key issues of the era\u003c\/b\u003e: conscription, “peace by negotiation” vs “fight to the finish”, civil liberties, anti-war dissent, pacifism, conscientious objectors, class politics, patriotism, and propaganda\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eParty conflict behind the truce\u003c\/b\u003e: Conservatives\/Unionists, a divided Liberal Party (Asquith vs Lloyd George), and the rising challenge of Labour and the labour movement\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe politics of drink\u003c\/b\u003e: temperance, liquor licensing, the Central Control Board, pubs and wartime alcohol restrictions — and the backlash they provoked\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAir power and fear at home\u003c\/b\u003e: Zeppelins, early air raids, air defence, reprisals, and the “first blitz” anxieties that shaped campaigns\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eUnforgettable characters and headline-makers\u003c\/b\u003e: Horatio Bottomley, Noel Pemberton-Billing, rebels, idealists, opportunists—and famous names in the firing line, including Winston Churchill\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cbr\u003eRich in colour and detail, this book captures the last hurrah of Victorian\/Edwardian electioneering in a nation at war: public meetings, posters, leaflets, press wars, professional agents, “removals” on an ageing register, short-notice campaigns, and political theatre.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIdeal for readers of: WW1 history, Great War history, British politics, UK Parliament and House of Commons history, wartime elections, by-election history, coalition politics, Liberal decline, Labour rise, Home Front Britain 1914–1918, conscription debate, temperance history, Zeppelin raids, and political campaigning.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReader review by David Worsfold\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis is a must-read for anyone interested in the shifting sands of public and political opinion\u003c\/b\u003e through the traumatic years of WW1.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eJohn Leston takes a potentially dry subject and injects colour, personality and drama into almost every page.\u003cbr\u003e Psephologists will rejoice at the detailed chronicling of the ebb and flow of voting shares, turnouts and candidates, while those more engaged by the personalities who locked electoral horns will delight in the vivid descriptions of the extraordinary collection of individuals who brushed aside the electoral truce between the main parties to champion whatever issue of the day they believed deserved greater attention.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAll of this is carefully placed in the context of those issues and how they shaped the wartime coalition's policies.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBuy the book and start reading\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55609713295734,"sku":"9781914487514","price":14.92,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_34339746.jpg?v=1747276035","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781914487514-battles-at-the-ballot-ha","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}