Book contents
- The British Home Front and the First World War
- The British Home Front and the First World War
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables and Charts
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on the Illustrations
- Introduction
- 1 The United Kingdom in 1914
- Part I Government
- 2 The Monarchy
- 3 The Growth of Cabinet Government
- 4 The Defence of the Realm Act and Other Emergency Laws
- 5 Local Government and the Great War: The Experience in Essex
- 6 The Clergy and Cultural Mobilisation
- Part II Resources
- Part III People
- Part IV Production
- Part V Social Impacts
- Conclusion
- Index
3 - The Growth of Cabinet Government
from Part I - Government
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 February 2023
- The British Home Front and the First World War
- The British Home Front and the First World War
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables and Charts
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on the Illustrations
- Introduction
- 1 The United Kingdom in 1914
- Part I Government
- 2 The Monarchy
- 3 The Growth of Cabinet Government
- 4 The Defence of the Realm Act and Other Emergency Laws
- 5 Local Government and the Great War: The Experience in Essex
- 6 The Clergy and Cultural Mobilisation
- Part II Resources
- Part III People
- Part IV Production
- Part V Social Impacts
- Conclusion
- Index
Summary
Changes in the way the Cabinet worked during the First World War can be seen as marking the beginnings of modern government in Britain.1 The leisurely methods inherited from the eighteenth century proved to be inadequate in a world where communication by telegraph and telephone encouraged centralised decision-making in London. However, changes necessary for efficient waging of war were not easily reconciled with the Cabinet’s traditional responsibility for the unity and coherence of government, and ministers’ collective responsibility for policy. Moreover, modern warfare required unprecedented mobilisation of national resources, and therefore a greater role for the state in the economy and society. This chapter addresses three questions. First, what changes occurred in the ways the Cabinet worked; second, how far did the scope of Cabinet government grow; and third, to what extent did the public’s expectations of government change?
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- Information
- The British Home Front and the First World War , pp. 63 - 77Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023