The previously untold story of the home front in WW1
Introduced by Sir John Curtice, the BBC's election expert
Battles at the Ballots is the highly engaging, never-before-told story of a rebellious episode in British parliamentary and political history, when an assertive public refused to toe the line during wartime elections.
As the guns of the First World War opened up in 1914, normal politics shut down. The main parties agreed a truce: whenever a Westminster seat fell vacant, the incumbent party would be unopposed at the by-election.
To their dismay and sometimes discomfort, a motley crew of failed politicians, single-issue fanatics, idealists and chancers refused to honour the deal, and fought noisily to become MPs.
The carnival atmosphere and political consequences of these brief campaigns – vividly brought to life here by John Leston – furnish a fascinating insight into the priorities and concerns of the WW1 home front, such as:
• the poor quality of Britain’s air defences
• opposition to restrictions on alcohol
• controversy about the conscription of married men
• calls for ever harsher treatment of ‘aliens’
• discontent at a perceived failure to pursue the war vigorously
• demands to seek ‘peace by negotiation’ rather than ‘fight to the finish’
The results often shocked the establishment, which was sometimes forced to respond by changing national policy. Four years in the making, this authoritative and panoramic history covers all 29 of the previously ignored WW1 by-elections – one involving Winston Churchill. Complete with campaign photographs, election results and footnotes.
Professor John Curtice, the BBC’s election expert, provides the foreword, pointing out that it would be a mistake to ignore these political contests, as the nation's men fought in the trenches.
Reader review by David Worsfold
This is a must read for anyone interested in the shifting sands of public and political opinion through the traumatic years of WW1.
John Leston takes a potentially dry subject and injects colour, personality and drama into almost every page.
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.
All of this is carefully placed in the context of those issues and how they shaped the wartime coalition's policies.
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