The victorious conclusion of the war, coupled with a great democratising reform for the peace, created a sense of expectation that the parliament elected in December 1918 could not more starkly have disappointed. There was widespread shock at the overnight transformation of party politics, and general disorientation and speculation. To the central criticism that the 1918 Reform Act had produced a deeply unrepresentative, and therefore undemocratic, house of commons, came complaints that the legislature had become merely an appendage of the executive, and parliamentary government had been supplanted by party government. Many opined that the authority of the house of commons had been undermined. This essay considers how the implications of the act were envisaged, and how they were experienced and reported. It will look at the legislature that resulted, its members, and how they adapted to, and changed, its procedures and conventions. Finally, it will reflect on the politics of the impact of the Reform Act, on the parties, on their policies, and on a new political environment that had been created. Through their writings at the time and their reflections subsequently, those who were members, and those who were observers, of parliament testified as to how they felt the house of commons had changed as a result of the impact of the 1918 Reform Act.

中文翻译：

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1918 年改革法案对下议院的影响

战争的胜利结束，再加上为和平而进行的伟大的民主化改革，产生了一种期待感，令 1918 年 12 月选出的议会失望至极。一夜之间政党政治的转变以及普遍的迷失和猜测引起了广泛的震惊。中央批评 1918 年改革法案产生了一个极不具有代表性、因此不民主的下议院，随之而来的抱怨是立法机关只是行政部门的附属机构，议会政府已被党政府取代。许多人认为下议院的权威受到了破坏。本文考虑了该法案的影响是如何被设想的，以及它们是如何被体验和报告的。它将着眼于产生的立法机构、其成员，以及他们如何适应和改变其程序和公约。最后，它将反思改革法案对政党、他们的政策以及已经创造的新政治环境的影响的政治。通过他们当时的著作和随后的反思，议会成员和观察员证明了他们如何认为下议院因 1918 年改革法案的影响而发生了变化。