This essay challenges the conventional wisdom concerning the impact of the 1918 Reform Act on the Liberal Party. It was not the extension of the franchise or any other feature of the act that led to the downfall of the Liberal Party. Instead, it was the division between Asquith and Lloyd George and the resulting ‘Coupon election’ of 1918 which severely harmed the Liberals, and the provisions of the act only caused difficulties for the Liberal Party in the context of the split. This essay explores the four facets of the 1918 Reform Act (the enlarged franchise, the redistribution of constituencies, the new registration system, and the method of election), and examines how these affected the Liberal Party. The response of the Liberal elite to these changes is found to be wanting, with the leadership of Asquith particularly criticized. It was the failure of the party leaders to engage with the changed circumstances, and particularly the ways in which they viewed the new electorate, that disadvantaged the Liberals. The coincidental timing of the act, when the Liberals were at their most divided for a generation, provides the most persuasive explanation of why they struggled while the Labour and Conservative Parties prospered under the new system.

中文翻译：

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自由党和 1918 年改革法案的影响

本文挑战了关于 1918 年改革法案对自由党影响的传统观点。导致自由党垮台的不是特许权的扩展或该法案的任何其他特征。相反，正是阿斯奎斯和劳合乔治之间的分裂以及由此产生的 1918 年“优惠券选举”严重伤害了自由党，而该法案的规定只是在分裂的背景下给自由党带来了困难。本文探讨了 1918 年改革法案的四个方面（扩大的选举权、选区的重新分配、新的登记制度和选举方法），并考察这些方面如何影响自由党。自由党精英对这些变化的反应被认为是缺乏的，尤其是阿斯奎斯的领导层受到了批评。党的领导人未能适应变化的环境，尤其是他们看待新选民的方式，使自由党处于不利地位。该法案的巧合时间是自由党在一代人中分裂最严重的时候，为他们为什么在工党和保守党在新制度下繁荣昌盛的情况下挣扎提供了最有说服力的解释。