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The immediate political background was the conflict between the Liberal government and the House of Lords over the 1909 “People’s Budget”. When the Lords rejected the budget, a general election followed in January 1910. The result left Liberals and Conservatives closely balanced in the House of Commons. Redmond’s Irish Parliamentary Party, committed to constitutional Home Rule within the United Kingdom, possessed the votes needed by H. H. Asquith’s Liberal ministry.
Formal political power still rested outside Ireland. The Conservative government in London was led by Arthur Balfour, while George Wyndham served as Chief Secretary for Ireland. The lord lieutenant, the earl of Dudley, represented the Crown in Dublin. In this framework the Irish Parliamentary Party continued to seek Home Rule: a parliament in Dublin responsible for domestic affairs while remaining within the United Kingdom. Its demand commanded broad nationalist support, but it was not close to enactment in 1904.
