The defence of the Realm Acts (DORA) and the expansion of the British state, 1914-1921

Abstract

The First World War brought about an unprecedented expansion in the power and scope of the British state. While there were a number of laws involved in this expansion, none were as important or as far reaching as the Defense of the Realm Acts (DORA). This was a series of laws passed by Parliament that granted the government the ability to govern through administrative decree (in the form of regulations created by the Cabinet and its departments) instead of through the lawmaking process. The Acts established a form of constitutional dictatorship throughout Britain, with virtually no checks to these new powers. The British populace accepted these powers as necessary to win the War, and tolerated many measures that they would have strenuously opposed in peacetime. These powers were granted in a number of areas. The cornerstone of DORA's power was in property requisitioning, allowing for permanent seizure of property for a nominal amount of compensation. While challenged in a number of cases that produced landmark decisions for British constitutional history, the overwhelming majority of people accepted the state's initial offer or the result of the arbitration made by the Defence of the Realm Losses Commission (DRLC). Property requisitioning often served only as a tool for larger policy goals, however, and was applied in both the agricultural and industrial sectors of the economy to facilitate a continual supply of goods to factories and the battlefront. Regulations were also used as social regulation and to restrict civil liberties such as the freedom of the press in order to ensure the successful prosecution of the war with ma)dmum efficiency. The most important role that the Acts played, however, was in its legacy. People became accustomed to the intrusive role of the state, especially given the govemment's judicious handling of DORA's powers. After the war the Acts often served as a model for postwar legislation that granted the government extraordinary powers to deal with problems. In this sense, DORA shaped British history, carving out a far greater role for government than had previously existed in Britain.