
Journal of Liberal History
For the discussion and research of Liberal, Liberal Democrat and SDP history
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Liberals and Trade Unions: The General Strike of 1926
June 29, 2026 / 18:00
On This Day
08 June 1885
The Liberal government is unexpectedly defeated in the House of Commons
The defeat, by 264 votes to 252, came on a budget proposal from the Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Childers to increase beer duty. The defeat was partly the result of a tentative alliance between the Tories and the Irish Nationalists with 39 members of the Irish Party voting against the government. However, the budget proposals were unpopular with a section of the Liberal Party with six voting against and another 70 mainly on the radical wing of the party abstaining. Gladstone took it all calmly, writing in his diary, ‘A quiet evening. Worked on books and papers.’
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