07 February 1899

Henry Campbell-Bannerman delivers his first speech in the House of Commons as Liberal leader

In an article published the day after Campbell-Bannerman became Prime Minister the Manchester Guardian recalled the occasion, ‘Those who heard Sir Henry’s first speech as Leader of the Opposition are never likely to forget the sensation it caused – the look of pained resentment that came into the faces of Mr. Balfour and Mr. Chamberlain as they realized that the new man was actually attacking them, even holding them up to derision and the flutter of excitement on the Liberal benches as the new man’s following awoke to an elated sense of their champion’s unexpected prowess. From that moment in the eyes of all good Tories, dates Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman’s metamorphosis from a passable type of bonhomie to an embodiment of political wickedness.’