To commemorate the sad death of Menzies Campbell, Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, on 26 September 2025, we are reprinting here the chapter on him from our book British Liberal Leaders (Biteback, 2015).
Sir Menzies Campbell
(more…)
For the discussion and research of Liberal, Liberal Democrat and SDP history
Latest
Women for Liberty: The women who built Liberalism and the party
September 19, 2026 / 13:00
William Ewart Gladstone delivers his last major public speech at Hengler’s Circus, Liverpool. In a speech lasting an hour and twenty minutes he denounced the Turkish atrocities in Armenia and called on the Government to take action. Writing in his diary, Sir Charles Hobhouse noted, ‘Today Mr G addresses 6,000 people in Liverpool on the Armenian massacres. Europe, as in 1490 disunited, looks on while the Turk slaughters Christians. Such is our advance!’
To commemorate the sad death of Menzies Campbell, Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, on 26 September 2025, we are reprinting here the chapter on him from our book British Liberal Leaders (Biteback, 2015).
Sir Menzies Campbell
(more…)You have a choice of the following plans:
Download the latest and all previous issues of the Journal from our website.
Discounted rate for full- or part-time students.
Four issues of the Journal per year, delivered to your door.
Download the latest and all previous issues of the Journal from our website.
Four issues of the Journal per year, delivered to your door.
All subscribers receive a 20% discount on all books and booklets published by the History Group
✴︎
learn
discuss
research
Share
We publish the Journal of Liberal History and a range of books
The Liberal Democrat History Group promotes the discussion and research of topics relating to the histories of the British Liberal Democrats and its predecessor parties, the Liberal Party and the SDP, and of liberalism more broadly.

We aim to appeal to anyone with an interest in the history of British Liberalism, whether academics, party activists or spare-time students of political history.
Things we do:
Publish the quarterly Journal of Liberal History, containing articles, book reviews, biographies, and meeting reports
Publish books, including Peace, Reform and Liberation: A History of Liberal Politics in Britain 1679-2011, Dictionary of Liberal Thought, and Great Liberal Speeches
Make resources available to students of Liberal history, including news of research in progress and guides to archive sources (see Research resources)
Provide a concise history of the Liberal Democrats and its predecessor parties, along with a more extensive set of historical articles and biographies – the Liberal History Online project, available through themes and time periods.
Publish shorter booklets as concise reference sources, including Liberal History (a concise history of the Liberal Democrats and its predecessor parties), Liberal Leaders 1828-1899, Liberal Leaders of the Twentieth Century and Mothers of Liberty: Women who built British Liberalism
Organise discussion meetings, both in London and as fringe meetings at Liberal Democrat conferences
“There are hazards in everything one does, but there are greater hazards in doing nothing.”
Shirley Williams
Stay in the loop
Developed and hosted by Prater Raines