Journal of Liberal History

England Objects to the Treaty of Versailles, June 1, 1919

Journal of Liberal History

For the discussion and research of Liberal, Liberal Democrat and SDP history

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On This Day

29 September 1928

Birth of Eric Lubbock, Liberal MP for Orpington 1962-70

Lubbock came to prominence with his victory in the Orpington by-election of March 1962, coming from third place to win the seat from the Conservatives. In parliament Lubbock campaigned for electoral reform and a reduction in the voting age. In 1963 he was appointed Chief Whip and in 1967 stood for the party leadership against Emlyn Hooson and the eventual winner Jeremy Thorpe. Out of parliament from 1970, he succeeded as Baron Avebury the following year, serving as a member of the Foreign Affairs Team in the House of Lords. In 1976 he founded the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, chairing it for over 20 years and producing a string of hard hitting reports on human rights breaches which saw him banned from visiting several countries. Lord Avebury died in 2016, aged 87.

  • Menzies Campbell, 1941–2025

    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…)

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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.

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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

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