History
Michael Meadowcroft on the merger negotiations
It is difficult to realise that it is now sixteen years since the trauma and angst of the merger negotiations. As far as factual accuracy is concerned the book by Tony Greaves and Rachael Pitchford is an excellent record of the proceedings. There were only a few points of difference that I took up with…
Realignment of the left
The end of Jo Grimond's leadership in 1967 heralded a bleak period for the Liberal Party. His successor, Jeremy Thorpe, was never assured of the complete confidence of his parliamentary colleagues. Unlike Grimond, he displayed little interest in ideas, though he was an accomplished organiser, fund-raiser and speaker.
The ‘Buckingham Palace plot’, 1916
Edwin Montagu, Minister of Munitions and confidant of both Asquith and Lloyd George lamented that the two great men of England were being slowly but surely pushed apart during the winter of 1916.
Women’s Liberal Federation
The Women's Liberal Federation was formed between 1886 and 1887 under the presidency of Gladstone's daughter, Catherine and by the turn of the century, the organisation had around 60,000 members and almost 500 local branches.
The Easter Rising
The issue of Home Rule returned to haunt the Liberals following the rebellion of Irish republicans during the Easter of 1916, at a time when the Party was at its most fragile. As the head of the wartime government, Asquith had already faced criticism over a series of disasters on the battlefield and his complacent…
The Midlothian Campaign
A year after the defeat of his government in 1874, William Ewart Gladstone retired as leader of the Liberal Party. At 65, he deeply desired an interval between parliament and the grave to devote to religious affairs. Indeed, it was while engrossed in notes on Future Retribution that he was called away to write the…
Gladstone’s Parliamentary Record 1868-1900
William Gladstone led the Liberal Party in four governments over a quarter of a century (1868-74, 1880-85, 1886, 1892-94) bringing to fruition a wide range of reforms and almost coming to define Liberalism.
Popular Radicalism
'Popular radicalism' embraced a range of causes and beliefs in nineteenth-century Britain. For most readers, it relates to agitation outside parliament to secure a democratic franchise on the basis of 'one-man, one vote'. Until the last quarter of the nineteenth century, very few people were arguing that women should get the vote on the same…
Impact of the French and American Revolutions
The French Revolution had important consequences for every major country in Europe. What was particularly remarkable about the impact of the French Revolution on Britain was its profound and abiding influence on the ideological climate and its impact on the development of politics inside and outside parliament.