1859-1886
‘He would not stoop, he did not conquer’
Review of Robert Rhodes James, Rosebery (Phoenix, 1995).
Dizzy and the Grand Old Man
Review of Richard Aldous, The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs Disraeli (Hutchinson, 2006).
John Stuart Mill as politician
Mill’s brief career as a Member of Parliament.
Gladstone and Ireland: the legacy
1868 -1974: analysis of Gladstone’s domination of both the Liberal Party and Ireland in the latter part of the nineteenth century.
A ‘sincere, thorough and hearty Liberal’?
Biography of Jabez Balfour, 1843-1916.
Extract from Gladstone’s 3rd Midlothian speech on foreign policy
Following his electoral defeat in 1874, Gladstone resigned the Liberal leadership and, in his sixties, hoped to spend the rest of his life in retirement. The Balkan Massacres of 1876 drew him back to politics in protest at what he saw as Disraeli’s (Lord Beaconsfield’s) cynical reaction and his own party’s supine response.
Chamberlain on the Radical Programme
First speech on the Unauthorised Programme by Joseph Chamberlain – Warrington, September 8 1885.
A torrent of gin and beer: the election defeat in 1874
In January 1874, the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, approached Queen Victoria to dissolve parliament, surprising both the opposition and his own party. In his election manifesto, Gladstone promised to reduce local taxes, to cut taxes on consumer products and to repeal the income tax. When the campaign was over, the Liberal landslide of 1868…