1895-1910
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‘Maistly Scotch’: Campbell-Bannerman and Liberal leadership
Assessment of the record of the man who led the Liberals into the 1906 landslide.
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The history of the Lib-Labs
The history of what became known as Lib-Labbery: the representation of labour interests in parliament through the Liberal Party.
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The Liberal press and the South African War
The importance of the Liberal press in the politics of the Second Boer War.
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Hastings in 1900
The ‘khaki election’ of 1900 saw the Liberals performing poorly. This article examines one seat they gained from the Conservatives.
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‘Taxes that will bring forth fruit’ – The centenary of the People’s Budget of 1909
Following the introduction of Old Age Pensions by the Liberal government of H H Asquith in 1908 and the plans to legislate for limited unemployment and sickness benefit through National Insurance, Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George brought in the means to pay for these measures, as well as for naval rearmament, in his…
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Founding the welfare state
A hundred years ago, in 1908, H. H. Asquith’s government introduced the Old Age Pensions Bill. This was just the beginning of a comprehensive Liberal programme of social reform, including national insurance, minimum wages, labour exchanges and compulsory school meals, among much else. Did this programme really represent a decisive break with nineteenth-century notions of…