Articles
Churchill, Clement Davies and the Ministry of Education
Examination of the offer of a cabinet position to the Liberal leader Clement Davies in October 1951.
Leaders and leadership
Interview with Jeremy Thorpe, leader of the Liberal Party 1967-76.
A progressive’s dilemma
In 1995, John Dickie, Liberal Democrat councillor in Camden and Federal Executive member, quit the party and joined Labour. Neil Stockley interviewed him on his defection.
Breaking the mould?
Robert Maclennan was one of the original MPs who left the Labour Party to found the SDP, eventually becoming its third, and last, leader. Tony Little interviewed him during the 1999 Liberal Democrat conference at Harrogate.
A breach in the family
Examination of the defections, in the 1950s, of the children of David Lloyd George: Megan to Labour, and her brother Gwilym to the Conservatives.
The last Liberal imperialist
Biography of Donald Johnson (1903-78), a self-styled ‘political entrepreneur’ who moved from the radical wing of the Liberal Party to become a Conservative MP.
Tory cuckoos in the Liberal nest?
Since the Liberal Nationals first divided from the official Liberals and eventually merged with the Conservatives, they have often been regarded as Tory cuckoos in the Liberal nest. This article re-evaluates their role.
A failure of leadership
Defections 1918-29. The post-First World War period saw many Liberals, including high-profile personalities such as Winston Churchill, decide that the time was right for them to change political parties.
Winston Churchill as a Liberal
Winston Churchill was one of the famous politicians to have held high office in the administrations of two different parties. The text of this article was first delivered as a toast to the University Club of Toronto and a remembrance of the ‘Other Club’ in 1995 by Liberal Senator Jerry S. Grafstein QC.