Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party (the SDP) to form a new party which would become known as the Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Zenith

The Liberals languished in opposition for a decade, while the coalition of Salisbury and Chamberlain held power and presided over the high noon of British imperialism. In 1900, led by Henry Campbell-Bannerman, they bravely opposed British policy in the Boer War, handing Salisbury a huge victory in the original "Khaki election". But with Salisbury's retirement in 1902 the Conservatives went into decline, and then split over the issue of free trade. In 1906 Campbell-Bannerman, rallying the party on a platform of free trade and land reform, led the Liberals to the greatest election victory in their history (this was the last time the Liberals won a majority in their own right).

Related Topics:
1900 - Henry Campbell-Bannerman - Boer War - Khaki election - 1902 - 1906 - The greatest election victory in their history

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Campbell-Bannerman's ministry was one of the most brilliant in British history, although he himself was regarded as decent but rather dull. He was overshadowed by Herbert Henry Asquith at the Exchequer, Edward Grey at the Foreign Office, Richard Burdon Haldane at the War Office and David Lloyd George at the Board of Trade. In 1908 Campbell-Bannerman retired due to failing health and he was succeeded by Asquith, who stepped up the government's radicalism. Lloyd George succeeded Asquith at the Exchequer, and was in turn succeeded at the Board of Trade by Winston Churchill, a recent defector from the Conservatives. Between them they provided much of the government's drive.

Related Topics:
Herbert Henry Asquith - Edward Grey - Richard Burdon Haldane - David Lloyd George - 1908 - Winston Churchill

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The Liberals pushed through numerous pioneering social reforms, such as regulation of working hours, national insurance and welfare, as well as the reform of the House of Lords. This latter issue led to a titanic struggle with the Lords, including two general elections in 1910, at which the Liberals retained power but lost their overall majority, being left once again dependent on the Irish Nationalists.

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As a result Asquith was forced to introduce a new Home Rule bill in 1912. Since the House of Lords no longer had the power to block the bill, the Unionists, led by Sir Edward Carson, launched a campaign of opposition that included the threat of armed resistance in Ulster, and by 1914 threatened to lead to a mutiny by army officers in Ireland (see Ulster crisis). In their threats of violent resistance to Home Rule the Ulster Protestants had the full support of the Conservatives, now led by an Ulsterman, Andrew Bonar Law. The country seemed to be on the brink of civil war when World War I broke out in August 1914.

Related Topics:
1912 - Edward Carson - Ulster - 1914 - Ulster crisis - Andrew Bonar Law - World War I

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The war struck at the heart of everything British Liberals believed in. Several Cabinet ministers resigned, and Asquith, the master of domestic politics, proved a poor war leader. Lloyd George and Churchill, however, were zealous supporters of the war, and gradually forced the old pacifist Liberals out. The poor British performance in the early months of the war forced Asquith to invite the Conservatives into a coalition (on May 17, 1915). This marked the end of the last all-Liberal government. This coalition fell apart at the end of 1916, when the Conservatives refused to support Asquith any longer and gave their support instead to Lloyd George, who became Prime Minister at the head of a coalition government largely made up of Conservatives. Asquith and his followers moved to the opposition benches in Parliament and the Liberal Party was once again split.

Related Topics:
May 17 - 1915 - 1916

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