History
Inter-war decline
The Liberals were a political casualty of the Great War – emerging from the conflict as a divided party, whose key ideological beliefs had been sacrificed to meet the needs of modern warfare.
Lib-Labs
The first working class representatives within Parliament were known as "Lib-Lab" MPs. They accepted the Liberal whip while exercising the right to utilise their experience to speak freely on labour issues.
1906 Election
In the General Election of January 1906 the Liberals swept to victory in a landslide result, which saw the party win 400 seats. Conservative strongholds such as Bath and Exeter were conquered as Liberal leader, Henry Campbell Bannerman capitalised on the unpopularity of the previous Tory administration, which had been replaced by his new Liberal…
Joseph Chamberlain and Municipal Liberalism
The reforms in municipal services that Joseph Chamberlain introduced during his three-year mayoralty of Birmingham in the mid-1870s marked a turning point for British Liberalism as well as in the governance of industrial cities.
John Stuart Mill On Liberty
The classic text on Liberalism, outlined in this article in the Journal of Liberal History.
Macaulay on the lessons of the English Revolution
The History of England from the Accession of James the Second (5 vols., 1849-61; Vol.2, chapter 5).
Bentham on Utilitarianism
Extract from Principles of the civil code in Theory of Legislation, trans R Hildreth, 8th edn, London, 1894.
Local history: Epsom & Ewell Social Democrats
David Gourley on joining the SDP in 1981 and working with the Liberals through the Alliance and merger.
Local history: Wembley Young Liberals in the 1950s
Alan Knight on being active in the Wembley North Young Liberals in the early 1950s.
David Steel: forming the Alliance, Llandudno, 1981
David Steel on the Liberal-SDP Alliance; Liberal Assembly, Llandudno, 18 September 1981