1859-1886
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…
Gladstone’s first government
After an apprenticeship in government under the Conservative Robert Peel, Gladstone served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Aberdeen’s coalition and Palmerston’s Government of 1859-1865. His energy, administrative and oratorical skills marked him as the Liberal Party’s future leader.
William Edward Forster, 1818-1886
W. E. Forster was a typical nineteenth century Radical: a successful self-made businessman of nonconformist origins who was driven by his conscience to work for the less well-off in the community. His great achievement was the successful creation of the framework for a state education system which is still recognisable today. His ill fortune was…
Sir William Harcourt, 1827-1904
William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt was born at York on 14 October 1827, of a land-owning and clerical family which traced its ancestry to the Plantagenet kings. His elder brother, Edward Harcourt, was a staunch Conservative and for eight years an MP. William Harcourt’s views, however, began to take a Liberal turn in the…
An intractable problem? Gladstone and Irish home rule
1880 – 1886: Gladstone’s efforts to achieve Home Rule for Ireland. To access this content, you must purchase Annual subscription (digital) – unwaged rate, Annual subscription (digital) – standard rate, Annual subscription (print plus digital) – overseas, Annual subscription (print plus digital), standard rate, UK or Annual subscription (print plus digital), unwaged rate, UK.
A Liberal in power
Review of Roy Jenkins, Asquith (Collins, 1964).
Sir Edward Watkin and the Liberal cause in the nineteenth century
The life of Liberal MP Edward Watkin, the last of the railway kings. To access this content, you must purchase Annual subscription (digital) – unwaged rate, Annual subscription (digital) – standard rate, Annual subscription (print plus digital) – overseas, Annual subscription (print plus digital), standard rate, UK or Annual subscription (print plus digital), unwaged rate,…
How did the Empire strike back?
The impact of imperialism on democracy and liberalism in Britrain 1865-1920. To access this content, you must purchase Annual subscription (digital) – unwaged rate, Annual subscription (digital) – standard rate, Annual subscription (print plus digital) – overseas, Annual subscription (print plus digital), standard rate, UK or Annual subscription (print plus digital), unwaged rate, UK.
A squire in the House of Lords
The political life of John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (1826 – 1902). To access this content, you must purchase Annual subscription (digital) – unwaged rate, Annual subscription (digital) – standard rate, Annual subscription (print plus digital) – overseas, Annual subscription (print plus digital), standard rate, UK or Annual subscription (print plus digital), unwaged rate, UK.