Paul Adelman - The Decline Of The Liberal Party 1910-1931

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THE DECLINE OF THE LIBERAL PARTY 19101931

The Decline of the Liberal Party 19101931

SECOND EDITION

---

Paul Adelman

First published 1981 by Pearson Education Limited
Second edition 1995

Published 2014 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Copyright 9181, 1995, Taylor & Francis.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful oftheir own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

ISBN 13: 978-0-582-27733-5 (pbk)

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Adelman, Paul.

The decline of the Liberal Parry, 19101931/ Paul Adelman.
p. cm. -- (Seminar studies in history)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN0-582-27733-7
1. Liberal Party (Great Britain)--History. 2. Great Britain-Politics and governrnent--19101936. I. Title. II. Series.

JN1129.L45A55 1995 324.2410609041--dc20

95-14646 CIP

Set by 7 in 10/12 Sabon Roman

CONTENTS

Readers should note that numbers in square brackets [5] refer them to the corresponding entry in the Bibliography at the end of the book (specific page numbers are given in italic). A number in square brackets preceded by Doc. [] refers readers to the corresponding item in the Documents section which follows the main text.

We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material: David Higham Associates for extracts from Frances Stevensons Lloyd George: A Diary, edited by A J P Taylor and published by Hutchinson; David Higham Associates for extracts from John Campbells Lloyd George: Goat in the Wilderness published by Jonathan Cape; Oxford University Press for extracts from Thomas Joness, Whitehall Diary, Vol. 1 191625 (1969) edited by Keith Middlemas; John Murray (Publishers) Ltd for extracts from Inside Asquiths Cabinet. From the Diaries of Charles Hobhouse (1977) edited by Edward David; HarperCollins Publishers Ltd for an extract from The Political Diaries of C.P. Scott, 191128 (1970) edited by Trevor Wilson.

Such is the pace of historical enquiry in the modern world that there is an ever-widening gap between the specialist article or monograph, incorporating the results of current research, and general surveys, which inevitably become out of date. Seminar Studies in History are designed to bridge this gap. The books are written by experts in their field who are not only familiar with the latest research but have often contributed to it. They are frequently revised, in order to take account of new information and interpretations. They provide a selection of documents to illustrate major themes and provoke discussion, and also a guide to further reading. Their aim is to clarify complex issues without over-simplifying them, and to stimulate readers into deepening their knowledge and understanding of major themes and topics.

After years of decline and disunity in the later nineteenth century, the Liberals achieved a remarkable electoral victory in 1906, winning 400 seats and an overall majority in the House of Commons of 130. The government that was then formed was arguably the most brilliant and constructive of the twentieth century, especially after Asquith became Prime Minister in 1908, and it dominated the political life of Edwardian England. But the great ministry of Asquith, Lloyd George and Churchill proved to be Englands last Liberal Government []. By 1918 Liberal unity had vanished; by 1924 the reunited Liberal party consisted of only forty MPs; at the general election of 1935, after a decade of rapid political change, they were down to twenty-one MPs. Since the Second World War the Liberals, or their successors, have failed to reach even that figure, though it is fair to add that the number of their elected representatives does not reflect their voting power in the country at large.

The aim of this study is to consider how and why this transformation took place during the key years which lie between the political crises of 1910 and 1931. It is a story which is bound to fascinate the historian. For the decline of the Liberal party represents one of the great tragic themes in modern British politics; the supersession in the 1920s of a party which was born in the age of Palmerston, and whose history encapsulates much of the public life of later Victorian and Edwardian England []. It involves the clash of powerful and outstanding political personalities, such as Asquith and Lloyd George, and the drama of great events in wartime and in time of peace. It also represents in some sense the decline of an ideal of moderation and rationality in politics which goes back perhaps to the eighteenth century. Liberal decline is also indissolubly linked with another major theme of twentieth-century British history the rise of the Labour party.

Even before the Second World War the subject had already].

It is largely on their work and that of other present-day historians that this short study is based. Indeed, I have deliberately tried to concentrate on those incidents and topics which have become the focal points for discussion or controversy in recent historical writing. The purpose of this book is therefore simply to introduce the student to a central and compelling theme in modern British political history and to some of the outstanding historical work which it has inspired.

For the sake of uniformity, in referring to the Liberals traditional opponents, I have employed the term Conservative throughout, though Unionist was often used until after 1922.

PAUL ADELMAN

The main purpose of this new edition is to take account of the major books and articles published on the theme of Liberal decline in the earlier twentieth century since the first edition of this book was published in 1981. Particular attention has been paid to the significant contribution to the subject made by Duncan Tanner and John Turner. Some sections of the original work have therefore been largely rewritten.

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