Liberal Government and Politics,

Transcription

1 Liberal Government and Politics,

2 Also by Ian Packer LETTERS OF ARNOLD STEPHENSON ROWNTREE TO MARY KATHERINE ROWNTREE, (editor) LLOYD GEORGE LLOYD GEORGE, LIBERALISM AND THE LAND: the Land Issue and Party Politics in England,

3 Liberal Government and Politics, Ian Packer

4 Ian Packer 2006 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act First published 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN DOI / ISBN (ebook) This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Packer, Ian, 1962 Liberal government and politics, / Ian Packer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. Contents: Government and party Foreign, defence and colonial policy Liberals and the United Kingdom Liberalism and democracy Nonconformist party? The economy and finance Social reform and labour relations Epilogue: a liberal war?. 1. Great Britain Politics and government Great Britain Politics and government Liberal Party (Great Britain) History 20th century. 4. Liberalism Great Britain History 20th century. I. Title. DA570.P dc

5 Contents Acknowledgements vii Introduction 1 1 Government and Party 7 Leadership 7 The party in parliament 14 The party outside parliament 20 2 Foreign, Defence and Colonial Policy 28 Foreign policy 28 Defence policy 36 Colonial policy 47 3 Liberals and the United Kingdom 55 The background to Irish home rule 55 The home rule moment 63 4 Liberalism and Democracy 76 The House of Lords 77 Franchise reform 86 5 A Nonconformist Party? 97 Nonconformity and Liberalism 97 Church versus chapel 99 The moral agenda 109 The religious context of Edwardian Liberalism The Economy and Finance 121 The meaning of free trade 121 The state and the economy 125 National taxation 129 v

6 vi Contents 7 Social Reform and Labour Relations 142 Social reform 142 Labour relations Epilogue: A Liberal War? 161 The decision for war 162 Strategy and the economy 167 Preserving Liberalism 173 The end 177 Notes and References 181 Bibliography 220 Index 234

7 Acknowledgements Queen s University, Belfast and the University of Lincoln have provided helpful and stimulating environments in which to write this book. I would like to thank all my colleagues in the history departments of these two institutions for their support and understanding while I have wrestled with the complexities of Edwardian politics. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Professor Jeremy Black for originally suggesting that I should write this book for Palgrave and to Professor Peter Jupp for all his encouragement and words of wisdom. I am also grateful to my students in Belfast and Lincoln for giving me the opportunity to think through and test out some of my ideas. My parents were supportive as ever. Yet again, I could not have written this book without the encouragement and help of Lynda. This is for her. I am grateful to the following institutions and individuals for access to and permission to quote from manuscript sources: the Bodleian Library, Oxford and J. Bonham Carter (Asquith papers), Hon. Mrs C. Gascoigne (Sir W. Harcourt papers); the British Library (Balfour, Burns, Campbell- Bannerman, Herbert Gladstone papers); Cheshire and Chester Archives; Churchill College Library, Cambridge; Gloucestershire Record Office (W. H. Dickinson papers); Hampshire Record Office (Portsmouth papers); the Clerk of the House of Lords Record Office; Lincolnshire Archives; the National Archives (Cabinet, Grey papers); the National Archives of Scotland; the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland (Elibank, Haldane, Muirhead, Rosebery papers); the National Library of Wales (E. W. Davies papers); Nuffield College Library, Lord Gainford and Professor Cameron Hazlehurst (Gainford papers); the Trustees of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation; University College of North Wales, Bangor, Library; University of Birmingham Library (Allard, Austen and Joseph Chamberlain papers); University of Glasgow Library (MacCallum Scott papers); University of Keele Library (Josiah Wedgwood papers); University of Manchester, John Rylands Library (C. P. Scott papers); University of Newcastle Library; West Sussex Record Office; West Yorkshire Archive Service. vii