BATTLE OF IDEAS OR ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP? IDEOLOGICAL STRUGGLE IN THE LIBERAL PARTY IN THE 1940s AND 1950s
‘The radical of one century is the conservative of the next’ – Mark Twain, attributed.
After the Second World War, the Liberal Party moved to the right and, in the early s, strongly reasserted its free-trade credentials. Robert Ingham analyses the different currents of right-wing thinking in the party at that time to assess the extent to which decisions on policy, particularly those made by the party assembly, Liberal Magazine uring the late s assembly were both battlegrounds reflected opinion cover, January and early s on which Liberals who sympa- 1947. the Liberal Party thised with the direction of the amongst the party’s appeared to undergo Attlee government engaged with activists. a period of intense those who deplored increased Dideological strife. The House government intervention in the of the Commons and the party economy and harked back to an
36 Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005 BATTLE OF IDEAS OR ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP?
earlier period of laissez-faire eco- a dispute between left-wing and Was there election manifesto than in nomics. There were high-profile right-wing factions in the s its equivalent. In the casualties on both sides. Megan and s. Firstly, the labelling of a real assembly backed unilateral free Lloyd George and Dingle Foot, particular groups within the Lib- trade and the abolition of guar- both former MPs, abandoned the eral Party as ‘left’ or ‘right’ is not debate anteed prices and assured mar- Liberal Party for Labour, accus- straightforward. David Dutton, in kets for agricultural products, to ing their former party of moving his recent history of the party, for going the consternation of many Lib- to the right. Another former MP, example, refers to ‘heated debates amongst eral candidates. The free traders George Wadsworth, moved to the between individualists, who con- lost ground at the and Conservative Party and, from the tinued to preach the time-hon- Liberals at assemblies, but the call for uni- mid-s onwards, there was a oured Liberal virtues of free trade, lateral free trade reasserted itself trickle of rightward defections, personal liberty and minimum all levels in and . After that the led by former party organiser government intervention, and terms of the argument shifted to Edward Martell. radicals who traced their politi- about the focus on whether the UK should The purpose of this article is to cal pedigrees back via the inter- direction join the Common Market, which assess whether this battle between ventionist policies of Beveridge would necessarily involve accept- left and right was played out at the and Keynes to the New Liberals of their ance of a tariff barrier with non- local level at this time, or whether of the turn of the century’. It member countries. With some it was manifest solely at the level might seem simple to brand the party? firm leadership from Jo Grimond of the party leadership. Was there a individualists as right-wing and and his allies, the unilateral free real debate going amongst Liber- the radicals as left-wing; but this traders were comprehensively als at all levels about the direction would have been bitterly con- routed and the Liberal Party of their party and what liberalism tested by the s free traders emerged as strong supporters of meant in an era when the distinc- who regarded themselves as radi- British membership of the Com- tion between ‘left’ and ‘right’ was cals and the other side as essen- mon Market. stark (although not necessarily tially conservative. The free traders gener- reflected in the actions of the two The Liberal Party’s free-trade ally resented being branded as main parties when in govern- faction, under the de facto lead- right-wingers. Some drew their ment); or was the policy debate ership of parliamentary candi- inspiration from the tradition of in the party’s higher echelons an date Oliver Smedley and City Gladstone and Cobden, or were indicator of the direction and Press owner S. W. Alexander, was modern economic liberals. There strength of its leadership? a major force at party assemblies was a discernible streak of eco- throughout the period under nomic liberalism running through consideration. They ensured that mainstream Liberal policy in the Methodology the assembly voted for the elimi- s, evidenced by the promi- There are two fundamental dif- nation of tariffs in both and nence given to the threat posed ficulties with assessing whether , which led to free trade tak- by inflation and monopolistic Liberal activists were engaged in ing a more prominent role in the practices. Many drew inspiration
Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005 37 BATTLE OF IDEAS OR ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP? from the pre-First World War were in a minority in this group, following three areas of the coun- campaign for the taxation of and serious disagreements over try where a significant number land values, however, often citing policy would be likely to be set- of right-wing Liberals can be Henry George’s Progress and Pov- tled over a period of weeks or expected to be found: erty, written in the s, as the months, rather than rumble on starting point of their thinking. from year to year as was the case • London – where the Lib- They argued that government with the annual assembly. eral and Liberal National revenue should be raised from One problem with this area parties merged in , taxing land, rather than imports, approach was that sub-national bringing a number of Liberal with cheaper food and a redis- Liberal organisations devoted most Nationals, in particular Sir tribution of wealth away from of their time and energy during Alfred Suenson-Taylor, into the landed aristocracy being the this period to organisational mat- positions of prominence in main, beneficial side effects. ters – for example, finance (or lack the party. Free traders such Nevertheless, as we shall see, of it), the selection of parliamen- as Smedley, Alexander and there were points of contact tary candidates, and correspond- Roy Douglas were active between the free-trade wing of ence with the national party. In there; and Edward Martell the Liberal Party and more obvi- some parts of the country, policy was based there. ously right-wing ideas and per- discussions were rarely, if ever, a sonalities. In this article, strong feature of the activities of Liberal • Yorkshire – long regarded expressions of support for free organisations. In most, however, as the home of individual- trade, and the Smedley/Alexander motions relating to topical policy ist ‘economic liberals’ and faction, are taken as indicators of matters were recorded reason- which included towns such right-wing thinking at the Liberal ably often. These are the subject of as Huddersfield and Halifax, Party’s grassroots. Other indicators analysis in this article. where electoral agreements are opinions expressed on post- A survey of Liberal members were reached with the Con- war reconstruction, particularly on or activists during the s and servatives at local and, in the the Beveridge Report, the Labour s would, of course, be the case of Huddersfield, national government’s nationalisation plans, ideal method of assessing the level after . and the Suez campaign. extent to which the ideological The second difficulty lies in The free struggle evident at leadership • Lancashire – another area identifying grassroots opinion. traders level was reflected at local level. where support for the Lib- One way of doing so would be to No such survey was then under- eral Party remained strong analyse the topics debated at Lib- generally taken. Over a hundred Liber- at a local level after eral assemblies and, if reported, als active during that period and where electoral agree- the tenor of the speeches made. resented were interviewed on policy and ments were reached at This approach would not be other matters in the s, how- national (Bolton) and local without its difficulties, however, being ever, and the results reported in (e.g. Rochdale) level after the and has not been taken in this branded as an unpublished doctoral thesis. Second World War. article. Although in theory strictly There are many difficulties with representative of the party’s mem- right-wing- interpreting the results of such a bership, in practice the assembly survey, not least because it was London was a largely self-selecting group ers. Some inevitably biased towards those During the Second World of grandees, candidates and the who stayed active in the Liberal War, the London Liberal Party principal activists. Its composi- drew their Party and the Liberal Democrats, expressed consistent support for tion was also heavily dependent inspiration rather than those who drifted the proposals published by the on where it met. Furthermore, away from the party, perhaps government on post-war recon- assembly proceedings were not from the because of dissatisfaction with struction, including the Beveridge well reported until the s. the party’s perceived shift to the Report. A strong minority view The main focus in this article tradition left under Jo Grimond. Never- was evident, although never suc- is on the views recorded in the theless, the survey produced clear cessful. Thus a resolution on the minutes of sub-national Liberal of Glad- results which are reported below. Beveridge Report describing it organisations, including regional stone and Information about the sample of as ‘another step on the slippery federations, constituency asso- activists interviewed is provided path of regimentation leading ciations, and district or ward Cobden, in the annex. to a totalitarian state’ and calling organisations. The people who on the Liberal Party Organisa- attended the executive commit- or were tion ‘not to espouse a pale imita- tee and council meetings of such Grassroots opinion tion of socialism’ was defeated. It organisations were the main- modern This survey of the views recorded followed a similarly florid con- stay of the Liberal Party, with- economic in the minutes of sub-national demnation of subsidies – ‘which out whom the ship would have Liberal organisations in the transform the individual into sunk. Attendees of the assembly liberals. s and s focuses on the a puppet of the state and pro-
38 Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005 BATTLE OF IDEAS OR ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP? voke loss of fibre’ – in October to present the leadership’s view ‘Do not run Party is a centre party, fluc- and which described free on how the party might bounce tuating between Toryism competition as ‘the life blood of back. Following the success of the away with and Socialism. It therefore progress’. The London Liberal electoral arrangement with the calls upon the leader of the Party agreed with a letter from Conservatives in Huddersfield, the idea party to propagate more its West Midlands counterpart Byers was on the look-out for militantly our radical pol- opposing the proposition that the similar opportunities. His report that Liber- icy, making it clear to the post-war general election could to the London party was received alism pro- electorate that neither the be fought in tandem with the without comment: Conservative Party nor the Conservatives, using a coupon vides the Labour Party are progres- arrangement like in . It also There must be no deals but, sive and that they are in fact took no action against the Chair- where possible, without in middle way fundamentally the same, man of the East Islington Lib- any way compromising the and that liberalism is the eral Association who spoke on a independence of the candi- between distinctive radical alterna- Labour platform in the gen- date, we should try to bring the other tive to both these stagnant eral election, to argue that Liber- about straight fights. He creeds. als should not vote Conservative. believed there were occa- two, still It ‘noted with regret’ the activi- sions when this was possi- The London Liberal Party did ties of the left-wing ginger group ble by frightening the other less that it not wholeheartedly back the Radical Action, however, prob- parties. free-trade faction and, by the ably mindful that such groups had is a com- early s, stood full-square in the past tended to spearhead The Huddersfield arrangement promise behind party policy in sup- defections away from the party. was intended to benefit the port of UK membership of the After the war, the London Conservatives as well as the Lib- between Common Market. The shift in party became noticeably more erals and there were no areas of attitude appears to have been right-wing in its policy pro- London where the Liberals were them. Lib- sparked by the over-zealous pro- nouncements. This may have strong enough to offer a similar motion of free trade and related been due to the influx of Liberal bargain. Even in areas of residual eralism is right-wing ideas by Alexander, Nationals or to general antipathy strength, such as Bethnal Green, a distinct who was chairman of the Lon- with the actions of the Labour the Liberals were haemorrhag- don party in the mid-s. His government, or a combination ing support. Byers’ comments creed chairman’s report to the London of the two. A resolution against obviously aroused some interest, Liberal Council in caused the repeal of the Trades Disputes however, as the sporadic attempts – a distinct a storm of protest, after he came and Trade Unions Act was passed to propose deals with the Con- out in support of the govern- unanimously; the London party servatives during the s often philoso- ment’s policy on Suez and against opposed the nationalisation of included London seats, particu- phy, dis- United Nations intervention. He any inland transport, including larly Bethnal Green. was forced to resign and in the railways; the nationalisation The free-trade controversy was tinct from was ‘severely reprimanded’ by the of steel was ‘viewed with alarm’; reflected in the London Liberal Liberal Party Organisation for and the national party was taken Party throughout the s. The Socialism, an article in the City Press accus- to task for not providing suf- phrase barely appears before , ing the Liberal Party of playing ficient opposition to nationali- when the East Fulham Young Lib- from Com- down its Liberal credentials. sation proposals. Calls for the erals proposed a resolution in sup- munism, Simon Knott, another free trader, defence of freedom and liberty port of free trade and land value became something of a thorn in were not uncommon, but there taxation which, they claimed, and from the side of the London party at were signs too that Liberals were were ‘the only logical alternative this time. His appearance on a becoming uncomfortable about to socialism’. S. W. Alexander Conserva- Conservative platform at South- the broadening common ground became prominent from , gate in had been noted and between their party and the Con- arguing that the party could use tism.’ in his credentials as Liberal servatives. Edward Martell spoke support for free trade to raise (Clement candidate for Barons Court were of exposing ‘fraudulent Tory funds from the major industrial- questioned at the same time as he activists inside the Liberal Party’ ists. The views of the free traders Davies, was reprimanded for publishing and the London Liberal Council on the Liberal Party’s position in advertisements in the Liberal News sought to emphasise the distinc- the political spectrum were clearly 1949) in support of a ‘Keep Britain Out’ tiveness of co-ownership after reflected in a Council resolution of Europe campaign. Conservative claims that there passed unanimously in : Another sign that London were elements of it with which Liberals mostly backed British they could agree. This Council deplores the membership of the Common After the election Frank fact that the party leader- Market was the decision of the Byers, formerly Liberal Chief ship is inclined to create the Clapham Liberals to deselect Whip, toured area federations impression that the Liberal their parliamentary candidate,
Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005 39 BATTLE OF IDEAS OR ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP? David Russell, because of his years had featured denunciations Active in not cause a stir: it was backed by wish to campaign against Brit- of unemployment benefit and a the Leeds Liberals unanimously. ish membership of the Common diatribe against ‘rates of wages far the cause After the war neither the Leeds Market. He re-emerged as a beyond the capacity of industry nor the Yorkshire Liberal Federa- ‘Radical Liberal Anti-Common to bear’. Was Taylor, seemingly a of free tions got embroiled in controver- Market’ candidate for the seat, rigid economic liberal of the old sies about policy matters. The unveiling a number of policies school, a typical Yorkshire Liberal trade and comment of the President of the which he presumably did not dis- of the period we are consider- land value Leeds Federation in that close when first adopted as a Lib- ing? Appearances can be decep- he ‘didn’t see much difference eral candidate, including support tive. Taylor’s maiden speech in the taxation between this [Labour Govern- for the white settlers in Southern House of Commons back in ment] and Nazism and Commu- Rhodesia, a ban on immigration had been in support of state pro- when in nism’ was unusual in that respect, and ‘no more nationalisation in vision of old-age pensions, and as well as for its extremism. Nor our lifetime’. His Viewpoint news- there is barely an echo of his later his late was there any reflection of the letter baldly stated that a vote for views in the minutes of Yorkshire nineties, free-trade debate in the recorded Labour would ensure that ‘within Liberal organisations. deliberations of these bodies. five years Nasser and Khruschev During the Second World War, his annual Relations with the Conserva- will rule Europe and England’. the Yorkshire Liberal Federa- tive Party were a more pressing Dr Russell won some support tion was initially concerned with addresses concern, however. Byers’ tour of for his views, polling votes the position of small shopkeep- the nation reached Yorkshire on at the election. He per- ers, perhaps reflecting the back- to his July . It might be thought haps reflected a small current of ground of many Liberal activists workforce that he would have been well opinion within the Liberal Party, at that time. In it passed a received, after the national party flushed out by the clear lead motion ‘regarding the small shop- in the had endorsed the arrangement Grimond gave on issues such as keeper as a national asset’ and by which Donald Wade had been Europe and defence. Some free viewing ‘with alarm any threat depression elected in a straight fight with traders continued to fight on, by the Government to eliminate Labour in Huddersfield West in despite disagreeing with a cen- either by compulsion or by direct years had return for the Liberal candidate tral plank of Liberal policy: Roy or indirect pressure the vital place featured in the eastern division stand- Douglas contested Gainsbor- which their services occupy in ing down to the benefit of the ough in and Simon Knott our national life’. At the same denun- Conservatives. In fact, Byers was was a perennial Liberal presence time, however, the Federation was criticised at the meeting of the in Hammersmith. The London calling for a fairer distribution of ciations of Yorkshire Federation, although Liberal Party had moved suffi- private property. he went on to rehearse his argu- ciently far to the left by for The publication of the Bev- unemploy- ment that such arrangements did one of its Vice-Presidents, a Mr eridge Report provoked a stormy ment ben- not necessarily compromise the Bute Harris, to resign, however, debate within the Federation, independence of the party. complaining of ‘socialist infiltra- which was resolved in favour of efit … Agreements between the Lib- tion’. His is the only such res- the Report’s supporters. Ashley eral and Conservative Parties were ignation recorded in the minutes Mitchell, having already indicated also a feature of local government before . his opposition to the Report, politics in parts of Yorkshire. In tabled a resolution claiming that Huddersfield, for example, the Beveridge’s proposals had dealt two parties only fought each Yorkshire inadequately with old-age pen- other at by-elections: whichever The minutes of the Yorkshire sions, would prove burdensome to party polled best against Labour Liberal Federation record the finance and ‘would further extend then won the right to a straight dedication of many stalwart Lib- an already inflated bureaucracy fight in subsequent ward contests. erals, including John E. Walker, and make a serious attack on the Deals such as this were not dis- one of the few remaining Liber- liberty of the individual’. Dur- cussed by the regional federation, als who could remember ‘the day ing the debate on the resolution but there is evidence that they when Gladstone was a Tory’. Mitchell described Beveridge as were not viewed with satisfac- The grandfather of Yorkshire a socialist, leading Harry Will- tion. In it was recorded that Liberalism in the late s and cock (later the successful oppo- the Yorkshire Liberal Federation early s was Theodore Tay- nent of identity cards) to brand was ‘endeavouring to displace lor, owner of a successful textiles Mitchell a Tory. Amidst some ran- the caucus rule which had been a firm, who worked until his death, cour, the Mitchell resolution was dominant feature of Halifax liber- at the age of , in . Active defeated and a resolution in sup- alism’. The county’s senior Lib- in the cause of free trade and land port of Beveridge was carried by erals backed attempts by young value taxation when in his late a large majority. Mitchell later Liberals in Halifax to oppose the nineties, his annual addresses to resigned. Elsewhere in York- Conservatives at local level and his workforce in the depression shire, the Beveridge Report did thereby eject from the coun-
40 Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005 BATTLE OF IDEAS OR ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP? cil many long-standing Liberals, of whether or not to fight the focused mainly on municipal some of whom were thought to seat focused on which course of issues as the city’s Liberals tried be Conservative supporters in action would be of most ben- to win council seats once more. general elections. efit to the Conservatives. Two There was no echo of the free- years later, however, the Liberals trade debate being played out at decided to abandon their tra- national level. In a motion Lancashire and Cheshire ditional, informal relationship calling for Megan Lloyd George Municipal liberalism in parts of with the Conservatives in Lit- and Violet Bonham Carter to the north-west of England in tleborough and contest all four leave the Liberal Party in order the two decades after was wards in the town. The reason for to heal the rifts they were alleged little different to that which pre- changing tack was not recorded, to have caused was discussed but vailed in Yorkshire towns such although there were opponents not passed. In a reflection of a as Huddersfield and Halifax. In of this course of action. political debate to come, the Fed- Rochdale, for example, there was As in Halifax, challenges to eration demanded a reduction in an electoral arrangement with cosy electoral arrangements with fuel duty in but rejected a the Conservatives at local level; the Conservatives became more call for greater use to be made of control of municipal candidate common during the s, and public transport in order to ease selection was in the hands of a were often led by a younger gen- traffic congestion. small group of local businessmen, eration of Liberals. In Middleton, mostly themselves councillors; the local deal with the Conserva- and the town’s Liberals had only tives ended in . Arthur Holt, Activists’ survey limited contact with the national the MP for Bolton West, bravely An opinion poll in showed party. Bulpitt, in his study of local accepted that the deal which had that per cent of voters ‘inclin- politics in Lancashire, found the kept him in Parliament since ing’ towards the Liberal Party Rochdale Liberals to be ‘more was at an end when he supported were opposed to the UK joining economy minded’ than the Con- the Liberal leadership’s desire to the Common Market. This was servatives and ‘well to the right of contest the Bolton East by-elec- cited by the free-trade faction as Grimond’. He discovered a sim- tion in . Change was more justification, on strategic as well ilar situation in Middleton, and gradual in Rochdale, although by as policy grounds, for their argu- in Bolton a deal was struck with As in Hali- the late s the cadre of right- ment that the Liberal Party should the Conservatives at national as fax, chal- wing Liberal councillors linked oppose Common Market mem- well as local level. by family and business ties rather bership. Douglas, in his history of More detailed scrutiny of what lenges than political commitment to the party, argues that support for was happening in Liberal asso- the Liberal Party had practically UK membership led the party to ciations across the area, however, to cosy vanished. There was no sign of suffer ‘some important losses’ and reveals a more complex picture. change in Chester in , where would have created ‘intolerable In Altrincham, for example, the electoral it was reported in the local news- strains’ if entry negotiations had Liberal General Council passed a arrange- paper that Liberal candidates had not collapsed in . This view resolution in support of the Bev- signed the nomination papers of is not borne out by the records eridge Report in June and ments with Conservatives in other wards. of sub-national Liberal organisa- ten months later expressed dissat- The Manchester Liberal Fed- tions which record little debate isfaction at the lack of progress in the Con- eration and the declining Lib- on the issue and few resignations implementing its recommenda- eral group on Manchester City on the grounds of policy or the tions. Five years later, the Presi- servatives Council were, after , barely Liberal Party’s political direction dent of Altrincham & Sale Liberals became in contact. As in Rochdale, the in the late s and s. Nor struck a different tone in calling Liberal councillors and aldermen is it supported by a survey of Lib- on ‘all Tories [to] come over to more com- were politically and socially con- eral activists from the pre- the Liberal Party to stop Commu- tiguous with the city’s Conserva- period, conducted in the mid- nism’. Bulpitt found Sale Liber- mon during tives. During the Parliament, s, which included a question als to be well to the left of those he however, Liberal councillors and about the free-trade issue. The encountered in Rochdale. the 1950s, activists in Manchester did not findings on this subject bear quo- The relationship between the and were necessarily hold different views tation in full: Liberal and Conservative Parties on the principal issues of the day. was a source of tension in Little- often In , the Federation called for The interview data strongly borough. A prominent member a united opposition to the nation- suggests that Liberal activ- of the town’s Liberal Association led by a alisation of the iron and steel ists, in contrast to some resigned in in protest at industries, which would have Liberal voters, were strongly the decision of the Heywood & younger brought Conservatives and Liber- supportive of UK member- Royton Liberals not to contest generation als together on that issue. Later, ship of the EEC; that very that year’s general election. He political debate in the Manchester few Liberals were opposed was unhappy that the discussion of Liberals. Federation was more muted and to UK membership on the
Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005 41 BATTLE OF IDEAS OR ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP?
grounds of its likely impact ing its back on old-style town have reflected the genuine antipa- on the progress towards free politics and seeking to do battle thy of some Liberals to Labour trade; and that a declining with the Conservatives as well and its nationalisation programme. proportion of Liberal activ- as with Labour. Municipal deals Such views were also indicative ists were interested in or with the Conservatives were not of the direction in which Clem- motivated by the traditional popular in the Liberal Party after ent Davies was taking the party, or Liberal rallying cry of free , largely because they were allowing it to drift. trade. reminiscent of the creation of the Some activists certainly felt at National Liberals. Even in York- the time that the party was being Some Liberals undoubtedly shire, Frank Byers faced criticism moved to the right, and did not drifted away from the party as it when he came in to advo- like it. The prospective parlia- moved away from free trade; but cate deals with the Conservatives mentary candidate for Cam- others were attracted to the party along the lines of the Hudders- bridgeshire, for example, resigned by its clear support for joining the field arrangement (although it in , declaring that ‘the Liberal Common Market, and the terms quickly became clear that neither Association is tending towards of trade were in the party’s favour. Arthur Holt nor Donald Wade Conservatism, leaving [me] well A question about whether were prepared to act as Tory to the left of them’. This trend activists shared Grimond’s vision stooges). By the early s, after was not universal. In a handful of a realignment of the left in the party had publicly turned of areas, including Stockport and British politics showed that most its back on such deals, old-style Southport, the Liberals co-oper- regarded themselves as left-wing. municipal Liberals in Halifax ated with Labour at municipal Out of activists interviewed, and elsewhere found themselves elections. agreed with the concept of under pressure from the Liberal After there are fewer ref- realignment; only of the who organisations in their own dis- erences to policy matters in the disagreed did so because they felt tricts to move to the left, in line records of sub-national Liberal the Liberal Party should move with the party as a whole. organisations. Many were strug- to the right and oppose Labour Given the spirited way in gling to survive and devoted all more vigorously. This provides which the free-trade debate was their time to organisational mat- further support for ‘the hypoth- conducted at the annual Liberal ters. No clear view can be derived esis that most Liberal activists assembly, it is perhaps surpris- of activists’ thinking at this time, saw themselves as being on the ing to find little reflection of it other than that evidence of their left of British politics, princi- at local level. Even in London, enthusiastic support for unilateral pally opposed to the Conserva- By the where one of the leaders of the free trade is lacking. From the tive Party and sharing historical free-trade faction was briefly mid-s onwards, support for and philosophical links with the 1960s a chairman of the London Liberal some of Jo Grimond’s initiatives is Labour Party’. Party, opposition to UK mem- expressed. There was certainly no new gen- bership of the Common Mar- organised opposition to Grimond eration of ket never gained a firm hold. and his determination to haul the Conclusion Of course, such a stance is not Liberal Party back to the progres- The first point to note from the Liberals in itself indicative of right-wing sive end of the political spectrum, survey of grassroots opinion in thinking on economic issues. except from the anti-Common London, Yorkshire and north- was turn- However, the Liberal Party’s free- Market group, and resignations west England is that the activities trade faction was identified by due to ‘socialist infiltration’ were of Edward Martell, who left the ing its back some with economic liberalism rarely recorded. Liberal Party in to form the on old- – such as Theodore Taylor’s views Thus, the Liberal Party can People’s League for the Defence on unemployment benefit – and only be regarded as a party of the of Freedom and thereafter drifted style town with other right-wing causes – right for a brief period of Clem- to the far right, left no mark on witness S. W. Alexander’s support ent Davies’ leadership, perhaps the Liberal Party in that era. Such politics and for the Suez expedition. from , when he switched splinter organisations were, in The survey data shows that, in from lukewarm support of the fact, of more concern to the Con- seeking to all three regions, the Liberal Party Labour government to opposi- servatives, who feared that their do battle was a home to progressive think- tion, until , when he rejected supporters would be tempted to ing during the Second World War. Churchill’s offer of a ministe- support right-wing populism. with the The Beveridge Report, and other rial position. After Dav- Old-fashioned municipal lib- reports on post-war reconstruc- ies offered no leadership on the eralism, with its golf-course and Conserva- tion, were warmly welcomed. main issues of the day, leaving the gentleman’s-club links to the There is a marked change in tone party to drift. It was during this Conservatives, was still appar- tives as after . Pronounced, and often period that the free-trade faction ent in the s but was clearly well as with extreme, reactions against the were most vocal and won their in decline. By the s a new Attlee government become com- most significant assembly vic- generation of Liberals was turn- Labour. mon. To some extent this must tories. Once Grimond took the
42 Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005 BATTLE OF IDEAS OR ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP? reins the free traders were swiftly sor, Frank Moore, did not detect When Gri- London Liberal Party, Council Min- marginalised. As so often, the rank any support for Smedley’s extreme utes, Jun . The merger was and file was content to support views. Prominent free traders approved by votes to . Ten mond led Liberal Nationals were immediately the leadership, even when that such as Alexander used their influ- co-opted onto the London Liberal involved reversing decisions on ence to secure candidacies for the party Council. free trade made only a year or their allies in such areas, presum- London Liberal Party, Council Minutes, two before. ably because of their convenience leftwards May and Executive Committee This leaves the question of for someone working in London. Minutes, April , November again, it . how the free-trade faction were Organisation was not a factor London Liberal Party, Executive Com- so successful in influencing the in the success of the free traders. followed mittee Minutes, April . party’s policy in the early and Groups like the Free Trade Union London Liberal Party, Executive Com- mid-s when they appeared had money to fund a few par- – and few mittee Minutes, October . to have so little support in the liamentary candidates, but were Ibid., October . Ibid., August . Liberals constituencies. tiny. It was oratory, not organi- Ibid., March . Lancelot Spicer, Firstly, they did not just appeal sation, which won the day at suc- were left the Chairman of Radical Action, was to economic liberals within the cessive assemblies. In the absence a prominent member of the London party: Liberals who wished to of counter-argument from the by the way- Liberal Party. emphasise the distinctive nature party leadership, the free traders Ibid., February . London Liberal Party, Council Minutes, of the party’s appeal were also were able to commit the party side. March and Executive Commit- persuaded to support them. In an to unilateral free trade and the tee Minutes, May . era when the Liberal Party came deregulation of agricultural mar- London Liberal Party, Council Min- close to being extinguished and kets. Their views were cogently utes, November . when the division between the argued and struck a chord with London Liberal Party, Executive Com- mittee Minutes, September . two main parties on matters of ordinary activists, who wanted For example, London Liberal Party, practical policy was small, many more than anything to preserve Council Minutes, March and Liberals felt the need to empha- the party’s independence and Council Minutes, May . sise why they were different and, somehow rediscover the path London Liberal Party, Executive Com- mittee Minutes, November . therefore, not capable of being back to electoral success. For a London Liberal Party, Council Min- swallowed up by either Con- time, some were convinced that utes, May . servatives or Labour. Unilateral an appeal back to pre-First World London Liberal Party, Executive Com- free trade and land value taxation War economics offered the best mittee Minutes, July . were both distinctive and com- way ahead. It was more difficult to Despite the arrangement, the Con- servatives were not able to take Hud- forting, in that they harked back engage with contemporary polit- dersfield East from Labour. to the Liberal Party’s Edwardian ical issues in a realistic manner Memorandum by I. Macleod on golden age. and yet still retain a distinctively Conservative/Liberal talks, , Secondly, some of the free trad- Liberal approach which could Conservative Party Archive. The Lib- ers had access to money. They be differentiated from that of the erals were unlikely to benefit from a were able to churn out leaflets and main parties. Grimond realised Conservative withdrawal from con- testing Bethnal Green at this time pamphlets arguing their case and that this, rather than grasping for – in the successful Labour can- use their influence to secure par- the shibboleths of an earlier era, didate secured a fraction under % liamentary candidacies and thus a was the only way forward for the of the vote. platform within the party. David party. When he led the party left- London Liberal Party, Council Min- Russell became Liberal candidate wards again, it followed – and few utes, June . London Liberal Party, Executive Com- for Clapham after promising to Liberals were left by the wayside. mittee Minutes, October and pay his own deposit. It was not Finance and General Purposes Com- uncommon for Liberal candi- Robert Ingham is a historical writer mittee Minutes, July for plans dates to be selected after paying and Biographies Editor of, and a for a fundraising meeting to which ‘shipping magnates’ would be their expenses, or a substantial regular contributor to, the Journal of invited. contribution towards them. Cer- Liberal History. London Liberal Party, Council Min- tain constituencies, mostly within utes, September . commuting distance of the City, Martell’s political odyssey from Ibid., December and Execu- seemed to attract free-trade candi- the Liberal Party to the far right is tive Committee Minutes, December described by R. Douglas and R. In- , April . dates – for example Ilford North, gham in Brack, D., et al, Dictionary of London Liberal Party, Finance and Walthamstow West and Saffron Liberal Biography (Politico’s, ), pp. General Purposes Committee Minutes, Walden. There is no other evi- –. September and Executive Com- dence that these areas were hot- Dutton, D., A History of the Liberal mittee Minutes, May . beds of economic liberalism. At Party in the Twentieth Century (Pal- Clapham Liberal Association, Minutes, grave Macmillan, ), p. . Saffron Walden, Oliver Smedley’s December . For a fuller discussion see J. S. Ras- Knott fought Hammersmith as a Lib- successor, David Ridley, found mussen, The Liberal Party: A study of eral at successive general elections in barely any Liberal organisation in retrenchment and revival (Constable, the s, s and s, includ- the constituency and his succes- ), pp. – ing as an Independent Liberal against
Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005 43 BATTLE OF IDEAS OR ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP?
a Social Democrat in , and was described as treasurer of the Interna- Manchester Liberal Federation, Gen- also a Liberal councillor in the bor- tional Union for Land Value Taxation eral Committee Minutes, November ough. and Free Trade. . London Liberal Party, Finance and Leeds Liberal Federation, Minutes, Ibid., April . General Purposes Committee Minutes, April . Ibid., October . January Ibid., Jun . Douglas, R., History of the Liberal Yorkshire Liberal Federation, Min- Yorkshire Liberal Federation, Minutes, Party – (Sidgwick and Jack- utes, March . Walker’s son, Sir July . son, ), pp. –. Ronald, and grandson, John, were Ibid., March . Egan, M., ‘Grassroots organisation of prominent members of the Yorkshire Interview, Allen Clegg. the Liberal Party –’, unpub- Liberal Federation. Bulpitt, J. G., Party Politics in English lished D.Phil thesis, Oxford Univer- Greenwood, G. A., Taylor of Batley Local Government (Longmans, ), sity, , p. . (Max Parrish, ), pp. , –. pp. , . Ibid., p. . Ibid., p. . Ibid., p. . Report into the People’s League for the Yorkshire Liberal Federation, Minutes, Altrincham Liberal Association, Gen- Defence of Freedom and the Middle Class May . eral Council Minutes, June , Alliance, November , Conserva- Ibid., January , May . April . tive Party Archive. Ibid., May , July . Ibid., April . Cambridgeshire Liberal Association, Letter, A. Mitchell to R. Walker, Bulpitt, J. G., Party Politics in English Minutes, May . July , reported in Yorkshire Lib- Local Government (Longmans, ), Clapham Liberal Association, Minutes, eral Federation, Minutes, Septem- p. . September . ber . Mitchell contested Batley Letter, B. Hall to I. Eastwood, July Interviews, David Ridley and Frank & Morley as an Independent Liberal . Moore. in (although he was included Littleborough Liberal Association, Interviews, Simon Knott and Peter on the official list of Liberal candi- Executive Committee Minutes, Janu- Linfoot. dates) and Keighley as an official Lib- ary . Egan, M., op. cit., Chapter V. eral in , at which point he was Chester Chronicle, July .
Annex: sample of Liberal activists interviewed
The views of Liberal activists on Table 1:Background of interview sample free trade and British member- ship of the Common Market, and Background of interviewees Number on the concept of the ‘realign- Member of Parliament 3 ment of the left’, are cited in this Parliamentary candidate 49 article. One hundred and forty- Parliamentary candidate and local councillor 7 Local councillor 24 two Liberals were interviewed Liberal or Young Liberal Association activist 55 as part of research for an unpub- Liberal Party staff 4 lished doctoral thesis. The background of those interviewed is given in Table ; Table shows where those inter- Table 2: Where interviewees joined the Liberal Party viewed joined the Liberal Party; Region Number of interviewees (%) and Table shows when they South east England 18.3 joined the party. North west England 13.4 London 12.7 South west England 9.9 East Anglia 9.9 West Midlands 9.9 Scotland 8.5 Yorkshire and Humberside 7.7 Northern England 4.2 East Midlands 3.5 Wales 2.0
Table 3: When interviewees joined the Liberal Party
n = 142 Pre-war 1939–44 1945–49 1950–54 1955–59 1960–64
Number of interviewees joining the Liberal Party (%) 12.7 6.3 29.6 15.5 23.9 12.0
44 Journal of Liberal History 47 Summer 2005