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47 Ingham Battle of Ideas 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.
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