Reviews Ranted Invasion of Established Property Rights

government interference in the land question marked an unwar- revieWs ranted invasion of established property rights. For Liberals, this involved arguing that land was different Land and nation in England from other kinds of property because it was God-given rather Paul Readman, Patriotism, National Identity, and the Politics than man-made. They saw the of Land, 1880–1914 (Royal Historical Society, Studies in enclosures of the eighteenth century as an act of dispossession of History New Series , 2008) the people that could be put right now that democracy had replaced Reviewed by Iain Sharpe aristocracy as the basis for government. They wanted to give he notion of ‘the land for Dr Readman examines how local authorities compulsory pur- the people’ has become an Liberals, Conservatives and chase powers to create allotments Talmost mythical tradition socialists each engaged with and smallholdings so that rural of British liberalism, perhaps these issues. He does this with dwellers once again had a stake in because land reform was such an an emphasis on political lan- the land. Legislation in the early important issue during the late- guage, and in particular on years of the 1905–15 Liberal gov- Victorian and Edwardian periods the ways in which politicians ernment had only limited success – the final years when the Liberal approached the issue in terms of and was ultimately followed by Party retained its position as one patriotism, national character and the launch of Lloyd George’s land of the two great parties of state. the relationship between land campaign in 1913, which sought Lloyd George’s land campaign, and ‘Englishness’. The author not only to transform land tenure, launched in 1913, is one of the finds it ‘astonishing’ that previ- but also to improve rural wages great might-have-beens of Lib- ous scholars have not made the and housing conditions as part of eral politics, offering the possibil- link between land and national a comprehensive programme for ity that, but for the intervention identity and aims to fill the gap. the reform of rural England. of the First World War, it might I don’t quite share the author’s It may too easily be assumed have reinvigorated the party and surprise, since, although recent that this was a sign of the Liber- prolonged its electoral success. Of years have seen a greater interest als’ embrace of a more collectivist course, it was not to be, with the among historians in the theme political approach associated with Liberal Party and the land ques- of patriotism (whether British, the so-called New Liberalism. Dr tion alike fading from the politi- English, Scottish, Irish or Welsh), cal spotlight after the First World it has generally been considered War. Dr Readman’s study of the in the context of social, cultural land question in England during or intellectual, rather than politi- the twenty-five years before 1914 cal, history. However, I certainly will therefore be of particular agree that, in linking the practical interest to students of Liberal question of land reform with the history, even though its scope more abstract question of patrio- extends well beyond the realm of tism, Dr Readman is undertaking any one political party. a welcome new departure, which There were a number of rea- will hopefully lead to fruitful sons why land reform was consid- areas of further research. ered of such importance during Many historians have argued, this period. In the late nineteenth and it is easy therefore to assume, century there was widespread that during the late-Victorian concern about the perceived and Edwardian periods, patriotic decline of British agriculture language was largely the preserve and the twin problems of urban of the political right, from Dis- squalor and rural depopulation. raeli giving Queen Victoria the English systems of land tenure, title of Empress of India through including primogeniture and to the riotous celebrations of the entail, designed to keep estates relief of Mafeking during the together, made the free sale of Boer War. The author demon- land impossible, reducing the strates clearly that this was not dynamism of the rural economy. the case – while Conservatives Ideas about spreading land own- and Liberal Unionists did attempt ership and tenure were discussed to exploit a patriotic agenda for as a key to both economic and electoral gain, both Liberals and social progress, for rural commu- socialists developed their own nities and the country as a whole, patriotic narrative of land reform by halting national decline. and challenged the notion that 42 Journal of Liberal History 65 Winter 2009–10 revieWs Readman questions this, pointing While each of land being held in common But patriotic rhetoric can be used out that much Liberal rhetoric was by the people, and regarded the in different ways: for example, as about putting the land on a busi- party offered Reformation and dissolution of an offensive or defensive weapon ness footing and also about land the monasteries as the moment or to reassure or inflame popular reform as a democratic measure different when the land was stolen from the opinion. During this period, the – a continuation of the Liberal people. In contrast with Liberals Unionists clearly used empire and commitment to creating class solutions and Conservatives, their preferred national defence to question oth- harmony. While state interven- solution was land nationalisation ers’ patriotic credentials as well as tion in land ownership and tenure to the land rather than widening access to the to establish their own, and Liber- was clearly not compatible with land for individuals. als struggled to counter this. One hard-line laissez-faire economics, questions, While each party offered dif- wonders whether Liberal and such views had always had rather the com- ferent solutions to the land ques- socialist patriotic language over less purchase on the Liberal Party tions, the common thread was the land question was motivated than is often thought. Liberal mon thread that all sought to present historical by a genuine wish to contrast commitment to land reform there- precedents that provided a patri- their own patriotic vision with fore represented continuity rather was that otic dimension to their plans. that of their Unionist opponents. than a new departure. Of course, The importance of patriotism as Alternatively, it may simply Conservative opponents tried to all sought a factor in British politics is often have been a means of shielding present Liberal land legislation overlooked, perhaps because it is themselves against accusations of as socialist in intent and effect. to present so much easier to focus on con- introducing alien revolutionary However, partly as a shield against crete ‘issues’ rather than abstract ideas into British politics. Was such accusations, the Liberals were historical ‘themes’. Dr Readman therefore patriotism a motivating factor in careful to situate their reforms breaks new ground in discussing views of the different parties or within a tradition of Englishness, precedents the land issue within the context of merely a rhetorical device? One looking backwards both to the Englishness and national identify. hopes that the publication of Dr pre-enclosure times and to some that provided Inevitably, though, in breaking Readman’s excellent book will extent to the ‘popular system of new ground, the book suggests trigger further debate among his- self-government’ that applied in a patriotic questions as well as answer- torians on these and other issues villages in Anglo-Saxon England. ing them. The most important concerning the role of patriotism Liberal attitudes to land reform dimension to of these concerns the intention within political discourse. contrasted with those of both behind the politicians’ use of Conservatives/Unionists and their plans. patriotic rhetoric. It is no surprise Iain Sharpe is working on a PhD socialists, in terms not only of that patriotism was a feature of thesis on the Liberal Party in the practical solutions, but also of the debates over land reform – for early twentieth century at the Insti- historical precedents they cited. politicians seeking to win votes it tute of Historical Research, Univer- Many traditional Conservatives is probably a good idea to articu- sity of London. He is leader of the were sceptical of any attempt to late an uplifting view of the land Liberal Democrat group on Watford widen access to land, regarding and people they seek to govern. Borough Council. such things as an attack on property rights and an unviable way of organising agriculture. However, the widening of the franchise fol- lowing the 1884–85 reform acts and the accession to the Conserva- A tale of two symbols tive ranks of the Liberal Unionists meant that a simple defence of the Frank Trentmann, Free Trade Nation: Commerce, status quo was no longer a real- istic option. Instead, Unionists, Consumption and Civil Society in Modern Britain (Oxford driven in part by Jesse Collings, an acolyte of Joseph Chamberlain, University Press, 2008) sought to widen land ownership Reviewed by Tony Little through the revival of the yeoman class of peasant proprietors that had existed before the enclosures. mong Liberal Democrat most notably in September 2006 This approach had briefly held activists traditions are in when the neo-New Liberals attractions for Liberals too, but the Aconflict. The legatees of were prominent in the debate on latter had concluded that it would the classical liberalism of Adam whether the party should retain merely widen social divisions by Smith and John Stuart Mill, gath- a 50 per cent income tax rate, strengthening the ranks of landed ered round the contributors to not for its revenue potential but proprietorship, rather than giv- the The Orange Book, dispute with as a totem of the party’s concern ing all classes access to the land.

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