communicate a message, and what this law in (not , as the book book does is to put over the Liberal says); not paying enough attention to Democrat agenda in a well-written and the environment as a major campaign- accessible way. The policy proposals are ing issue for the Alliance; and not interspersed with personal anecdotes protesting enough at the British and reminiscences which make them police’s suppression of demonstrations enjoyable to read, and Kennedy’s turn of against Chinese President Jiang phrase is occasionally brilliant (as in ‘the Zemin’s visit in ). What other political map is like a water bed – apply party leader would approach his task pressure in one area and you will get a with such humility? reaction somewhere else’). Some Charles Kennedy, of course, still has sections – particularly the case for the much to prove. Next year’s anticipated Euro – are excellent. election campaign, and particularly the My favourite part of all is the TV debates between the leaders, will opening paragraphs of the conclusion, put to the test the extent to which he where Kennedy lists the four things he really believes and understands every- has got most seriously wrong since thing that’s in this book, as well as his entering parliament in (for your ability to communicate it. But The information: not opposing the estab- Future of Politics is not a bad start at all. lishment of the Child Support Agency; party’s existing policy position; indeed, trying to minimise attention to the Duncan Brack was Policy Director of the those of us more familiar than we conference vote in favour of a Royal Liberal Democrats –, and is Editor of would like to be with party policy Commission on the reform of drugs the Journal of Liberal Democrat History. papers will recognise many proposals and even, on occasion, entire para- graphs lifted verbatim from other sources. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with this – after all, it would be rather alarming to find that your new More mirage than vision leader didn’t go along with the vast bulk of party policy – but it would be Garry Tregidga: The Liberal Party in South-West nice to find the occasional new idea. Britain since 1918: Political Decline, Dormancy and The only one I could spot in the Rebirth (University of Exeter Press, 2000; 281pp.) entire book was a commitment to all- women shortlists and ‘zipping’ for Reviewed by John Howe parliamentary selections, a position which I was certainly not aware Kennedy held, and one that it would o those who joined the Liberal limited – but only a limited – recovery be quite nice seeing him do some- TParty in the s or s, the in ? Why did the party decline for thing about. There are also, unfortu- West Country was the promised land, two decades thereafter but not die? And nately, too many mistakes – carbon or rather the land of promise. Fading why did the series of revivals from monoxide, for example, is not the memories of triumphs in the twenties onwards achieve no significant parlia- main global greenhouse gas (it’s were reinforced by the contemporary mentary success until ? carbon dioxide, an entirely different view of the Liberals as the party of the To answer these questions substance), and the UK’s target under Celtic fringe; then Torrington in Tregidga has amassed impressive the Kyoto Protocol is a .% reduc- and North Devon in created the evidence. He has read extensively in tion in greenhouse emissions, not vision of a Liberal heartland from which the local press, which continued to .%. The logic is not always coherent, the party might expand. But the vision provide good reports of meetings, for example over fuel taxes, a point proved a mirage, and even in fewer speeches and party events with picked up when the launch of the than half of the West Country seats fell editorial comment reflecting local book coincided with the first wave of to the Liberal Democrats. opinions. The personal papers of the fuel tax protests; and overall the book Garry Tregidga’s book examines the regional party leaders, notably the has not been well edited. background to these events with four Aclands and the Foots, have been But on the other hand… no-one successive questions. Why did the thoroughly reviewed, and the rel- expected Kennedy to be an ideas man, Liberal Party achieve a triumph in the evant national collections are cited – and there are other qualities which south-west in almost equalling the for example Sir Archibald Sinclair’s party leaders can display. Kennedy’s landslide? Why was it wiped out papers seem particularly useful for great strength lies in his ability to only ten months later yet then made a the years just before when
Journal of Liberal Democrat History 29 Winter 2000–01 29 Tregidga sees signs of a Liberal socialist/anti- socialist ideologies – success in dragging the party back to the revival aborted by the war. interact with ‘old’ divisions based on progressive side, aiming to replace The list of party records consulted religion, rural/urban and centre/ Labour as the party of the left, a drive to shows the lamentable lack of surviving periphery tensions. The ‘petite bour- fight council seats, and – at last – efforts Liberal records – only three local parties geoisie’ had a key role – small farmers, to target resources on winnable seats. In are listed, compared to seven Conserva- shop-keepers, small businessmen and the south-west this meant that ‘petite tive and even two Labour. More others were historically strongly bourgeoisie’ dissatisfaction with the alarming, while six of the Conservative illiberal and non-conformist but Conservatives was translated into victory parties have wisely deposited their deeply anti-socialist: for example, at Torrington in and North Devon archives in the county record offices, alarmed by the Labour govern- in , but a key role was played by two out of the three Liberal collections ment, they voted ‘modern’ but by individual candidates which may explain remain in the vulnerable location of traditional issues had revived and some why the victories were not repeated their local party offices. returned to the Liberals. elsewhere in the region. Several participants in the events The core of the book is the six Garry Tregidga’s final chapter have been interviewed and their chronological chapters covering the sweeps from to . This is testimony has been effectively de- years from to . In each clearly attempting too much. Interest- ployed to supplement documentary Tregidga has to strike a balance ing points are made, for example on evidence. One wonders why other key between explaining the national the revolutionary effects of winning players were not; Jeremy Thorpe is context, describing local events, council seats, but it is simply not only the most obvious omission, assessing the strength of party activity possible to develop the discussion although his splendid agent appears in locally and nationally, and relating all properly. The debilitating and demoral- the select list. The vast amount of this to his theoretical framework. This ising debates in seat allocations be- published material on the period is an extensive agenda, more successful tween the Liberals and the SDP in the means that the bibliography is likewise when national developments are fairly mid-s are ignored. selective; nevertheless the omission of straightforward, for example in – A more basic problem for the book is R. C. Whiting’s study of Oxford , but less so for the crisis-packed the definition of the region. Bristol politics is unfortunate and Chris years or –, when it is (which some might argue is the regional Cook’s useful article on local elections difficult to disentangle national and capital) is ignored. Somerset and Devon between the wars might also have been local factors. are included, but the main focus is on considered. Tregidga’s book draws many Devon and Cornwall. A more tightly The book opens by discussing the interesting conclusions. For instance he drawn regional boundary might have growth of interest in regional political challenges the standard interpretation provided a more logical and manageable history, justifying the selection of of the success of the Yellow Book and region. The problem was well illustrated period and topic. Drawing on Euro- Lloyd George’s pledge to conquer at a recent Liberal Democrat History pean, and particularly Scandinavian, unemployment in . He points out Group meeting, when Michael Steed writers, Tregidga suggests a theoretical that unemployment was an urban suggested an extended south-west, up to analytical framework in which ‘mod- industrial issue, irrelevant in the south- a line from the Isle of Wight to Oxford, ern’ factors – class and its related west where a rural and agricultural while Malcolm Brown selected the programme was necessary to win seats. Tamar as frontier. Interventionist policies were unlikely Overall Garry Tregidga has pro- to attract ‘petite bourgeoisie’ anti- duced an interesting study. The theo- socialists who had defected to the retical material is not always effectively Conservatives in . Hence, perhaps, integrated into the narrative and the the limited recovery of . detail is at times daunting but the end Tregidga is frequently scathing result is a thoughtful and persuasive about the party’s national leadership – account of a significant part of twenti- or lack of it. The shambles of the early eth century Liberal history. thirties, an ill-founded zeal for a broad front in and , failure to John Howe lectures in the School of History perceive the opportunity for recovery and Local Studies of the Cheltenham & in the south-west are all castigated. Gloucester College of Higher Education This is not merely with the benefit of hindsight, for examples are quoted of 1 R. C. Whiting, The View from Cowley (Oxford, contemporary proponents of an 1973); C. Cook, ‘Liberals, Labour and Local Elections’ in G. Peele & C. Cook, The Politics of alternative narrow front, including Reappraisal 1918–39 (London, 1974). Sinclair himself in . 2 Report on ‘Liberalism in the West’ fringe The s revival is attributed to meeting, Plymouth, March 2000 (Journal of Liberal Democrat History 28, Autumn 2000). varied national events – Jo Grimond’s
30 Journal of Liberal Democrat History 29 Winter 2000–01