The success of Cons in 1885-1914 was a result of Liberals' failures'

P1 - Success of Cons

• Conservatives were ably led by Salisbury in this period, capitalising on support for empire and a new brand of ‘villa conservatism

• Strongly organised & effective in party campaigning through help of Chief Whip & agent Akers Douglas & Captain Middleton & Primrose League → 30 Cons agent in LDN VS 3 Liberals

• WC Vote due to Jingoism, deference paternalism, Boer war

• However -

• Cons divided over tariffs whereas Liberals were consistently united over the issue of free trade leading to their landslide election success in 1906 (400 seats)

P2 - Liberal weaknesses

• Division over HR 1886 → Formation of Liberal Unionists led by Chamberlain & Hartington, loss of LUs undermined Liberals in elections of 1895 and 1902

• Gladstone remained a divisive figure until retirement in 1894; some criticised his obsession with HR, whereas others retained unwavering loyalty to ‘grand old man’. → Little achieved between 1892-1895 contributing to the 1895 election defeat

• Divisions between ‘traditional’ laissez-faire liberals & the emerging group of ‘New Liberals’. → New liberalism gained strength through 1890s & 1900s, but still met with scepticism within the party, even after 1906

• Rosebery led group of ‘Liberal Imperialists’ in the 1880s, but opposed by others who were sceptical of further imperial expansion.

• Tensions deepened over issue of the Boer War, which impacted Liberals’ performance in ‘khaki election’ of 1900

• Party was not united over issue of women’s suffrage → Splits gave impression of disunity from 1906-1914 & caused govts significant unease in handling increasingly militant Suffragette threat.

• However -

• Did unite in 1892 election (272) over Newcastle Programme 1891 with 80 more seats than in 1886 , Salisbury lost majority with 314 seats

• Enjoyed continuous support of the INP 80 MPs, which was particularly significant in 2 elections of 1910

P3 - Growth of Labour

• Liberals losing the backing of TUs in period as WC turned increasingly towards more proletarian-based political party

• However -

• Liberals remained united in opposition to entrenched privilege, eg. challenge to HOL in 1910/11, which contributed to 2 election victories in 1910, and & support for non-conformist opposition to 1902 Education Act which contributed to their 1906 victory

Conclusion