Below you can find a selection of content from the menus on the left relating to Liberal Elections.
History (19)
Journal articles (18)
Meetings (10)
Archives: libraries (1)
Archives: individuals (1)
PhD theses (8)
Research (2)
History
1906 Election
In the General Election of January 1906 the Liberals swept to victory in a landslide result, which saw the party win 400 seats. Conservative strongholds such as Bath and Exeter were conquered as Libe...
European Parliamentary elections 1979-1999
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Inter-war decline
The Liberals were a political casualty of the Great War - emerging from the conflict as a divided party, whose key ideological beliefs had been sacrificed to meet the needs of modern warfare. ...
Liberal Vote in England, Scotland and Wales 1832-2001
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Liberal vote in the English regions 1955-2001
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Scottish Parliamentary Elections 1999
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Seat gains and losses at by-elections 1885-1997
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The Home Rule crisis
Shortly after Gladstones second government had seen the third reform act safely onto the statute book in 1885, it suffered a defeat on the budget and resigned. Lord Salisbury formed a minority Conser...
The Liberal Vote 1832-1997
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The Midlothian Campaign
A year after the defeat of his government in 1874, William Ewart Gladstone retired as leader of the Liberal Party. At 65, he deeply desired an interval between parliament and the grave to devote to r...
Remember The Rights of The Savage
Following his electoral defeat in 1874, Gladstone resigned the Liberal leadership and, in his sixties, hoped to spend the rest of his life in retirement. The Balkan Massacres of 1876 drew him back to...
The 1918 'coupon' general election
Just 24 hours after the Armistice had been signed with Germany, Lloyd George announced his decision to hold an election in alliance with his Coalition partners and Parliament was accordingly dissolve...
The 1923 general election
The 1923 election was sparked in October of that year, when the Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin announced that his government would be seeking a mandate to introduce tariff protection, in...
The 1924 general election
In contrast to the contest of 1923, the General Election of 29 October 1924 was an unmitigated disaster for the Liberals and the Party's parliamentary strength was reduced to just 40 MPs. A numb...
The 1929 general election
The election of May 1929 took place against a backdrop of economic depression, as the Conservative government struggled to stem a growing tide of unemployment in the aftermath of the First World War....
The 1931 general election
The National Government was formed in August 1931, following the failure of Ramsay Macdonald's minority Labour administration to deal with the mounting unemployment that was paralysing Britain. ...
The Liberal Nationals
The Liberal National group was officially formed on 5 October 1931; two days before the commencement of the election campaign, which saw the Liberals enter the polls as three distinct groups. ...
Local history: Wembley Young Liberals in the 1950s
Alan Knight on being active in the Wembley North Young Liberals in the early 1950s. ...
Local history: Epsom & Ewell Social Democrats
David Gourley on joining the SDP in 1981 and working with the Liberals through the Alliance and merger. ...
Journal articles
Honiton, Dumfriesshire and the Lloyd George Fund
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 49 ')
The use of the Lloyd George Fund in two constituencies in the 1929 election
Disappointment or bridgehead?
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 48 ')
Liberal Democrat performance in the 2005 election
The 2001 election
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal Democrat History 32 ')
Examination of the Liberal Democrat performance in the election of 7 June 2001, with lessons for the party’s future strategy.
Hidden workers of the party
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 52 ')
The professional Liberal agents, 1885-1910
The 1906 landslide: the legacy
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 54 ')
Introduction to this special issue of the Journal, on the legacy of the 1906 Liberal government
Liberals and the 1945 election (1)
(from journal ' Liberal Democrat History Group Newsletter 9 ')
Review of Malcolm Baines, 'The Liberal Party and the 1945 General Election', Contemporary Record 9:1, Summer 1995
Dishing the Whigs in Winchester
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 53 ')
The impact of electoral reform in the nineteenth century on elections in Winchester.
Liberal civil war: Denbigh, Oldham and the 1935 election
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 56 ')
The story of two constituencies where Liberals and Liberal Nationals fought each other at the 1935 general election.
Liberals and the 1945 election (2)
(from journal ' Liberal Democrat History Group Newsletter 9 ')
Review of Peter Joyce, The Liberal Party and the 1945 General Election
The Inverness turning point
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 53 ')
How the Liberals' near-miss in the Inverness by-election of 1954 proved a turning point in the party's fortunes.
Elections 2007
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 56 ')
Analysis of the outcomes of the local, Scottish and Welsh elections of May 2007. What do they mean for the Liberal Democrats?
Berwick-upon-Tweed: A venal borough?
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 48 ')
Berwick’s reputation for electoral corruption during the nineteenth century, and the impact of bribery on voting behaviour
Debate: Holding the balance
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 64 ')
An exchange of views between Duncan Brack and Roy Douglas on the desirability of a hung parliament and its possible impact on the Liberal Democrats.
Last outpost of urban radicalism: Wolverhampton East, Liberal seat 1832 - 1945
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 53 ')
Analysis of Geoffrey Mander's Wolverhampton seat.
Report: Election 2005 in historical perspective
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 50 ')
with John Curtice, Andrew Russell and Chris Rennard
Letters to the editor
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 51 ')
Election 2006.
1906: Blissful dawn?
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 51 ')
Lecture to the Corporation of London, February 2006.
The 2005 general election
(from journal ' Journal of Liberal History 52 ')
Reviews of Geddes & Tonge (eds.): Britain Decides The UK General Election 2005, Bartle & King (eds.): Britain at the Polls 2005, Kavanagh & Butler: The British General Election of 2005, Norris & Wlezien (eds.): Britain Votes 2005
Meetings
Blissful Dawn? The 1906 Election
Tuesday 7 February 2006
On 7 February 2006, the counting of votes was completed in the 1906 general election, and the Liberal Party had obtained a majority of 132 over all other parties. In addition, for the first time, 29 ...
Election 2005 in historical perspective
Sunday 18 September 2005
The 2005 election saw the Liberal Democrats win a higher number of seats than at any time since 1923, and, for the second election in a row, gain both votes and seats after a period of Labour governm...
Liberals in Liverpool: Their Legacy
Friday 19 March 2004
Liverpool has been a Liberal Democrat success. Why?
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The Fall of the Lloyd George Coalition
Monday 14 July 2003
The summer 2003 History Group meeting examined the events which brought an end to the last peacetime participation by the Liberal Party in UK government - when Lloyd Georges coalition was overthrown ...
Liberal Party General Election campaigns after 1945
Monday 3 February 2003
With David Butler, longstanding co-author and author of the acclaimed Nuffield General Election studies, and Neil Stockley, former Director of Policy, Liberal Democrats.
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Post-war Liberalism and the Politics of Race and Immigration
Monday 2 July 2001
In the run-up to the 2001 general election, the issues of asylum and race relations moved to centre stage, with Liberal Democrats winning plaudits for their firm stand against discrimination.
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From Midlothian to Direct Mail: Parliamentary and Political Campaigning
Friday 16 March 2001
On the eve of the first general election campaign of the twenty-first century, this meeting examined the development of campaigning techniques since the Great Reform Act of 1832.
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1974 Remembered
Sunday 19 September 1999
The two elections of 1974 formed a peak of the second post-war Liberal revival, giving the party six million votes but no more than fourteen MPs. Participants in the campaigns - including Tim Beaumon...
Landslide for the Left
Sunday 22 September 1996
Massive Tory defeat .... sweeping opposition landslide victory .... major gains by small third party .... but what does the new government stand for other than opposition to unpopular Conservative po...
Hung Parliaments and Coalition Governments: Learning the Lessons of History
Sunday 8 September 1991
The next election will see a bigger chance of a hung parliament than any fought over the last thirteen years. But what happens if the Liberal Democrats do end up holding the balance? ...
Archives: libraries
Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Archive Collections relating to Liberal history at the Bodleian Library ...
archive url: http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/bodley/library/specialcollections
Archives: individuals
Wainwright, Richard (1918-2003) and Lord Steel (1938-)
Project to catalogue the papers of Richard Wainwright and Lord David Steel at London School of Economics Archives ...
archive url: http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/archives
PhD theses
An analysis of voting patterns for the Liberal Party, with initial reference to the General Election of 1966
Southampton Ph.D. , 1978
Electoral politics in Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1832-85
Supervisor - Mr. Alan J. Heesom
Durham, M.Phil , 2002
Political communications and party development in Britain: the Social Democratic Party from its origins to the General Election campaign of 1983
London School of Economics Ph.D. , 1987
Seat-votes relationships in British general elections, 1955-97
Oxford, D.Phil , 2002
The British general election of 1929
Supervisor - Professor Peter F. Clarke
Cambridge, Ph.D , 1999
The Liberal Party in Scotland, 1843-1868: electoral politics and party development
Supervisor - Dr John F McCaffery
Glasgow, Ph.D. , 1996
The Liberal Unionist Party until December 1887
Edinburgh Ph.D. , 1955
The National Reform Union and the Reform League: a comparative analysis
Supervisor - Dr. David Nicholls
Manchester Metropolitan, Ph.D , 1997
Research
The Liberal Party in the West Midlands from December 1916 to the 1923 general election
Focusing on the fortunes of the party in Birmingham, Coventry, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Looking to explore the effects of the party split at local level. Also looking to uncover the steps towards temporary reunification for the 1923 general election.
Neil Fisher
Contact: 42 Bowden Way, Binley, Coventry CV3 2HU
The Liberal Party's political communication, 1945-2002
Research on the Liberal party and Lib Dems' political communication. Any information welcome (including testimonies) about electoral campaigns and strategies.
Cynthia Messeleka-Boyer
Contact: 12 bis chemin Vaysse, 81150 Terssac,
France; +33 6 10 09 72 46; cynthia.boyer@univ-jfc.fr
