Coming into Focus

ISBN-13: 9783639118445 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 276 str.

Mark Egan

Opis

The survival of the Liberal Party after 1945 is oneof the most surprising phenomena in modern Britishpolitical history. By the late 1940s, the Partyslingering death throes seemed to be reaching theirconclusion. With only a handful of parliamentaryseats and no message to offer the electorate, theflame carried by Gladstone and Lloyd George wasnearly extinguished. But the Liberal Party clung onand then revived in the 1960s. This book provides newperspectives on the survival and revival of theLiberal Party after 1945. It shows how theindependence of Liberal associations, the recruitmentof Liberal activists in the late 1940s, and thePartys strength in local government in northernEngland were important reasons for the Partyssurvival. A new wave of recruitment after 1955,inspired by Jo Grimonds leadership, facilitated theLiberal revival, but a key factor was the developmentof early forms of community politics in a number oftowns and cities in England and Scotland. This led toan explosion in the number of Liberal councillors,particularly in suburban areas. Not only was theParty saved, but the foundations for the modernLiberal Party and its successor were laid.

O autorze

Mark Egan was educated at University College, Oxford and
completed his doctorate on the grass roots history of the Liberal
Party in 2000. He is a regular contributor to the Journal of
Liberal History and has also recently completed a book on the
history of pilotage on the River Tyne.