The Strange Survival of Liberal Britain: Politics and Power Before the First World War

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Mark Connelly has broad interests in modern military history and warfare, culture and society. He is particularly interested in the commemoration of the two world wars with a specialism in the work of the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission. He is also interested in popular perceptions of war and the armed forces in Britain and the Commonwealth from the mid-19th century. He has broad interests in modern military history and warfare, culture and society.

their intelligence – this makes a huge difference for a speaker. In the Oxford audience I encountered many experts in the field my book covered and even one of the ambassadors I’d quoted The core of the book emphasises the Liberal government’s remarkable record of social reforms between 1906 and 10, and the reform of taxation set in train to pay for them. Winston Churchill is credited as strongly as David Lloyd George for pushing these reforms. The constitutional crisis with the Lords is depicted as a clear victory for popular democracy, after which national insurance was successfully introduced and changes in land taxation were planned. The challenges which Dangerfield had identified as defeating this Liberal surge – the remaining powers of the Lords and the land-owning classes, the rise of Labour as representing the working classes, suffragette militancy, and the problem of Ireland – could all, he argues, have been politically resolved if war had not broken out in 1914. Imperial Conference on the Subject of the Defence of the Empire 1909, Imperial Conference Secretariat, October 1909, CO886/2, p.24-28

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Brexit, declared Labour pro-European, Roy Jenkins, during the first European referendum campaign in 1975, would put Britain into “an old people’s home for fading nations”. He added, “I do not think it would be a very comfortable old people’s home. I do not like the look of some of the prospective wardens”. Of the three wardens since 2016, Theresa May fell because her Brexit deal was unacceptable to Conservatives, and replaced by Boris Johnson to “get Brexit done”. Then Trussonomics sought to prove the viability of Global Britain outside the EU. LSE has now introduced wireless for guests and visitors in association with 'The Cloud', also in use at many other locations across the UK. If you are on campus visiting for the day or attending a conference or event, you can connect your device to wireless. See more information and create an account at Join the Cloud.

That people do not appreciate the energy and initiative of the Edwardians in seeking to resolve these new problems. Nor did the red wall voters seek a smaller state. They wanted more state intervention not less, especially after Covid so starkly revealed the inequalities which still disfigure Britain. A country in which financiers rake in millions amidst queues for food banks was not one of which they could feel proud. The crisis of 2022 could prove a turning point in British politics. It is the culmination of a period of instability inaugurated by the Brexit referendum of 2016, which caused the immediate resignation of Prime Minister, David Cameron, and three further prime ministerial resignations since 2019. I would have advised the Liberals to put more emphasis on technical education and to create further education colleges specialising in technical education.R. Massie, Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the Coming of the Great War, Jonathan Cape, London, 1992, p. 222