153-509: Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell ; 7 September 1836 – 22 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He also was Secretary of State for War twice, in the cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery . He was the first First Lord of
306-576: A Liberal (1904–1924) authored Liberalism and the Social Problem (1909). The Liberal Party grew out of the Whigs , who had their origins in an aristocratic faction in the reign of Charles II and the early 19th century Radicals . The Whigs were in favour of reducing the power of the Crown and increasing the power of Parliament . Although their motives in this were originally to gain more power for themselves,
459-485: A Liberal base were deeply split. Ensor notes that, "London society, following the known views of the Queen, practically ostracized home rulers." The new Liberal leader was the ineffectual Lord Rosebery . He led the party to a heavy defeat in the 1895 general election . The Liberal Party lacked a unified ideological base in 1906. It contained numerous contradictory and hostile factions, such as imperialists and supporters of
612-412: A belief in individual freedom, a desire to help the disadvantaged, an aversion to imperialism and support for Irish self-government." During his time as prime minister, Campbell-Bannerman supported such measures as safeguards for trade unions, old-age pensions, and urban planning to improve housing. As far back as 1903, Campbell-Bannerman had spoken of the intention of the Liberal Party to do something about
765-617: A constituency that he would go on to represent for almost forty years. Campbell-Bannerman rose quickly through the ministerial ranks, being appointed as Financial Secretary to the War Office in Gladstone 's first government in November 1871, serving in this position until 1874 under Edward Cardwell , the Secretary of State for War . When Cardwell was raised to the peerage, Campbell-Bannerman became
918-674: A couple of months in Europe, usually in France and at the spa town of Marienbad in Bohemia . C.B. had a deep appreciation for French culture , and particularly enjoyed the novels of Anatole France . They also had an occasional home at Belmont Castle, Meigle , in Scotland. CB and his wife were both reported to be enormous eaters, and in their later years each weighed nearly 20 stone (130 kg; 280 lb). Charlotte died on 30 August 1906. After losing her, CB
1071-574: A dangerous rival, and rejoiced at the chance to destroy her. They meant to fight a hard-headed war by ruthless methods; they condemned Liberal 'softness' before the war and now. The Liberals insisted on remaining high-minded. Many of them had come to support the war only when the Germans invaded Belgium. [...] Entering the war for idealistic motives, the Liberals wished to fight it by noble means and found it harder to abandon their principles than to endure defeat in
1224-467: A deputation from representatives of 25 women's suffragist groups (representing 1,000 women) though he said that his cabinet would object to this change. In the matter of House of Lords reforms, which was to become the dominant issue of the 1910 elections, Campbell-Bannerman proposed on 26 June 1907 that the Lords enjoy purely ornamental ancient privileges, but be deprived of all real legislative power; and that
1377-529: A dominion beyond. Gladstone finally retired in 1894. Gladstone's support for Home Rule deeply divided the party, and it lost its upper and upper-middle-class base, while keeping support among Protestant nonconformists and the Celtic fringe. Historian R. C. K. Ensor reports that after 1886, the main Liberal Party was deserted by practically the entire whig peerage and the great majority of the upper-class and upper-middle-class members. High prestige London clubs that had
1530-574: A few new classes of armaments, such as submarine mines and projectiles fired or dropped from hot air balloons, but placed no limitations on naval expenditures. In 1906, Campbell-Bannerman created a minor diplomatic incident with the Russian government when he responded to Tsar Nicholas II 's dissolution of the Duma with a speech in which he declared, "The Duma is dead; long live the Duma!" Nonetheless, his premiership saw
1683-582: A government. Historian Robert Blake explains the dilemma: [T]he Liberals were traditionally the party of freedom of speech, conscience and trade. They were against jingoism, heavy armaments and compulsion. [...] Liberals were neither wholehearted nor unanimous about conscription, censorship, the Defence of the Realm Act , severity toward aliens and pacifists, direction of labour and industry. The Conservatives [...] had no such misgivings. Blake further notes that it
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#17328588786661836-601: A landslide victory in the 1906 general election . Under prime ministers Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1905–1908) and H. H. Asquith (1908–1916), the Liberal Party passed reforms that created a basic welfare state . Although Asquith was the party leader , its dominant figure was David Lloyd George . Asquith was overwhelmed by his wartime role as prime minister and Lloyd George led a coalition that replaced him in late 1916. However, Asquith remained as Liberal Party leader. The split between Lloyd George's breakaway faction and Asquith's official Liberal faction badly weakened
1989-674: A lesser role in party affairs after 1900. The party, furthermore, also included Irish Catholics, and secularists from the labour movement. Many Conservatives (including Winston Churchill ) had recently protested against high tariff moves by the Conservatives by switching to the anti-tariff Liberal camp, but it was unclear how many old Conservative traits they brought along, especially on military and naval issues. The middle-class business, professional and intellectual communities were generally strongholds, although some old aristocratic families played important roles as well. The working-class element
2142-689: A massive victory: Labour increased their position slightly, but the Asquithian Liberals were decimated. Those remaining Liberal MPs who were opposed to the Coalition Government went into opposition under the parliamentary leadership of Sir Donald MacLean who also became Leader of the Opposition . Asquith, who had appointed MacLean, remained as overall Leader of the Liberal Party even though he lost his seat in 1918. Asquith returned to Parliament in 1920 and resumed leadership. Between 1919 and 1923,
2295-401: A moderate social reformer, stating that Campbell-Bannerman favoured a better deal for the poor and the workers but like Gladstone he was opposed to too much state interference. He was said to have commented on the futility of 'our wealth, and learning and the fine flower of our civilisation and our Constitution and our political theories' calling them 'but dust and ashes' if the people who labour,
2448-471: A negotiating tool. The convention's intent was to lead to the gradual phasing out of export bounties, and Britain would then forbid the importation of subsidised sugar. In a speech to the Cobden Club on 28 November 1902, Campbell-Bannerman denounced the convention as threatening the sovereignty of Britain. It means that we abandon our fiscal independence, together with our free-trade ways; that we subside into
2601-448: A new system of protectionist tariffs. Campbell-Bannerman was able to rally the party around the traditional liberal platform of free trade and land reform and led them to the greatest election victory in their history. This would prove the last time the Liberals won a majority in their own right. Although he presided over a large majority, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman was overshadowed by his ministers, most notably H. H. Asquith at
2754-515: A provisional government and armed resistance in Ulster . The Ulster Protestants had the full support of the Conservatives, whose leader, Bonar Law , was of Ulster-Scots descent. Government plans to deploy troops into Ulster had to be cancelled after the threat of mass resignation of their commissions by army officers in March 1914 ( see Curragh Incident ). Ireland seemed to be on the brink of civil war when
2907-461: A rather desperate manner to hold on to power. The result was a catastrophic split in the Liberal Party, and heavy defeat in the 1886 election at the hands of Lord Salisbury , who was supported by the breakaway Liberal Unionist Party . There was a final weak Gladstone ministry in 1892, but it also was dependent on Irish support and failed to get Irish Home Rule through the House of Lords. Historically,
3060-422: A relative. Certainly those who have been associated with him closely for years will feel a deep sense of personal bereavement. I have never met a great public figure since I have been in politics who so completely won the attachment and affection of the men who came into contact with him. He was not merely admired and respected; he was absolutely loved by us all. I really cannot trust myself to say more. The masses of
3213-467: A strong appeal to the nonconformist middle-class Liberal element, which felt liberated by the departure of the aristocracy. A major long-term consequence of the Third Reform Act was the rise of Lib-Lab candidates. The Act split all county constituencies (which were represented by multiple MPs) into single-member constituencies , roughly corresponding to population patterns. With the foundation of
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#17328588786663366-564: A strong, welfare-oriented, and interventionist state. After the historic 1906 victory, the Liberal Party introduced multiple reforms on a range of issues, including health insurance , unemployment insurance , and pensions for elderly workers, thereby laying the groundwork for the future British welfare state . Some proposals failed, such as licensing fewer pubs, or rolling back Conservative educational policies. The People's Budget of 1909, championed by David Lloyd George and fellow Liberal Winston Churchill , introduced unprecedented taxes on
3519-495: A turn for the worse. Following a series of heart attacks, the most serious in November 1907, he began to fear that he would not be able to survive to the end of his term. He eventually resigned as prime minister on 3 April 1908, and was succeeded by his Chancellor of the Exchequer , H. H. Asquith . Campbell-Bannerman remained both a Member of Parliament and Leader of the Liberal Party , and continued to live at 10 Downing Street in
3672-526: A young age in the clothing trade in Glasgow, before in 1817 going into partnership with his brother, William Campbell , to found J.& W. Campbell & Co., a warehousing, general wholesale and retail drapery business. In 1831 James Campbell was elected as a member of Glasgow Town Council and in the 1837 and 1841 general elections he stood as a Conservative candidate for the Glasgow constituency . He served as
3825-641: Is in Westminster Abbey . There is a blue plaque outside Campbell-Bannerman's house at 6 Grosvenor Place in London, unveiled in 2008. Campbell-Bannerman was the subject of several parody novels based on Alice in Wonderland , such as Caroline Lewis 's Clara in Blunderland (1902) and Lost in Blunderland (1903). Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties in
3978-424: Is injured when it is not allowed to follow its natural course, and when it is either hampered or diverted by artificial obstacles.... We believe in free trade because we believe in the capacity of our countrymen. That at least is why I oppose protection root and branch, veiled and unveiled, one-sided or reciprocal. I oppose it in any form. Besides we have experience of fifty years, during which our prosperity has become
4131-607: Is that the British people were so deeply divided over numerous issues, but on all sides, there was growing distrust of the Asquith government. There was no agreement whatsoever on wartime issues. The leaders of the two parties realized that embittered debates in Parliament would further undermine popular morale and so the House of Commons did not once discuss the war before May 1915. Taylor argues: The Unionists, by and large, regarded Germany as
4284-442: Is true of Ireland is true of every section of the community of this Empire which has a fight to maintain against powerful foes. In an uncharacteristically emotional speech on 27 April, the day of Campbell-Bannerman's funeral, his successor H. H. Asquith told the House of Commons: What was the secret of the hold which in these later days he unquestionably had on the admiration and affection of men of all parties and all creeds? ...he
4437-608: The 1918 general election , Lloyd George, hailed as "the Man Who Won the War", led his coalition into a khaki election . Lloyd George and the Conservative leader Bonar Law wrote a joint letter of support to candidates to indicate they were considered the official Coalition candidates—this " coupon ", as it became known, was issued against many sitting Liberal MPs, often to devastating effect, though not against Asquith himself. The coalition won
4590-512: The Chanak Crisis , and his corrupt sale of honours. He resigned as prime minister and was succeeded by Bonar Law . Captain (British Army and Royal Marines) Captain ( Capt ) is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines and in both services it ranks above lieutenant and below major with a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a lieutenant in
4743-507: The Crimean War a new rank system was introduced which contained the first complete rank insignia in British Army history. A captain's rank insignia was worn on the collar and displayed a crown and a pip (which is now the rank insignia for a lieutenant-colonel). The rank insignia were returned to the shoulder boards in 1880 for all officers in full dress , when the system of crowns and stars
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4896-567: The Earl of Rosebery 's government from 1894 to 1895, Campbell-Bannerman served as the Secretary of State for War . His only military experience was thirty years earlier with the 53rd Lanarkshire Rifles Volunteers. During his time in the War office, he introduced an experimental eight-hour day for the workers at the Woolwich Arsenal munitions factory. The results demonstrated that there was no loss in production. Therefore, Campbell-Bannerman extended
5049-574: The Entente with Russia in 1907, brought about principally by the Foreign Secretary, Edward Grey . In January 1906 Grey sanctioned staff talks between Britain and France's army and navy but without any binding commitment. These included the plan to send one hundred thousand British soldiers to France within two weeks of a Franco-German war. Campbell-Bannerman was not informed of these at first but when Grey told him about them he gave them his blessing. This
5202-660: The First World War broke out in August 1914. Asquith had offered the Six Counties (later to become Northern Ireland ) an opt out from Home Rule for six years (i.e., until after two more general elections were likely to have taken place) but the Nationalists refused to agree to permanent Partition of Ireland . Historian George Dangerfield has argued that the multiplicity of crises in 1910 to 1914, political and industrial, so weakened
5355-591: The Irish Nationalists . Although the Lords now passed the budget, the government wished to curtail their power to block legislation. Asquith was required by King George V to fight a second general election in December 1910 (whose result was little changed from that in January) before he agreed, if necessary, to create hundreds of Liberals peers. Faced with that threat, the Lords voted to give up their veto power and allowed
5508-508: The Labour Party not to come till 1906, many trade unions allied themselves with the Liberals. In areas with working class majorities, in particular coal-mining areas, Lib-Lab candidates were popular, and they received sponsorship and endorsement from trade unions . In the first election after the Act was passed (1885), thirteen were elected, up from two in 1874. The Third Reform Act also facilitated
5661-604: The Liberal Unionists in 1886 (they eventually joined the Conservative Party); the faction of labour union members that joined the new Labour Party ; the split between factions led by Asquith and that led by Lloyd George in 1918–1922 ; and a three-way split in 1931. Many prominent intellectuals were active in the party, including philosopher John Stuart Mill , economist John Maynard Keynes , and social planner William Beveridge . Winston Churchill during his years as
5814-616: The Lord Provost of Glasgow from 1840 to 1843. Campbell-Bannerman was educated at the High School of Glasgow (1845–1847), the University of Glasgow (1851–1853), and Trinity College, Cambridge (1854–1858), where he achieved a Third-Class Degree in the Classical Tripos . After graduating, he joined the family firm of J. & W. Campbell & Co., based in Glasgow's Ingram Street, and
5967-847: The Park district of the West End of Glasgow . The couple never had any children. C.B. and Charlotte were an exceptionally close couple throughout their marriage; in the words of one historian, they "shared every thought and possible moment". Charlotte may have been the person who mostly encouraged CB to stand for election, given his local profile. For several years an aunt occupied the big house at Hunton which Campbell-Bannerman had inherited in 1871. For their country residence, Campbell-Bannerman and his wife lived elsewhere, including Gennings Park , which they did not leave until 1887. They first occupied Hunton Lodge in 1894. Campbell-Bannerman spoke French, German and Italian fluently, and every summer he and his wife spent
6120-635: The Royal Navy and to a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force . The rank of captain in the Royal Navy is considerably more senior (equivalent to the Army/RM rank of colonel) and the two ranks should not be confused. In the 21st-century British Army, captains are often appointed to be second-in-command (2IC) of a company or equivalent sized unit of up to 120 soldiers. A rank of second captain existed in
6273-698: The Second Reform Act was passed by agreement between the parties), Gladstone won a huge victory at the 1868 election and formed the first Liberal government. The establishment of the party as a national membership organisation came with the foundation of the National Liberal Federation in 1877. The philosopher John Stuart Mill was also a Liberal MP from 1865 to 1868. For the next 30 years, Gladstone and Liberalism were synonymous. William Gladstone served as prime minister four times (1868–74, 1880–85, 1886, and 1892–94). His financial policies, based on
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6426-699: The concentration camps set up by the British in the Boer War as "methods of barbarism". The Liberal Party was later able to unify over its opposition to the Education Act 1902 and the Brussels Sugar Convention of 1902, in which Britain and nine other nations attempted to stabilise world sugar prices by setting up a commission to investigate export bounties and decide on penalties. The Conservative Government of Arthur Balfour had threatened countervailing duties and subsidies of West Indian sugar producers as
6579-510: The most successful page in recent British statesmanship". However the Unionist politician Lord Milner opposed it, saying in August 1907: "People here – not only Liberals – seem delighted, and to think themselves wonderfully fine fellows for having given South Africa back to the Boers. I think it all sheer lunacy". Not long after he became Father of the House in 1907, Campbell-Bannerman's health took
6732-452: The " Gladstone–MacDonald pact ". Campbell-Bannerman got on well with Labour leaders, and he said in 1903 "we are keenly in sympathy with the representatives of Labour. We have too few of them in the House of Commons". Despite this comment, and his sympathies with many elements of the Labour movement, he was not a socialist. One biographer has written that "he was deeply and genuinely concerned about
6885-527: The "twelve million people in England [who] were living on the verge of starvation," During the 1930s, one-time Labour Party leader George Lansbury wrote admiringly of Campbell-Bannerman, describing him as a man who "believed in peace and was not afraid of the word Socialism, and did believe unemployment was a national problem and the unemployed the care of the State." His bronze bust, sculpted by Paul Raphael Montford ,
7038-496: The 1850s and 1860s. A leading Peelite was William Gladstone, who was a reforming Chancellor of the Exchequer in most of these governments. The formal foundation of the Liberal Party is traditionally traced to 1859 when the remaining Peelites, Radicals and Whigs agreed to vote down the incumbent Conservative government. This meeting was held at the Willis' rooms in London on 6 June 1859. This led to Palmerston's second government. However,
7191-459: The 1890s "became Conservative in all but name." The government could force the unwilling king to create new Liberal peers, and that threat did prove decisive in the battle for dominance of Commons over Lords in 1911. The late nineteenth century saw the emergence of New Liberalism within the Liberal Party, which advocated state intervention as a means of guaranteeing freedom and removing obstacles to it such as poverty and unemployment. The policies of
7344-687: The 650 seats it contested. At the 1987 general election , its share of the vote fell below 23% and the Liberals and the SDP merged in 1988 to form the Social and Liberal Democrats (SLD), who the following year were renamed the Liberal Democrats . A splinter group reconstituted the Liberal Party in 1989. The Liberals were a coalition with diverse positions on major issues and no unified national policy. This made them repeatedly liable to deep splits, such as that of
7497-499: The Boers; near-socialists and laissez-faire classical liberals ; suffragettes and opponents of women's suffrage ; antiwar elements and supporters of the military alliance with France . Nonconformists – Protestants outside the Anglican fold – were a powerful element, dedicated to opposing the established church in terms of education and taxation. However, the non-conformists were losing support amid society at large and played
7650-616: The Boers] had redressed the balance of the Anglo-Boer War, or had, at any rate, given full power to the South Africans themselves to redress it". The former Boer general, Jan Smuts , wrote to David Lloyd George in 1919: "My experience in South Africa has made me a firm believer in political magnanimity, and your and Campbell-Bannerman's great record still remains not only the noblest but also
7803-584: The Britisher is only one out of ten, and the House of Commons humbly submits to the whole transaction. ("Shame.") Sir, of all the insane schemes ever offered to a free country as a boon this is surely the maddest. However, it was Joseph Chamberlain 's proposals for Tariff Reform in May 1903 that provided the Liberals with a great and nationally resonating cause on which to campaign and unify, due to its protectionist nature . Chamberlain's proposals dominated politics through
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#17328588786667956-586: The Commons after tolerating for a few months the futile criticisms of the Lords would be empowered by mere lapse of a brief fraction of a year to ignore the very existence of a Second Chamber, and to proceed to pass their statute on their own authority, like the ordinances of the Long Parliament during the English civil war . In essence, he maintained that the predominance of the Commons must prevail, without any appeal to
8109-518: The Conservatives' main rival. By the 1950s, the party had won as few as six seats at general elections. Apart from a few notable by-election victories, its fortunes did not improve significantly until it formed the SDP–Liberal Alliance with the newly formed Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981. At the 1983 general election , the Alliance won over a quarter of the vote, but won only 23 of
8262-408: The Conservatives. The 1906 general election also represented a shift to the left by the Liberal Party. According to Rosemary Rees, almost half of the Liberal MPs elected in 1906 were supportive of the 'New Liberalism' (which advocated government action to improve people's lives), ) while claims were made that "five-sixths of the Liberal party are left wing." Other historians, however, have questioned
8415-399: The Continent. That...Grey and Haldane did not inform the Cabinet is astonishing; that a true-hearted apostle of peace like Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman should have known of the danger and yet concealed it from his colleagues is incredible, and I am happy to conclude...with an assurance that in the days of his triumph the Liberal leader, having fought a good fight, kept the faith to the end and
8568-453: The Earl's government lost a vote over C.B.'s handling of cordite reserves. Unionist MPs unexpectedly forced a successful motion of censure, and the failure led to Rosebery's resignation and the return to power of Lord Salisbury . After the 1895 general election , Campbell-Bannerman lobbied strongly to succeed Arthur Peel as Speaker of the House of Commons , in part because he sought a less stressful role in public life. Rosebery, backed by
8721-414: The Exchequer, Edward Grey at the Foreign Office, Richard Burdon Haldane at the War Office and David Lloyd George at the Board of Trade. Campbell-Bannerman retired in 1908 and died soon after. He was succeeded by Asquith, who stepped up the government's radicalism. Lloyd George succeeded Asquith at the Exchequer and was in turn succeeded at the Board of Trade by Winston Churchill , a recent defector from
8874-404: The French in 1906. As a result, his competence was severely questioned. However, historians have identified a few positive aspects of his tenure, including laying the foundation for a more effective government under Asquith. He was part of a period of Scottish dominance in the Prime Minister role and he represented Scotland's full integration into the political realm. Additionally, Campbell-Bannerman
9027-428: The French. Campbell-Bannerman visited France in April 1907 and met the Radical prime minister, Georges Clemenceau . Clemenceau believed that the British would help France in a war with Germany but Campbell-Bannerman told him Britain was in no way committed. He may have been unaware that the staff talks were still ongoing. Not long after this Violet Cecil met Clemenceau and she wrote down what he had said to her about
9180-415: The Government has not dared to challenge the nation to rise above itself, is one among many signs. [...] The war is, in fact, not being taken seriously. [...] How can any slacker be blamed when the Government itself is slack. Asquith's Liberal government was brought down in May 1915 , due in particular to a crisis in inadequate artillery shell production and the protest resignation of Admiral Fisher over
9333-421: The House of Commons . Campbell-Bannerman saw off both of these issues by offering the positions of chancellor of the exchequer , foreign secretary and secretary of state for war to Asquith, Grey and Haldane respectively, which all three accepted, whilst immediately dissolving Parliament and calling a general election . In his first public speech as prime minister on 22 December 1905, Campbell-Bannerman launched
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#17328588786669486-417: The House of Commons. Now with a majority of 125, Campbell-Bannerman was returned to Downing Street as a considerably-strengthened Prime Minister. The defeat of the Relugas conspirators in the wake of this stunning victory was later referred to as "one of the most delicious comedies in British political history". Whereas in the past it had never been used formally, Campbell-Bannerman was the first First Lord of
9639-456: The Liberal Leader in the Commons, Sir William Harcourt , refused since Campbell-Bannerman was viewed as indispensable to the Government's front-bench team in the lower House. On 6 February 1899, Campbell-Bannerman succeeded William Vernon Harcourt as Leader of the Liberals in the House of Commons, and Leader of the Opposition . The Boer War of 1899 split the Liberal Party into Imperialist and Pro-Boer factions, with CB strongly critical of
9792-406: The Liberal Party. In foreign policy, Gladstone was in general against foreign entanglements, but he did not resist the realities of imperialism. For example, he ordered the occupation of Egypt by British forces in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War . His goal was to create a European order based on co-operation rather than conflict and on mutual trust instead of rivalry and suspicion; the rule of law
9945-412: The Liberal coalition before the war broke out that it marked the Strange Death of Liberal England . However, most historians date the collapse to the crisis of the First World War. The Liberal Party might have survived a short war, but the totality of the Great War called for measures that the Party had long rejected. The result was the permanent destruction of the ability of the Liberal Party to lead
10098-433: The Liberal election campaign, focusing on the traditional Liberal platform of " peace, retrenchment and reform ": Expenditure calls for taxes, and taxes are the plaything of the tariff reformer. Militarism, extravagance, protection are weeds which grow in the same field, and if you want to clear the field for honest cultivation you must root them all out. For my own part, I do not believe that we should have been confronted by
10251-521: The Liberal government's chief spokesman on defence matters in the House of Commons. He was appointed to the same position from 1880 to 1882 in Gladstone's second government , and after serving as Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty between 1882 and 1884, Campbell-Bannerman was promoted to the Cabinet as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1884, an important role with ongoing Home Rule debates. In Gladstone's third and fourth governments , in 1886 and 1892 to 1894 respectively, as well as
10404-399: The Liberal principles of Richard Cobden and William Ewart Gladstone . It was not until Campbell-Bannerman's departure that the doctrines of New Liberalism came to be implemented. R. B. McCallum stated that "Campbell-Bannerman was of pure Gladstonian vintage and a hero to the Radicals". Friedrich Hayek said: "Perhaps the government of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman... should be regarded as
10557-425: The Liberals gained an overall majority in the House of Commons . The government he subsequently led passed legislation to ensure trade unions could not be liable for damages incurred during strike action, introduced free school meals for all children, and empowered local authorities to purchase agricultural land from private landlords. Campbell-Bannerman resigned as prime minister in April 1908 due to ill-health and
10710-451: The Liberals lost office to the Conservatives under Sir Robert Peel , but their period in opposition was short because the Conservatives split over the repeal of the Corn Laws , a free trade issue; and a faction known as the Peelites (but not Peel himself, who died soon after) aligned to the Liberal side on the issue of free trade. This allowed ministries led by Russell, Palmerston and the Peelite Lord Aberdeen to hold office for most of
10863-474: The Limitation of Armaments ", an article in which he cited the growing popular and moral authority of the peace movement as reasons to freeze the status quo in the naval arms race between Germany and Britain. His effort was generally considered a failure; in the words of historian Barbara Tuchman , "the argument was narrow steering between the rocks of conscience and the shoals of political reality and it pleased nobody." The 1907 conference ultimately restricted only
11016-562: The New Liberalism are now known as social liberalism . The New Liberals included intellectuals like L. T. Hobhouse , and John A. Hobson . They saw individual liberty as something achievable only under favourable social and economic circumstances. In their view, the poverty, squalor, and ignorance in which many people lived made it impossible for freedom and individuality to flourish. New Liberals believed that these conditions could be ameliorated only through collective action coordinated by
11169-634: The Ordnance at the time of the Battle of Waterloo . From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force maintained the junior officer rank of captain. RAF captains had a rank insignia based on the two bands of a naval lieutenant with the addition of an eagle and crown above the bands. It was superseded by the rank of flight lieutenant on the following day. Badges of rank for captains were introduced on 30 January 1855 and were worn on shoulder epaulettes. After
11322-644: The Party and into a third party called Liberal Unionism on the Irish issue. It collaborated with and eventually merged into the Conservative party. The Gladstonian liberals in 1891 adopted The Newcastle Programme that included home rule for Ireland, disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales , tighter controls on the sale of liquor , major extension of factory regulation and various democratic political reforms. The Programme had
11475-733: The Treasury to be given official use of the title "Prime Minister", a standard that continues to the present day. In 1907, by virtue of being the member of Parliament with the longest continuous service, Campbell-Bannerman became the Father of the House , the only serving British prime minister to do so. In his election address, Campbell-Bannerman spoke in favour of reforming the poor law, reducing unemployment and improving working conditions in sweated factories. The Liberal Imperialist Richard Haldane claimed that Campbell-Bannerman's government "was if anything, too conservative...with that dear old Tory, C.B., at
11628-422: The Treasury to be officially called the "Prime Minister", the term only coming into official usage five days after he took office. He remains the only person to date to hold the positions of Prime Minister and Father of the House at the same time, and the last Liberal leader to gain a UK parliamentary majority. Known colloquially as " CB ", Campbell-Bannerman firmly believed in free trade , Irish Home Rule and
11781-465: The United Kingdom, along with the Conservative Party , in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Beginning as an alliance of Whigs , free trade –supporting Peelites , and reformist Radicals in the 1850s, by the end of the 19th century, it had formed four governments under William Gladstone . Despite being divided over the issue of Irish Home Rule , the party returned to government in 1905 and won
11934-467: The Whig-Radical amalgam could not become a true modern political party while it was dominated by aristocrats and it was not until the departure of the "Two Terrible Old Men", Russell and Palmerston, that Gladstone could become the first leader of the modern Liberal Party. This was brought about by Palmerston's death in 1865 and Russell's retirement in 1868. After a brief Conservative government (during which
12087-522: The Whigs' demise. The admission of the middle classes to the franchise and to the House of Commons led eventually to the development of a systematic middle-class liberalism and the end of Whiggery, although for many years reforming aristocrats held senior positions in the party. In the years after Grey's retirement, the party was led first by Lord Melbourne , a fairly traditional Whig, and then by Lord John Russell ,
12240-402: The anti-Lloyd George Liberals were called Asquithian Liberals, Wee Free Liberals or Independent Liberals . Lloyd George was increasingly under the influence of the rejuvenated Conservative party who numerically dominated the coalition. In 1922, the Conservative backbenchers rebelled against the continuation of the coalition, citing, in particular, Lloyd George's plan for war with Turkey in
12393-495: The aristocracy was divided between Conservatives and Liberals. However, when Gladstone committed to home rule for Ireland, Britain's upper classes largely abandoned the Liberal party, giving the Conservatives a large permanent majority in the House of Lords. Following the Queen, High Society in London largely ostracized home rulers and Liberal clubs were badly split. Joseph Chamberlain took a major element of upper-class supporters out of
12546-478: The asparagus bed) was used at first but this was replaced in the same year by a combination of narrow rings of worsted braid around the cuff, with the full-dress style shoulder badges on a three-pointed cuff flap. Based on equivalent naval ranks, captains had two rings of braid. In the case of Scottish regiments, the rings were around the top of the gauntlet-style cuff and the badges on the cuff itself. During World War I, some officers took to wearing similar jackets to
12699-416: The bill also. Among the Liberal rank and file, several Gladstonian candidates disowned the bill, reflecting fears at the constituency level that the interests of the working people were being sacrificed to finance a costly rescue operation for the landed élite. Further, Home Rule had not been promised in the Liberals' election manifesto, and so the impression was given that Gladstone was buying Irish support in
12852-462: The capitalist market, this legislation nevertheless, marked a significant shift in Liberal approaches to the state and social reform, approaches that later governments would slowly expand and that would grow into the welfare state after the Second World War. What was new in these reforms was the underlying assumption that the state could be a positive force, that the measure of individual freedom...
13005-481: The churchyard of Meigle Parish Church , Perthshire, near Belmont Castle, his home since 1887. A relatively modest stone plaque set in the exterior wall of the church serves as a memorial. St Mary's Church, Hunton (English Heritage Legacy ID: 432265) contains a marble tablet on the nave wall dedicated to Henry Campbell-Bannerman. On the day of Campbell-Bannerman's death the flag of the National Liberal Club
13158-479: The citizenship of their native land. The new Liberalism, while pursuing this great political ideal with unflinching energy, devotes a part of its endeavour also to the removing of the immediate causes of discontent. It is true that man cannot live by bread alone. It is equally true that a man cannot live without bread. The Liberals languished in opposition for a decade while the coalition of Salisbury and Chamberlain held power. The 1890s were marred by infighting between
13311-554: The consequences of the Third Reform Act (1884) was the giving of the vote to many Irish Catholics . In the 1885 general election the Irish Parliamentary Party held the balance of power in the House of Commons and demanded Irish Home Rule as the price of support for a continued Gladstone ministry. Gladstone personally supported Home Rule, but a strong Liberal Unionist faction led by Joseph Chamberlain , along with
13464-461: The constituencies (i.e. a further general election). William Sharp McKechnie characterised this as an "untried one-chambered legislature" and stated that "it could only be carried out by some revolutionary procedure." Campbell-Bannerman's first speech as prime minister endorsed the intent of the Hague Convention of 1907 to limit armaments. In March 1907, he published " The Hague Conference and
13617-464: The demise of the Whig old guard; in two-member constituencies, it was common to pair a Whig and a radical under the Liberal banner. After the Third Reform Act, fewer former Whigs were selected as candidates. A broad range of interventionist reforms were introduced by the 1892–1895 Liberal government. Amongst other measures, standards of accommodation and of teaching in schools were improved, factory inspection
13770-493: The disastrous Gallipoli Campaign against Turkey. Reluctant to face doom in an election, Asquith formed a new coalition government on 25 May, with the majority of the new cabinet coming from his own Liberal party and the Unionist (Conservative) party , along with a token Labour representation. The new government lasted a year and a half and was the last time Liberals controlled the government. The analysis of historian A. J. P. Taylor
13923-793: The eight-hour day to the Army Clothing Department. He persuaded the Duke of Cambridge , the Queen's cousin, to resign as Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces . This earned Campbell-Bannerman a knighthood in the form of a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in Rosebery's 1895 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours . In 1895, Campbell unwittingly caused the fall of Rosebery's ministry, when
14076-507: The envy of the world. In 1903, the Liberal Party's Chief Whip Herbert Gladstone negotiated a pact with Ramsay MacDonald of the Labour Representation Committee to withdraw Liberal candidates to help LRC candidates in certain seats, in return for LRC withdrawal in other seats to help Liberal candidates. This attempt to undermine and outflank the Conservatives, which would prove to be successful, formed what became known as
14229-663: The estate of Hunton Lodge (now Hunton Court) in Hunton, Kent . He did not like the "horrid long name" that resulted and invited friends to call him "C.B." instead. Henry Campbell-Bannerman had an older brother, James Alexander Campbell , who in 1876 inherited their father's 4000-acre Stracathro estate. He served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities from 1880 to 1906 . In 1860, Campbell-Bannerman married Sarah Charlotte Bruce , and he and his new bride set up house at 6 Clairmont Gardens in
14382-431: The extent to which the Liberal Party experienced a leftward shift; according to Robert C. Self however, only between 50 and 60 Liberal MPs out of the 400 in the parliamentary party after 1906 were Social Radicals, with a core of 20 to 30. Nevertheless, important junior offices were held in the cabinet by what Duncan Tanner has termed "genuine New Liberals, Centrist reformers, and Fabian collectivists," and much legislation
14535-493: The field. The 1915 coalition fell apart at the end of 1916, when the Conservatives withdrew their support from Asquith and gave it instead to Lloyd George, who became prime minister at the head of a new coalition largely made up of Conservatives. Asquith and his followers moved to the opposition benches in Parliament and the Liberal Party was deeply split once again. Lloyd George remained a Liberal all his life, but he abandoned many standard Liberal principles in his crusade to win
14688-589: The final mind of the British Government, he has done with us. Campbell-Bannerman's biographer John Wilson has described the meeting as "a clash between two fundamentally different philosophies". The Liberal journalist and friend of Campbell-Bannerman, F. W. Hirst , claimed that Campbell-Bannerman "had not a ghost of a notion that the French Entente was being converted into a...return to the old balance of power which had involved Great Britain in so many wars on
14841-487: The first time in the 20th century, though Balfour had hoped that Campbell-Bannerman would not be able to form a strong government, ushering in a general election that he could win. Campbell-Bannerman also faced problems within his own party, through the so-called " Relugas Compact " between H. H. Asquith , Edward Grey and Richard Haldane , who planned to force him into the House of Lords , weakening him as prime minister and effectively allowing Asquith to govern as Leader of
14994-502: The first year. Since the Liberals ran the war without consulting the Conservatives, there were heavy partisan attacks. However, even Liberal commentators were dismayed by the lack of energy at the top. At the time, public opinion was intensely hostile, both in the media and in the street, against any young man in civilian garb and labeled as a slacker. The leading Liberal newspaper, the Manchester Guardian complained: The fact that
15147-626: The future of the party, says historian Trevor Wilson, was its repudiation by ideological Liberals, who decided sadly that it no longer represented their principles. Finally, the presence of the vigorous new Labour Party on the left gave a new home to voters disenchanted with the Liberal performance. The last majority Liberal Government in Britain was elected in 1906. The years preceding the First World War were marked by worker strikes and civil unrest and saw many violent confrontations between civilians and
15300-402: The head of a moderate Liberal rump, but in 1901 he delivered a speech on the government's "methods of barbarism" in South Africa that pulled him further to the left and nearly tore the party in two. The party was saved after Salisbury's retirement in 1902 when his successor, Arthur Balfour , pushed a series of unpopular initiatives such as the Education Act 1902 and Joseph Chamberlain called for
15453-427: The head of it, determined to do as little as a fiery majority will allow him". However the historian A. J. A. Morris disagreed with this judgment, stating that Campbell-Bannerman was in 1906 what he had always been: a Gladstonian Liberal who favoured retrenchment in public expenditure that was perhaps at odds with any ambitious scheme of social reform. Another later biographer, John Wilson , called Campbell-Bannerman
15606-406: The immediate aftermath of his resignation, intending to make other arrangements in the near future. However, his health began to decline at an even quicker pace than before, and he died on 22 April 1908, nineteen days after his resignation. His last words were "This is not the end of me". He remains to date the only former prime minister to die within 10 Downing Street. Campbell-Bannerman was buried in
15759-482: The improvement of social conditions, including reduced working hours. A. J. A. Morris , in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , called him "Britain's first and only Radical prime minister". Following a general-election defeat in 1900 , Campbell-Bannerman went on to lead the Liberal Party to a landslide victory over the Conservative Party at the 1906 general election – the last election in which
15912-413: The last Liberal government of the old type, while under his successor, H. H. Asquith, new experiments in social policy were undertaken which were only doubtfully compatible with the older Liberal principles". Other historical accounts, however, have portrayed Campbell-Bannerman as a genuine progressive figure. According to one study, Campbell-Bannerman's views "were broadly those of the party's centre-left:
16065-403: The last of the Whigs, Hartington, opposed it. The Irish Home Rule bill proposed to offer all owners of Irish land a chance to sell to the state at a price equal to 20 years' purchase of the rents and allowing tenants to purchase the land. Irish nationalist reaction was mixed, Unionist opinion was hostile, and the election addresses during the 1886 election revealed English radicals to be against
16218-466: The manufacturing towns which had gained representation under the Reform Act. They favoured social reform, personal liberty, reducing the powers of the Crown and the Church of England (many Liberals were Nonconformists ), avoidance of war and foreign alliances (which were bad for business) and above all free trade . For a century, free trade remained the one cause which could unite all Liberals. In 1841,
16371-501: The meeting: Clemenceau said...'I am totally opposed to you – we both recognise a great danger and you are...reducing your army and weakening your navy.' 'Ah' said Bannerman 'but that is for economy!'...[Clemenceau] then said that he thought the English ought to have some kind of military service, at which Bannerman nearly fainted...'It comes to this' said Clemenceau 'in the event of your supporting us against Germany are you ready to abide by
16524-469: The more idealistic Whigs gradually came to support an expansion of democracy for its own sake. The great figures of reformist Whiggery were Charles James Fox (died 1806) and his disciple and successor Earl Grey . After decades in opposition, the Whigs returned to power under Grey in 1830 and carried the First Reform Act in 1832. The Reform Act was the climax of Whiggism, but it also brought about
16677-613: The notion of balanced budgets , low taxes and laissez-faire , were suited to a developing capitalist society, but they could not respond effectively as economic and social conditions changed. Called the "Grand Old Man" later in life, Gladstone was always a dynamic popular orator who appealed strongly to the working class and to the lower middle class. Deeply religious, Gladstone brought a new moral tone to politics, with his evangelical sensibility and his opposition to aristocracy. His moralism often angered his upper-class opponents (including Queen Victoria ), and his heavy-handed control split
16830-540: The party formed a Pro-Boer faction that denounced the conflict and called for an immediate end to hostilities. Quickly rising to prominence among the Pro-Boers was David Lloyd George, a relatively new MP and a master of rhetoric, who took advantage of having a national stage to speak out on a controversial issue to make his name in the party. Harcourt and Morley also sided with this group, though with slightly different aims. Campbell-Bannerman tried to keep these forces together at
16983-481: The party. The coalition government of Lloyd George was increasingly dominated by the Conservative Party, which finally ousted him as prime minister in 1922. The subsequent Liberal collapse was quick and catastrophic. With 400 MPs elected in the 1906 election; they had only 40 in 1924. Their share of the popular vote plunged from 49% to 18%. The Labour Party absorbed most of the ex-Liberal voters and then became
17136-462: The passage of the Parliament Act 1911 . As the price of Irish support, Asquith was now forced to introduce a third Home Rule bill in 1912. Since the House of Lords no longer had the power to block the bill, but only to delay it for two years, it was due to become law in 1914. The Unionist Ulster Volunteers , led by Sir Edward Carson , launched a campaign of opposition that included the threat of
17289-445: The people of this country, especially the more unfortunate of them, have lost the best friend they ever had in the high places of the land. His sympathy in all suffering was real, deep, and unaffected. He was truly a great man—a great head and a great heart. He was absolutely the bravest man I ever met in politics. He was entirely free from fear. He was a man of supreme courage. Ireland has certainly lost one of her truest friends, and what
17442-429: The plans agreed upon between our War Offices and to land 110,000 men on the coast while Italy marches with us in the ranks?' Then came the crowning touch of the interview. 'The sentiments of the English people would be totally averse to any troops being landed by England on the continent under any circumstances.' Clemenceau looks upon this as undoing the whole result of the entente cordiale and says that if that represents
17595-490: The plight of the poor and so had readily adopted the rhetoric of progressivism, but he was not a progressive". The Liberals found themselves suddenly returned to power in December 1905 when Arthur Balfour resigned as prime minister, prompting Edward VII to invite Campbell-Bannerman to form a minority government as the first Liberal prime minister of the 20th century. At 69, he was the oldest person to become prime minister for
17748-616: The police and armed forces. Other issues of the period included women's suffrage and the Irish Home Rule movement. After the carnage of 1914–1918, the democratic reforms of the Representation of the People Act 1918 instantly tripled the number of people entitled to vote in Britain from seven to twenty-one million. The Labour Party benefited most from this huge change in the electorate, forming its first minority government in 1924 . In
17901-449: The political situation. He was a strenuous and uncompromising fighter, a strong Party man, but he harboured no resentments, and was generous to a fault in appreciation of the work of others, whether friends or foes. He met both good and evil fortune with the same unclouded brow, the same unruffled temper, the same unshakable confidence in the justice and righteousness of his cause...He has gone to his rest, and to-day in this House, of which he
18054-633: The reorganization of the judiciary in the Judicature Act . Regarding Ireland, the major Liberal achievements were land reform, where he ended centuries of landlord oppression , and the disestablishment of the (Anglican) Church of Ireland through the Irish Church Act 1869 . In the 1874 general election , Gladstone was defeated by the Conservatives under Benjamin Disraeli during a sharp economic recession. He formally resigned as Liberal leader and
18207-458: The rest of 1903 up until the general election of 1906. Campbell-Bannerman, like other Liberals, held an unshakeable belief in free trade . In a speech at Bolton on 15 October 1903, he explained in greater detail the reasoning behind Liberal support for free trade. We are satisfied that it is right because it gives the freest play to individual energy and initiative and character and the largest liberty both to producer and consumer. We say that trade
18360-464: The result of cross-party consensus. Campbell-Bannerman had no apparent plan to circumvent the Lords' veto and did little to stimulate the social reform program. Campbell-Bannerman was passive and uninvolved in his dealings with the cabinet, leading to diffuse debates and ill-focused methods of handling business. He failed to supervise Grey's foreign policy, He failed to consult the full cabinet before initiating momentous discussions on defense interests with
18513-416: The son of a Duke but a crusading radical, and by Lord Palmerston , a renegade Irish Tory and essentially a conservative , although capable of radical gestures. As early as 1839, Russell had adopted the name of "Liberals", but in reality, his party was a loose coalition of Whigs in the House of Lords and Radicals in the Commons. The leading Radicals were John Bright and Richard Cobden , who represented
18666-544: The spectre of protection if it had not been for the South African war. Depend upon it that in fighting for our open ports and for the cheap food and material upon which the welfare of the people and the prosperity of our commerce depend we are fighting against those powers, privileges, injustices, and monopolies which are unalterably opposed to the triumph of democratic principles. Helped by the Lib–Lab pact that he had negotiated,
18819-400: The splits in the Conservatives over free trade and the positive election campaign that he fought, the Liberals won by a landslide, gaining 216 seats. The Conservatives saw their number of seats more than halve, and Arthur Balfour, now as Leader of the Opposition , lost his Manchester East seat to the Liberals. Campbell-Bannerman was the last Liberal to lead his party to an absolute majority in
18972-487: The tenth part of a Vehmgericht which is to direct us what sugar is to be countervailed, at what rate per cent. we are to countervail it, how much is to be put on for the bounty, and how much for the tariff being in excess of the convention tariff; and this being the established order of things, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer in his robes obeys the orders that he receives from this foreign convention, in which
19125-404: The third quarter of the century drew to a close, the essential bastions of Victorianism still held firm: respectability; a government of aristocrats and gentlemen now influenced not only by middle-class merchants and manufacturers but also by industrious working people; a prosperity that seemed to rest largely on the tenets of laissez-faire economics ; and a Britannia that ruled the waves and many
19278-465: The three principal successors to Gladstone, party leader William Harcourt , former prime minister Lord Rosebery , and Gladstone's personal secretary, John Morley . This intrigue finally led Harcourt and Morley to resign their positions in 1898 as they continued to be at loggerheads with Rosebery over Irish home rule and issues relating to imperialism. Replacing Harcourt as party leader was Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman . Harcourt's resignation briefly muted
19431-507: The trade unionist and Labour MP, said that, after Gladstone, Campbell-Bannerman was the greatest man he had ever met. Historians agree that in his 28 months as prime minister, Campbell-Bannerman was relatively undistinguished with few significant reforms enacted. Major bills such as plural voting, land reform, and licensing reform were shredded in the Lords. Education Bills of 1906 and 1907 were rejected by both party supporters and Unionist peers. The bills that were passed were either technical or
19584-520: The turmoil in the party, but the beginning of the Second Boer War soon nearly broke the party apart, with Rosebery and a circle of supporters including important future Liberal figures H. H. Asquith , Edward Grey and Richard Burdon Haldane forming a clique dubbed the Liberal Imperialists that supported the government in the prosecution of the war. On the other side, more radical members of
19737-535: The use of concentration camps as 'methods of barbarism '. Campbell-Bannerman faced the difficult task of holding together the strongly divided party, which was subsequently and unsurprisingly defeated in the " khaki election " of 1900 . Campbell-Bannerman caused particular friction within his own party when in a speech to the National Reform Union in June 1901 and shortly after meeting Emily Hobhouse , he described
19890-599: The war at all costs. He insisted on strong government controls over business as opposed to the laissez-faire attitudes of traditional Liberals. in 1915–16 he had insisted on conscription of young men into the Army, a position that deeply troubled his old colleagues. That brought him and a few like-minded Liberals into the new coalition on the ground long occupied by Conservatives. There was no more planning for world peace or liberal treatment of Germany, nor discomfit with aggressive and authoritarian measures of state power. More deadly to
20043-470: The wealthy in Britain and radical social welfare programmes to the country's policies. In the Liberal camp, as noted by one study, "the Budget was on the whole enthusiastically received." It was the first budget with the expressed intent of redistributing wealth among the public. It imposed increased taxes on luxuries, liquor, tobacco, high incomes, and land – taxation that fell heavily on the rich . The new money
20196-417: The workers on whom 'the whole social fabric is maintained', continued to 'live and die in darkness and misery' in what he called 'the recesses of our great cities'. CB said that 'sunshine must be allowed to stream in, the water and the food must be kept pure and unadulterated, the streets light and clean'. The government of Campbell-Bannerman allowed local authorities to provide free school meals (though this
20349-859: Was in no way responsible for the European tragedy that came to pass six years after his death". Campbell-Bannerman's government granted the Boer states, the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony, self-government within the British Empire through an Order in Council so as to bypass the House of Lords. This led to the Union of South Africa in 1910. The first South African Prime Minister, General Louis Botha , believed that "Campbell-Bannerman's act [in giving self-government back to
20502-492: Was lowered to half-mast, the blinds were drawn and his portrait was draped in black as a sign of mourning. John Redmond , the leader of the Irish Nationalist Party, paid tribute to Campbell-Bannerman by saying that "We all feel that Ireland has lost a brave and considerate friend". David Lloyd George said on hearing of Campbell-Bannerman's death: I think it will be felt by the community as a whole as if they had lost
20655-422: Was made a partner in the firm in 1860. He was also commissioned as a lieutenant into the 53rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps , which was recruited from employees of the firm, and in 1867 was promoted to captain . In 1871, Henry Campbell became Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the addition of the surname Bannerman being a requirement of the will of his uncle, Henry Bannerman, from whom in that year he had inherited
20808-597: Was made more stringent, and ministers used their powers to increase the wages and reduce the working hours of large numbers of male workers employed by the state. Historian Walter L. Arnstein concludes: Notable as the Gladstonian reforms had been, they had almost all remained within the nineteenth-century Liberal tradition of gradually removing the religious, economic, and political barriers that prevented men of varied creeds and classes from exercising their individual talents in order to improve themselves and their society. As
20961-403: Was moving rapidly toward the newly emerging Labour Party. One uniting element was widespread agreement on the use of politics and Parliament as a device to upgrade and improve society and to reform politics. All Liberals were outraged when Conservatives used their majority in the House of Lords to block reform legislation. In the House of Lords, the Liberals had lost most of their members, who in
21114-411: Was not ashamed, even on the verge of old age, to see visions and to dream dreams. He had no misgivings as to the future of democracy. He had a single-minded and unquenchable faith in the unceasing progress and the growing unity of mankind...He never put himself forward, yet no one had greater tenacity of purpose. He was the least cynical of mankind, but no one had a keener eye for the humours and ironies of
21267-575: Was not compulsory) and also strengthened the power of the trade unions with their Trade Disputes Act 1906 . The Workmen's Compensation Act 1906 gave some workers the right against their employer to a certain amount of compensation if they suffered an accident at work. The Probation of Offenders Act 1907 was passed, which established supervision within the community for young offenders as an alternative to prison. Under Campbell-Bannerman's successor, H. H. Asquith, many far-reaching reforms were implemented, but Campbell-Bannerman himself had, in 1906, received
21420-443: Was not how much the state left people alone, but whether it gave them the capacity to fill themselves as individuals. Contrasting Old Liberalism with New Liberalism, David Lloyd George noted in a 1908 speech the following: [Old Liberals] used the natural discontent of the people with the poverty and precariousness of the means of subsistence as a motive power to win for them a better, more influential, and more honourable status in
21573-502: Was pushed through by the Liberals in government. This included the regulation of working hours, National Insurance and welfare. A political battle erupted over the People's Budget , which was rejected by the House of Lords and for which the government obtained an electoral mandate at the January 1910 election . The election resulted in a hung parliament , with the government left dependent on
21726-418: Was reorganised. From this time, until 1902, a captain had just two stars. The 1902 change gave captains three stars, which continues to be used. In addition to the shoulder badges, officers' ranks were also reflected in the amount and pattern of gold lace worn on the cuffs of the full-dress tunic. From 1902, a complex system of markings with bars and loops in thin drab braid above the cuff (known irreverently as
21879-439: Was replaced by his chancellor , H. H. Asquith . He died 19 days later – the only prime minister to die in the official residence, 10 Downing Street . Henry Campbell-Bannerman was born on 7 September 1836 at Kelvinside House in Glasgow as Henry Campbell, the second son and youngest of the six children born to James Campbell of Stracathro (1790–1876) and his wife Janet Bannerman (1799–1873). James Campbell had started work at
22032-542: Was said to 'never be the same'. In April 1868, at the age of thirty-one, Campbell-Bannerman stood as a Liberal candidate in a by-election for the Stirling Burghs constituency, narrowly losing to fellow Liberal John Ramsay . However, at the general election in November of that year, Campbell-Bannerman defeated Ramsay and was elected to the House of Commons as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Stirling Burghs,
22185-505: Was singularly sensitive to human suffering and wrongdoing, delicate and even tender in his sympathies, always disposed to despise victories won in any sphere by mere brute force, an almost passionate lover of peace. And yet we have not seen in our time a man of greater courage—courage not of the defiant or aggressive type, but calm, patient, persistent, indomitable...In politics I think he may be fairly described as an idealist in aim, and an optimist by temperament. Great causes appealed to him. He
22338-514: Was succeeded by the Marquess of Hartington , but he soon changed his mind and returned to active politics. He strongly disagreed with Disraeli's pro- Ottoman foreign policy and in 1880 he conducted the first outdoor mass-election campaign in Britain, known as the Midlothian campaign . The Liberals won a large majority in the 1880 election . Hartington ceded his place and Gladstone resumed office. Among
22491-466: Was the Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75), which provided England with an adequate system of elementary schools for the first time. He also secured the abolition of the purchase of commissions in the British Army and of religious tests for admission to Oxford and Cambridge ; the introduction of the secret ballot in elections; the legalization of trade unions ; and
22644-429: Was the Liberals, not the Conservatives who needed the moral outrage of Belgium to justify going to war, while the Conservatives called for intervention from the start of the crisis on the grounds of realpolitik and the balance of power. However, Lloyd George and Churchill were zealous supporters of the war, and gradually forced the old peace-orientated Liberals out. Asquith was blamed for the poor British performance in
22797-597: Was the first Prime Minister with direct business experience and not from a landed, Anglican background. Historian George Dangerfield in 1935 concluded that Campbell-Bannerman's death "was like the passing of true Liberalism. Henry had believed in Peace, Retrenchment, and Reform, those amiable deities who presided so complacently over large portions of the Victorian era... And now almost the last true worshipper at those large, equivocal altars lay dead". Campbell-Bannerman held firmly to
22950-619: Was the origin of the British Expeditionary Force that would be sent to France in 1914 at the start of the Great War with Germany. Campbell-Bannerman did not inform the rest of the Cabinet of these staff talks because there was no binding commitment and because he wanted to preserve the unity of the government. The radical members of the Cabinet such as Lord Loreburn , Lord Morley and Lord Bryce would have opposed such co-operation with
23103-509: Was the senior and the most honoured Member, we may call a truce in the strife of parties, while we remember together our common loss, and pay our united homage to a gracious and cherished memory— How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another's will; Whose armour is his honest thought, And simple truth his utmost skill; This man is freed from servile bands Of hope to rise or fear to fall; Lord of himself, though not of lands, And, having nothing, yet hath all. Robert Smillie ,
23256-405: Was to be made available for new welfare programmes as well as new battleships. In 1911 Lloyd George succeeded in putting through Parliament his National Insurance Act , making provision for sickness and invalidism, and this was followed by his Unemployment Insurance Act . Historian Peter Weiler argues: Although still partially informed by older Liberal concerns for character, self-reliance, and
23409-440: Was to supplant the reign of force and self-interest. This Gladstonian concept of a harmonious Concert of Europe was opposed to and ultimately defeated by a Bismarckian system of manipulated alliances and antagonisms. As prime minister from 1868 to 1874, Gladstone headed a Liberal Party which was a coalition of Peelites like himself, Whigs and Radicals. He was now a spokesman for "peace, economy and reform". One major achievement
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