National Liberal Federation
Encyclopedia
The National Liberal Federation (1877–1936) was the union of all English and Welsh (but not Scottish) Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 Associations. It held an annual conference which was regarded as being representative of the opinion of the party’s rank and file and was broadly the equivalent of a present-day party conference.

Foundation

The inaugural conference of the National Liberal Federation (NLF) was held in Bingley Hall
Bingley Hall
Bingley Hall in Birmingham was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre now stands on the site....

, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 with the objective of promoting Liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

, encouraging the formation of new associations and the strengthening and democratising of existing local Liberal parties. The conference was chaired by Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....

 and addressed by Liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...

. New associations quickly formed throughout the country and affiliated to the NLF which was a coordinating body rather than one which operated a central control.

Purpose

The task of the NLF was “to form new Liberal Associations based on popular representation”. While the NLF always insisted the policies recommended by the members at its conferences were never intended to be binding on the Liberal leadership, it was obvious that the resolutions passed were a strong indication of thinking and feeling in the mass party which the leadership ignored at its peril. For example in 1914 the NLF came out in support of women’s suffrage and Asquith (who was personally opposed to the measure) decided it should receive government support.

Birmingham

The NLF’s early associations were with the city of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 because its development was based on the example of the Birmingham Liberal Caucus, which had been so effective in building a mass membership and an efficient electioneering organisation in the city under the political leadership of Joseph Chamberlain and the organising genius of Francis Schnadhorst
Francis Schnadhorst
Francis Schnadhorst was a Birmingham draper and Liberal Party politician. He briefly held elected office on Birmingham Council and was offered the chance to stand for Parliament in winnable seats but he found his true metier was in political organisation and administration both in his home town as...

 who for many years was the secretary of Birmingham Liberal Association. Schnadhorst was secretary of the NLF from 1877-1893. He was succeeded by Robert Hudson, 1893-1922.

Political orientation

In the Liberal split over Irish Home Rule the NLF was loyal to party leader Gladstone rather than its own now Liberal Unionist
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...

 progenitor Joseph Chamberlain. However in its political orientation generally the NLF conference tended to take the Radical
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...

 approach, most clearly in its support of the Newcastle Programme
The Newcastle Programme
The Newcastle Programme was a statement of policies passed by the representatives of the English and Welsh Liberal Associations meeting at the annual conference of the National Liberal Federation in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1891...

 in 1891 (see below). Here it endorsed the extension of the Factory Acts
Factory Acts
The Factory Acts were a series of Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to limit the number of hours worked by women and children first in the textile industry, then later in all industries....

, the introduction of universal male suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

, an end to plural voting
Plural voting
Plural voting is the practice whereby one person might be able to vote multiple times in an election. It is not to be confused with a plurality voting system which does not necessarily involve plural voting...

 and the reform of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

. This brought conflict with Gladstone until his retirement from politics in 1894. However by 1900 the role of the NLF had become merely advisory in term of policy.

Formation of the LCA

There was always the possibility of a clash between the NLF and the Liberal Central Association (LCA), the body (first known as the Liberal Registration Association) which had been formed on 21 February 1860 by twenty Liberal MPs to promote general co-operation between MPs and organisation in the constituencies. It changed its name to the LCA in 1874 and re-modelled its structure and purpose to become the ‘central medium of communication with and between the Party throughout the whole kingdom in aid of and in connection with local organization.’ The chairman of the LCA was originally the Leader of the Liberal MPs but by the end of the 19th century it was the Liberal Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...

. As the 19th century wore on, the role of the LCA changed from that of a members’ association to that of a Liberal Whips’ Office. It put local Liberal Associations in touch with potential candidates and made grants of money to help with elections. It had no policy role but supporters of various factions within the party did try to capture the offices of the LCA from time to time, most notably in the dissensions in the party over imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...

.

Amalgamation

The likelihood of a clash between LCA and NLF was greatly reduced when the NLF moved to London in 1886 into premises at 42 Parliament Street, next door to the LCA offices which were located at number 41 Parliament Street. It also helped that Francis Schnadhorst
Francis Schnadhorst
Francis Schnadhorst was a Birmingham draper and Liberal Party politician. He briefly held elected office on Birmingham Council and was offered the chance to stand for Parliament in winnable seats but he found his true metier was in political organisation and administration both in his home town as...

, the efficient political organiser and secretary of the NLF was also appointed secretary of the LCA.

Liberal Publications Department

The NLF did try to produce some political literature early in its history but in 1887 the NLF and LCA collaborated in the establishment of the new Liberal Publications Department and these three organisations then worked closely together at the administrative heart of the party.

The Newcastle Programme

After the split between the party and Chamberlain over Home Rule and the support the NLF offered to Gladstone, the NLF began to be more fully aware of the influence it was acquiring. This culminated with the Newcastle Programme of 1891, designed to be a co-ordinated programme of policies for radical reform springing from the grass-roots of the party - a manifesto for the next general election.

1900-1936

Organisationally the NLF was the pillar of the Liberal Party. Under the presidency of Augustine Birrell
Augustine Birrell
Augustine Birrell PC, KC was an English politician, barrister, academic and author. He was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916, resigning in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Rising.-Early life:...

 it played an important role in the Liberal landslide election victory of 1906
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

. It was active in promoting the Free Trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...

 campaign after 1903 and through the work of Robert Hudson helped put in place a number of local pacts with the newly founded Labour Representation Committee
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

. During the First World War, despite the opposition of many Liberals, the NLF helped to rally recruitment to the armed forces. After 1918 the NLF began to experience some financial difficulties but was able to remain solvent under the presidencies of Sir George Lunn and J M Robertson. They, together with secretary Robert Hudson, remained staunch supporters of H H Asquith  and as a result Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...

 had to keep his own National Liberal
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922)
The National Liberal Party was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923. It was led by David Lloyd George and was, at the time, separate to the original Liberal Party.-History:...

 organisation in place between 1918-1922. When Asquith died and Lloyd George became party leader in 1926, Hudson who was by then NLF Treasurer, resigned.

The NLF continued in being until 1936 when an internal review of party organisation under Lord Meston
James Meston, 1st Baron Meston
James Scorgie Meston, 1st Baron Meston KCSI, VD , was a prominent British civil servant, financial expert and businessman. He served as Lieutenant-Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1912 to 1918....

 recommended its replacement with a body with a different remit, the Liberal Party Organisation.

Chairmen

  • 1877 - William Harris
  • 1882 - W. Kenrick
  • 1886 - Walter Foster
  • 1890 -
  • 1900 – Edward Evans
  • 1918 – George Lunn
    George Lunn (UK politician)
    George Lunn was a British Liberal Party politician.Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Lunn studied at the Wesleyan Orphan House School and the Royal Grammar School, then worked in shipping, forming Lunn and MacCoy in the 1890s...

  • 1920 – Arthur Brampton
    Arthur Brampton
    Arthur Brampton was a British Liberal Party politician.Brampton studied at King Edward's School, Birmingham and Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, before joining the family business, F. Brampton and Sons, which was soon renamed Brampton Brothers Ltd. By the 1900s, Brampton was joint managing director...

  • 1931 – Ramsay Muir
    Ramsay Muir
    Ramsay Bryce Muir was a British historian, Liberal Party politician and thinker who made a significant contribution to the development of liberal political philosophy in the 1920s and 1930s through his work on domestic industrial policy and his promotion of the international policy of...

  • 1933 – Ronald Walker
    Ronald Walker (UK politician)
    Ronald Walker was a British Liberal Party politician.Born in Mirfield, Walker worked for his family's blanket-making business. His brother was killed in World War I, leaving him to raise his nephew, John Walker....

  • 1934 – Milner Gray
    Milner Gray (politician)
    -Family life and business:Gray was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, the son of a Baptist Minister, although he himself was a Methodist in religion. He was educated at Greenwich. In 1902 he married Elizabeth Eleanor Luck of Lewisham. They never had children...


Treasurers

  • 1901 – W Hart
  • 1903 – J Massie
  • 1907 – R Bird
  • 1910 – F Wright
  • 1923 – Robert Hudson
  • 1927 – Francis Layland-Barratt
  • 1934 – P Heffer

Secretaries

  • 1877 - Francis Schnadhorst
    Francis Schnadhorst
    Francis Schnadhorst was a Birmingham draper and Liberal Party politician. He briefly held elected office on Birmingham Council and was offered the chance to stand for Parliament in winnable seats but he found his true metier was in political organisation and administration both in his home town as...

  • 1893 – Robert Hudson
  • 1922 – Frank Barter
  • 1925 – H Oldman
  • 1930 – H Oldman and William Robert Davies
  • 1931 – William Robert Davies
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