Abstract
The author reflects upon the significance of the Progressive Alliance between 1903 and 1914, the extent to which it remained intact on the eve of war and the consequences of its collapse thereafter. In analysing Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent, the author supports the view that the Liberal Party remained relatively strong before 1914 and that it seemed unlikely there would be an imminent Labour breakthrough. It is wise not to overstate the case, however, since much depended upon the future of the Progressive Alliance. For how long this would stay intact remained conjecture. What is indisputable is that the intervention of total war destroyed it and this changed British politics forever.
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Notes
- 1.
See P. Clarke, Lancashire and the New Liberalism (Cambridge, 1971).
- 2.
This was a term used by the Manchester Evening News in its post-results assessment of the 1912 Manchester North-West by-election. See Manchester Evening News, 9 August 1912.
- 3.
Manchester Guardian, 14 December 1918.
- 4.
See the secretary’s report evaluating the 1918 general election, Midland Liberal Federation Minutes, 21 March 1919.
- 5.
See Manchester Labour Party Annual Report, 1918.
- 6.
Nationally, between 1919 and 1922 there were eighty-one by-elections and forty-seven of these saw Labour candidates. Many of those that were uncontested were in rural constituencies; see R. McKibbin, Evolution, p. 113.
Bibliography
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Guardian
Manchester Independent Labour Party Central Branch Minute Books, 1902–1919, Manchester Central Library, M42.
McKibbin, R., Evolution of the Labour Party: 1910–24 (Oxford, 1974).
McKibbin, R., Parties and People: England 1914–1951 (Oxford, 2010).
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Wolstencroft, S. (2018). Conclusion: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Alliance. In: The Progressive Alliance and the Rise of Labour, 1903-1922. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75744-5_11
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