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The Radical Right and the Crisis of Conservatism before the First World War

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

Alan Sykes
Alan Sykes
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews
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The study of the Edwardian Conservative party is rapidly becoming as much of a minefield as that of the Edwardian Liberal party. Both parties were in serious difficulties in the years immediately preceding the First World War. But whilst the condition of the Liberal party is at least openly acknowledged as a disputed area, its perils clearly marked, the condition of the Conservative party is treacherous ground, the hazards uncharted. From one point of view, ‘it would be easy to give an account of Edwardian politics in which the emphasis fell on “the crisis of Conservatism” and on the parlous state of the Conservative party on the eve of the War… The fundamental weakness of the Conservative party lay in its inability to win elections.’ Alternatively, ‘Both at the local-government level and in national by elections in 1912 and 1913, what was at work was not so much “The Strange Death of Liberal England” as “The Strange Revival of Tory England”. The most likely outcome, moreover, was not apocalyptic, merely a Conservative triumph in the general election scheduled for 1915.’ By a curious coincidence, or perhaps editorial perversity, these two views are juxtaposed on consecutive pages of the same collection of essays.

Type
Articles
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , September 1983 , pp. 661 - 676
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

References

1 Searle, G. R., ‘Critics of Edwardian society: the case of the radical right’, in O'Day, Alan (ed.), The Edwardian age: conflict and stability (1979), p. 79.Google Scholar

2 Walter L. Arnstein, ‘Edwardian politics: turbulent spring or Indian summer?’, ibid. p. 78.

3 G. R. Searle, ‘Critics’, p. 80.

4 Scally, Robert J., The origins of the Lloyd George coalition: the politics of social imperialism, 1900–1918 (1975), P. 19.Google Scholar

5 The distinguishing features of these groups are given more fully in Searle, ‘Critics’, pp. 82–4. For the ‘social-imperialists’, see Scally, Origins, where they are distinguished from both the traditional Conservatives and the diehards. For ‘radical toryism’ see Phillips, Gregory D., ‘Lord Willoughby de Broke and the politics of radical toryism, 1909–1914,’ Journal of British Studies xx, I (1980), 205–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

6 Salisbury to Selborne, 25 Feb. 1906, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 128–37.

7 Salisbury to Selborne, 26 May 1908, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 207–12.

8 Salisbury to Selborne, 11 Nov. 1910, Selborne papers, 6, fos. 33–9.

9 On Milner, Strachey to Margot Asquith, 5 July 1907, Strachey papers, S/11/7/16; on Chamberlain, copy, Strachey to Rosebery, 26 April 1910, Strachey papers, S/12/7/21. For Jacobinism as an even greater enemy than socialism, see Lord Hugh Cecil, Conservatism (1911), pp. 247–8.

10 Sir Austen Chamberlain, Politics from inside (1936), p. 81.

11 Pembroke to Douglas, 5 Feb. 1906, in Chilston, Viscount, Chief whip: the life and times of Aretas Akters-Douglas, first Viscount Chilston, (1961), p. 354.Google Scholar

12 E. B. Iwan-Muller to Maxse, 4 Jan. 1906, Maxse papers, p. 464.

13 R. J. Scally, Origins, pp. 11 (Carson), and 213–15 (Smith). As early as 1911, H. A. Gwynne feared that ‘the Halsbury Club might stifle tariff reform’: Sir Austen Chamberlain, Politics, p. 364.

14 G. Dangerfield, The strange death of Liberal England (1936), p. 42.

15 Jones, J. R., ‘England’ in Rogger, Hans and Weber, Eugen (eds.), The European Right, (1965), PP. 43–4.Google Scholar

16 See Searle, ‘Critics’, and Phillips, ‘Willoughby de Broke’.

17 The term is Searle's: ‘Critics’, p. 95.

18 Ibid. p. 84.

19 Roger Scruton, The meaning of Conservatism (1980), pp. 1 and 193.

20 J. R.Jones, ‘England’, p. 30.

21 For a discussion see M. Pinto-Duschinksy, The political thought of Lord Salisbury, 1854–1868 (1967). PP. 54–9.

22 Phillips, ‘Willoughby de Broke’, p. 205.

23 For example, ‘The tory tradition’, National Review, LVIII (344), Oct. 1911.Google Scholar

24 Ibid. p. 211.

25 ‘National toryism’, National Review, LIX (351), May 1912, pp. 419, 423.Google Scholar

26 The tory tradition’, p. 211.

27 ‘National toryism’, p. 419.

28 Ibid. p. 423.

29 Ibid. pp. 421–2.

30 Ibid. p. 423.

31 Willoughby de Broke to Maxse, 11 June 1912, Maxse papers 466.

32 Milner's land memorandum, Milner papers, Box 101.

33 ‘National toryism’, pp. 422–3.

34 Ibid. p. 421.

35 For example G. R. Lane Fox to Maxse, 30 Oct. 1912, Maxse papers 467.

36 Willoughby de Broke to Maxse, 4 Jan. 1909, Maxse papers 445.

37 For this paragraph see Broke, Willoughby de, ‘The comfortable classes and national defence’, Notional Review, LXIII (375), May 1914, pp. 428–42.Google Scholar

38 Broke, Willoughby de, ‘The restoration of the constitution’, National Review, LVII, (348), Feb. 1912, p. 857.Google Scholar

39 ‘National toryism’, p. 418.

40 R. J. Scally, Origins, p. 221.

41 Salisbury to Selborne, 15 Nov. 1907, Selbornc papers, 5, fos. 205–6.

42 Copy, Selborne to Salisbury, 21 April 1907, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 183–4.

43 See Salisbury's comments on the working class after the Colne Valley election: ‘…it is a vague discontent with existing social circumstances. They do the work, but they bear the brunt of all the bad times…They would vote for anything which gives them security. But they are not to be seduced by vague phrases. It must be definite proposals for their welfare.’ Salisbury to Selborne, 27 July 1907, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 170–3.

44 Salisbury to Selborne, 26 Sept. 1907, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 189–94.

45 Salisbury to Selborne, 10 April 1912, Selborne papers, 6, fos. 126–31.

46 Salisbury to Selborne, 3 Oct. 1907, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 195–202.

47 ‘National toryism’, p. 423.

48 Broke, Willoughby de, ‘The Unionist party and the general election’, National Review, LXIII (377), July 1914, P. 785.Google Scholar

49 Salisbury to Selborne, 26 May 1908, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 207–12.

50 Salisbury to Selborne, 26 April, 1907, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 150–7.

51 Willoughby de Broke to Maxse, 21 March 1909, in Phillips, ‘Willoughby de Broke’, p. 206.See also Sir Austen Chamberlain, Politics, pp. 196–8 and Law to Sandars, 29 Nov. 1910, Balfour papers, 49673, fos. 6–8.

52 Salisbury to Selborne, 26 April 1907, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 150–7.

53 Salisbury to Selborne, 1 Sept. 1905, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 103–4.

54 Willoughby de Broke to Mr Boutwood, 13 Nov. 1914, Willoughby de Broke papers, WB/11/3.

55 The tory tradition’, p. 212.

56 ‘National toryism’, p. 417.

57 Phillips, ‘Willoughby de Broke’, p. 221.

58 Broke, Willoughby de, ‘The Unionist position’, National Review, LXII (368), Oct. 1913, p. 218.Google Scholar

59 Salisbury to Selborne, 16 Aug. 1904, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 88–91.

60 Salisbury to Selborne, 25 Feb. 1906, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 128–37.

61 ‘The Unionist position’, pp. 214–15.

62 Salisbury to Selborne, 12 Sept. 1911, Selborne papers, 5, fos. 115–21.

63 Willoughby de Broke to Law, 11 Sept. 1913, Law papers, 30/2/10.

64 Balcarres to Maxse, 18 July 1911, Maxse papers, 463.

65 Willoughby de Broke to Selborne, 17 Aug. 1911, in Phillips, ‘Willoughby de Broke’, p. 215.

66 See Selborne to Wyndham, 23 Aug. 1911, Selborne papers, 74, fos. 190–3. Selborne to Willoughby dc Broke, 18 Aug. 1911, Willoughby de Broke papers, WB/3/46.

67 ‘National toryism’, pp. 413–15.

68 G. R. Searle, ‘Critics’, p. 95.

69 See the discussion in Rogger and Weber, European Right, pp. 13–16. Willoughby de Broke might possibly be classified in Weber's ‘reactionary’ category.

70 Scally, Origins, pp. 10–11, 22, 26, 220.

71 Phillips, ‘Willoughby de Broke.’

72 ‘Social-imperialists’ and ‘ tory-socialists’ can be found in Scally, Origins; ‘constructive tories’ and ‘constructive conservatives’ in Jones, ‘England’; the ‘radical right’ in Searle, ‘Critics’; ‘radical imperialist’, ‘radical Unionist’ and ‘ tory democrat’ are my own, in A. Sykes, Tariff reform in British politics (1979).

73 Scally, Origins, p. 9; B. Semmel, Imperialism and social reform: English social and imperial thought, 1895–1914(1960), p. 248; Searle, ‘Critics’, p. 94. The use of the term ‘fascism’ is usually qualified. It is a comment on the confusion that surrounds these groups and their ideas that whereas Scally and Semmel see the social-imperialists as the forerunners of fascism, Searle sees the radical right in this way.

74 Implicitly Phillips recognizes this. With his many labels, ‘radical’ becomes translated into ‘extreme’ and ‘toryism’ into ‘conservatism’.