Reconsidering the “Edwardian Radical Right”, 1903-1918

Sayle, Ben (2023) Reconsidering the “Edwardian Radical Right”, 1903-1918. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

The Radical Right in Historiography The history of the Edwardian Radical Right is intertwined with that of the wider Conservative and Unionist Party. Most historical studies of the Unionist Party—an alliance between the Conservatives and anti-Irish Home Rule Liberal Unionists until their merger in 1912—mention the Radical Right. This is in part owing to the role played by the Radical Right in the debates over policy (Tariff Reform being the most prominent) but also in those over National Service, defence, social reform, Ireland, and party organisation and presentation.1 Except for National Service, these debates did not originate in the Edwardian era itself. They were the results of ongoing discussions since the 1880s within the Conservatives, and then the Unionists, over how to confront partisan opponents (the Liberals, Irish Home Rulers, and the emergent Labour movement) and global challenges (emerging military and economic rivals to Britain and fears of imperial ‘disintegration’).2 Debates on the strength of the Radical Right have usually been used to examine the state of the Unionist Party during the Edwardian era and its ability to respond to these problems. This is in part because the Radical Right emerged as a result of a perceived failure by the Unionist Party to effectively deal with these matters, as manifested especially by the Tariff Reform movement.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2023 Ben Sayle
Library of Congress subject classification:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain J Political Science > JA Political science (General) J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain
Sets:	Departments > International History
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4579

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