Excerpts: The Rise and Dominance of the UK Liberal Party скачать в хорошем качестве

Excerpts: The Rise and Dominance of the UK Liberal Party

In this short excerpt from our video on Gertrude Bell, we look at the formation and activity of the Liberal Party in the UK during the 19th Century. The liberal party was originally formed by the amalgamation of several unrelated factions – most notably the Whigs and Radicals. The Whigs were an aristocratic party, formed in the 17th century whose central motivation was to oppose absolute monarchy, and support a constitutional one with power vested in the parliament instead of the ruler. Given their initial opposition to the Catholic Stuart claimants of the throne, their opposition to any rights being granted to catholics, was also initially a core policy. The main opposition to them at the time were the Tories, who were strongly supportive of the crown (even if the king were to be Catholic). They were nevertheless also strongly supportive of the church of England, which held a tight reign over religious dissenters – whether they be protestant or otherwise. Despite their differences, both the Tories and Whigs could in essence be described as conservative in outlook, but by the early 1800’s they both came under increasing criticism by a loose coalition of parliamentary reformers that were known as radicals. The Radicals lacked a unifying ideological base, leadership or internal structure, but they were united in their views that the current state of politics was entirely in the hands of the aristocracy, with little consideration for the common population. Some radicals advocated for broader voting rights, some had an anti-slavery agenda; others were for granting home rule in Ireland and religious tolerance in general; while others were for low taxes; freedom of the press; poverty relief; and anti-protectionism. By the mid 1800’s the Whigs had come to associate themselves increasingly with wealthy industrialists, who by the very nature of their business focus, pushed for free trade and international cooperation. By 1859, this more socially progressive element within the Whigs saw them merge with many Radical parliamentarians to form the Liberal Party. The liberal party now emerged as an increasingly powerful voice that advocated for government intervention in education, welfare and public health to break the cycle of poverty, crime and destitution. You can watch the full length video here:    • Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Ad...   #history #liberals #liberalparty #whigs #tories #politics #uk