Not namedRoss, William D.2025-07-172025-07-17https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/handle/10454/20524This thesis is principally an analysis of Bradford politics in the period 1880-1906 as manifested in parliamentary elections. It is concerned with the changes in relative strength of the political parties as well as their attitude to the issues of the day and the nature of their political support. Its main themes are the development of Conservatism and the political emergence of an independent Labour movement at the expense of an hitherto omnipotent Liberal party. The background to this political transformation was the "Great Depression" which hit Bradford severely and hardened class attitudes. This basically explains the Liberals' reluctance to concede to Labour demands, particularly Labour representation which ultimately resulted in the formation of the Bradford I.L.P. in 1891. When the Liberals did begin to make concessions in the 1890's it was always at the risk of alienating right-wing support which first became a serious problem with the secession of the Liberal Unionists over Home Rule in 1886. Moreover, Liberal difficulties were intensified by the creation of single member constituencies in 1885 which precluded the running of a Moderate and a Radical and also by the issues of the day which generally benefited the Conservatives. Imperialism, Home Rule, education and Local Veto were skilfully exploited by the Conservatives to win both middle and working-class support. As a result the Conservatives gained control of the School Board, 1894-97; Town Council, 1899-1901 and each of the three parliamentary divisions, 1895-1906. At the Liberal landslide of 1906 the Bradford Liberals won only two seats, the third going to the I.L.P. which by then was firmly established. Although Bradford itself was still a Liberal Nonconformist town the Bradford Liberal party was reduced to its Nonconformist core and Bradford politics were fast developing on class lines.. ... With the exception of the work on the Labour movement, however, the period immediately after 1880 has hitherto been unexamined. Yet late nineteenth-century Bradford besides being the birth place of the I .L.P. was one of the main centres of the Fair-Trade movement and an outstanding example of the growth of urban Conservatism. Research into the origins of the Labour party has sometimes disguised the fact that the immediate result of the I.L.P. was not Labour representation but the Conservative control of an hitherto Liberal stronghold. This thesis is a continuation for the period 1880-1906 of Dr Wright’s work. [D G Wright’s, ’’Politics and Opinion in Bradford with special reference to Parliamentary Elections 1832-1880”]. By looking at the entire political spectrum it seeks to establish the story of Bradford politics during those crucial years and relate political change to contemporary social and economic change. It is concerned with the relative strength of the political parties as well as their attitude to the issues of the day and the nature of their political support. Like Dr Wright’s thesis the story is in chronological order and concentrates on parliamentary elections when they occur. It consists broadly of three main themes. The first theme looks at how Liberalism came under increasing challenge after 1880. The second theme examines how the liberal failure to meet that challenge resulted in the formation of the I.L.P. Finally, the third theme reveals how the very attempts that were made to meet the Liberal challenge paradoxically contributed to the growth of Conservatism rather than the consolidation of Liberalism.en<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>.PoliticsBradford, West YorkshirePolitical partiesIndependent Labour Party (I.L.P.)Political historyLiberalismConservatismLiberal PartyConservative Partydoctoral