Liberal
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
given to that party England which is opposed to the Cona name given to that party opposed to the Conparty. The designation " Lib- The designation "Lib- " applied to a political party in Engolitical party in Engis said to been derived from Liberal, " a periodical set on foot by have been derived from iodical set on foot by Byron and his friends. Both po- Both poparties are named with tacit reftacit refto an irresistible movement toement todemocracy long in progress in progress in A Britain. The Conservatives, Conservatives, the effect of this democratic democratic on the time - honored institutions ored institutions country, make it their main obit their main obto conserve them. The Liberal them. The Liberal , on the contrary, little or nothing ary, little or nothing the results of change, help the of change, help the instead of attempting to stem attempting to stom lessen its progress. The Liberal The Liberal in English politics consists of two consists of two sections or wings, generally in conerally in cothough sometimes in antagin antag- . These are the Whigs and the the and the , the former seeking to remove to remove more obnoxious defects in the instituthe institu of the country, with the view of inthe view of intheir stability; the latter, on the latter, on the LIBERAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 471 contrary, desiring to root some of them efficiency. up instead of increasing their on the question The Liberals were divided of the Boer War (1899–1901) and formed two wings of the party. There on public queshave been other divisions and tions. After the Peace of Versailles lost in subsequent elections the Liberals heavily to the Conservatives and Labor Parties.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's caught the party at the moment of its collapse: writing in 1921 it noted only that the Liberals had "lost heavily to the Conservatives and Labor Parties." That decline proved terminal for the party as a governing force — Lloyd George, who fell in 1922, remains the last Liberal prime minister, and by the 1950s the party was down to six MPs in the Commons. In 1988 it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democrats, who governed in coalition with the Conservatives from 2010 to 2015 and won 72 seats in 2024. The internal wings Collier's describes, "the Whigs and the Radicals," had already vanished as labels, and in American usage "liberal" has since come to mean something closer to the centre-left of the Democratic Party — often as an opponent's insult rather than a party name.
Written for this edition, 2026.