Parties, Organization, and Leadership

Abstract

This section elaborates on the organization of parties – their objectives, principles, and type of leadership – in Britain's Upper House 30 years prior to First World War. The discussion starts with the introduction of parties, specifically in the House of Lords context, wherein hereditary factors play a crucial role in the qualification process. The groups involved were the traditionalists, the labour activists, the gladstonian liberals, the independents, the liberal unionists, the liberals, and the Irish nationalists. Membership rates of each party varied from one year to another, and it is noted that some alliances became opponents later on due to conflicts of interests and changes in dispositions. Because of this scenario, absolute and short-term dissolution, as well as eventual renaissance (especially the dissolved ones) of affiliations occured from time to time. Despite competing notions, the existence of these parties determined the persistent recognition of the Lords as a dominant political arena.