The Anti-Waste League was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, founded in 1921 by the newspaper

proprietor Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

Lord Rothermere Viscount Rothermere, of Hemsted in the county of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for the press lord Harold Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth. He had already been created a baronet, of Horsey in th ...

Formation

The formation of the League was announced in a January 1921 edition of the '' Sunday Pictorial'' with Rothermere attacking what he saw as government waste during the

Depression of 1920–1921 The Depression of 1920–1921 was a sharp deflationary recession in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries, beginning 14 months after the end of World War I. It lasted from January 1920 to July 1921.

.D. Boothroyd, ''The History of British Political Parties'', Politico's Publishing: 2001, p. 15 As such the party advocated reduced spending in government, at both local and national level. It was particularly critical of the retention of the high levels of

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

after the end of the war as well as the funding provided for the '

homes fit for heroes A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 a ...

' scheme.

Martin Pugh Martin John Pugh is a British guitarist who came to prominence after joining blues-rock band Steamhammer in 1968, staying with that band through 5 years and 4 albums. The debut Steamhammer album, also known as '' Steamhammer'', was released ...

, ''Hurrah for the Blackshirts: Fascists and Fascism in Britain Between the Wars'', Pimlico 2006, p. 76

Electoral performance

The party stood in a number of

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

s, taking an increasingly

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

line.

James Malcolm Monteith Erskine Sir James Malcolm Monteith Erskine (18 July 1863 – 5 November 1944), sometimes referred to as J. M. M. Erskine, was a British politician. First elected at a Westminster St George's by-election in 1921 as an Anti-Waste League candidate, then r ...

was elected as a joint nominee with an unofficial Conservative Association in the 1921 Westminster St George's by-election, and

Murray Sueter Rear-Admiral Sir Murray Fraser Sueter (6 September 1872 – 3 February 1960) was a Royal Naval officer who was noted as a pioneer of naval aviation and later became a Member of Parliament (MP). Naval career Sueter was born in Alverstoke. Comi ...

was elected in a joint candidacy with the

Independent Parliamentary Group The Independent Parliamentary Group was a right-wing political organisation in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1920 by Horatio Bottomley, elected in the 1918 general election as an independent Member of Parliament. In 1919, Bottomley foun ...

in the 1921 Hertford by-election. Rothermere's son

Esmond Harmsworth Esmond Cecil Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere (29 May 1898 – 12 July 1978) was a British Conservative politician and press magnate. Early life Harmsworth was the third son of Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, who had founded the ...

became the leader of the party's Westminster grouping, which co-operated closely with the

Horatio Bottomley Horatio William Bottomley (23 March 1860 – 26 May 1933) was an English financier, journalist, editor, newspaper proprietor, swindler, and Member of Parliament. He is best known for his editorship of the popular magazine ''John Bull (maga ...

Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

was also a leading patron of the group.

Dissolution

In reaction to the growth of the League, the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

s launched a Committee for National Expenditure, led by

Eric Geddes Sir Eric Campbell Geddes (26 September 1875 – 22 June 1937) was a British businessman and Conservative politician. With a background in railways, he served as head of Military Transportation on the Western Front, with the rank of major-ge ...

, with the aim of cutting spending, and eventually acted on many of its recommendations. As their support dipped in the face of the Conservatives co-opting their ideas the League changed its focus to sponsoring

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidates and even those from other parties who shared their aims. Following the 1922 general election the League disbanded with most of its members returning to the Conservative Party.

References

{{Reflist Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom Political parties established in 1921 Political parties disestablished in 1922 1921 establishments in the United Kingdom 1922 disestablishments in the United Kingdom