The Gladstone–MacDonald pact of 1903 was a secret informal electoral agreement negotiated by
Herbert Gladstone
Herbert John Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone, (7 January 1854 – 6 March 1930) was a British Liberal politician. The youngest son of William Ewart Gladstone, he was Home Secretary from 1905 to 1910 and Governor-General of the Union of South ...
,
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
...
, and
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
, Secretary of the
Labour Representation Committee (LRC). The Liberal Party agreed to withdraw parliamentary candidates in some constituencies where the LRC was also standing in order to make sure the anti-
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 in ...
vote was not split.
There was increasing tension between the Liberal Party and the LRC since the latter's formation in 1900. For example, in the
by-election for Clitheroe in 1902, local cotton weavers refused to withdraw their candidate,
David Shackleton, who was not an approved
Lib-Lab
The Liberal–Labour movement refers to the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions. These candidates stood for the British Parliament with the aim of representing ...
candidate. Gladstone therefore withdrew the Liberal candidate and Shackleton was elected unopposed. This was one of the main reasons behind the formation of the pact.
In the
general election of 1906, 31 of the 50 LRC candidates contested seats where the Liberals agreed not to put up a candidate. 24 of the 29 LRC MPs elected in that election were in seats where the Liberals did not stand.
Eric J. Evans argues:
__NOTOC__
See also
*
Lib–Lab pact In British politics, a Lib–Lab pact is a working arrangement between the Liberal Democrats (in previous times, the Liberal Party) and the Labour Party.
There have been four such arrangements, and one alleged proposal, at the national level. In ...
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
1903 in British politics
History of the Labour Party (UK)
Liberal Party (UK)
Ramsay MacDonald
Political history of the United Kingdom
{{UK-poli-stub