The Independent Liberal Party is a name used for the Parliamentary Liberal Party created in 1918 and led by

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

, in opposition to the Coalition government led by the Liberal

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

. The Coalition candidates (whether Conservatives or Liberal) were marked at the 1918 election by the

Coalition Coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

. In fact, the parliamentary party was not independent from the

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 ...

, of which it formed part. Rather, it was independent of Lloyd George. It was sometimes known by the epithet the Wee Free Party. The issuing of the Coalition Coupon to some Liberals, but not to others, led Asquith's followers to form a Parliamentary Liberal Party in opposition to them, so that in most constituencies the election of 1918 saw a three-way contest between the Coalition Government, the Independent Liberal Party, and the Labour Party. After the 1918 election, the party remained in existence in parliament until 1922, although greatly weakened. Only 28 were returned, and even Asquith himself lost his East Fife seat. Between 1918 and 1922, there were twenty-four three-cornered parliamentary

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, but in each of them the Independent Liberal candidates polled only between 24 and 28 per cent of the votes.Chris Cook, ''A short history of the Liberal Party, 1900-92'' (1993), p. 82.

Notes

Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom United Kingdom 1918 Liberal Party (UK) Political parties established in 1918 Political parties disestablished in 1922 Liberal parties in the United Kingdom 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom 1922 disestablishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-party-stub