Carlton Club meeting

Last updated

Carlton Club meeting
Date19 October 1922 (1922-10-19)
LocationThe Carlton Club, London
Participants Conservative Members of Parliament
Outcome

The Carlton Club meeting, on 19 October 1922, was a formal meeting of Members of Parliament who belonged to the Conservative Party, called to discuss whether the party should remain in government in coalition with a section of the Liberal Party under the leadership of Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George. The party leadership favoured continuing, but the party rebels led by Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin argued that participation was damaging the party. The meeting voted decisively against the Coalition, which resulted in its collapse, the resignation of Austen Chamberlain as party leader, and the invitation of Law to form a Government. The Conservatives subsequently won the general election with an overall majority.

Contents

Background

The Conservatives and Liberals, traditional rivals, had first come together in a coalition government during the First World War in 1915 under H. H. Asquith. A crisis of confidence in December 1916 led to Asquith's replacement by David Lloyd George, and the Liberal Party split between supporters of the two with Asquith's faction going into increasingly open opposition. The coalition continued after the end of the war with the 1918 election delivering a large majority for 'Coalition Coupon' candidates, although most coalition supporters were Conservatives. Lloyd George was never personally popular with Conservatives, and the government's introduction of Liberal policies led several Conservative MPs to go into opposition over the next four years. In October 1922, the overall state of the parties in Parliament was: [1]

Party strengths in Parliament, October 1922
PartyFactionGovernmentOpposition
ConservativesCoalition313 
Non-coalition 65
LiberalsCoalition120 
Non-coalition 35
Labour 76
'Coalition Labour' or NDP 11 
Others 87 [n 1]
  1. Mostly Sinn Feiners who had never taken up their seats (those who were not in prison following the supposed German Plot had instead assembled in Dublin and declared unilateral Irish independence). Those seats were now due for abolition as Britain had recognised the independence of the Irish Free State.

Chanak Crisis

Conservative discontent with the Coalition was maximised by the sudden diplomatic crisis with Turkey and Lloyd George's willingness to see war over the Turkish threat to the British and French troops stationed at Çanakkale. The Foreign Secretary in the coalition government, Lord Curzon, was a Conservative but was absent when the Cabinet agreed a strong response. Curzon knew that the response would cause a diplomatic breach with France where the Prime Minister was friendly towards the Turks; in fact, the French had already ordered their troops' withdrawal. At the last minute, Curzon arranged with the French to negotiate an armistice rather than withdraw. The incident also caused some of the Dominion governments to protest. Conservatives blamed Lloyd George personally for a needless confrontation.

Calling of the meeting

Amid increasing public attacks on the Coalition and on Lloyd George personally, the Cabinet on 10 October decided to call a general election as a Coalition. [2] Austen Chamberlain and David Lloyd George both arranged to speak at public meetings in defence of the Coalition. [3] Opinion from the Conservative Party membership was reported to say that holding a general election as a Coalition would split the party, but there was speculation that if Lloyd George were replaced by a Conservative as Prime Minister, the situation might be different. [4] Chamberlain, in his speech in Birmingham on 13 October, asserted that the Coalition was united and that Lloyd George had behaved with perfect loyalty to the Conservatives in it. He also stated that he did not intend to call a meeting for Conservatives to decide their attitude to the coalition. [5]

On 15 October Chamberlain called a meeting of all Conservative Members of the House of Commons, to ask for a vote of confidence in his leadership and in the continuation of the coalition. Chamberlain intended that a common electoral programme be agreed for the general election and the precise details be settled after the expected victory despite the fact that Lloyd George had specifically opposed that in his speech. [6]

Events prior to the meeting

Before the meeting there was particular speculation about the position of Bonar Law. He had been Leader of the Conservative Party for ten years, resigning both the leadership and his Government post in 1921 due to ill health, and he retained a large following within the party. On 7 October, a letter from Law was published by The Times , outlining his views on future British policy in the Near East, which differed from that of the Coalition. [7] While his attendance at the meeting was not certain as his health was still poor, the driving factor for Law was thought to be Conservative Party unity. [8] Law made up his mind the day before to go to the meeting, and to oppose the Coalition there. [2]

Preparing for the meeting, several groups of Conservative MPs met to discuss the situation. Leo Amery, who disliked the idea of a Coalition which existed only for the "negative policy of anti-Socialism", called a meeting of 17 Conservative ministers on 16 October, at which he found many wanted Lloyd George deposed. Chamberlain heard of the meeting and accused Amery of plotting against him; Amery said that he was trying to arrange a compromise. On 18 October, Amery told chief whip Leslie Wilson that the coalition's future should be decided by a party meeting after the election; Wilson obtained Chamberlain's agreement. Also on that day, about 80 Conservative MPs met under Sir Samuel Hoare; they supported independence in the election with possible post-election co-operation with Coalition Liberals. This group organised a delegation to Law to persuade him to oppose the coalition and drafted a motion for the Carlton Club meeting. [9]

Newport

Simultaneously with the crisis, there was a by-election campaign underway in the borough of Newport caused by the death of the sitting Coalition Liberal MP. The general expectation among the press was that the Labour Party would win. The poll was held on 18 October and counted immediately after with the result being declared at 2 AM. Conservative candidate Reginald Clarry won the seat, with the Liberal candidate finishing a poor third. Because of the timing, only two London newspapers were able to cover the result in much detail, but The Times gave it particular prominence including a leading article, which described it as a "complete condemnation of the Coalition Government" and vindicating the anti-Coalition Conservatives. [10]

The meeting itself

There was a large turnout of Members of Parliament to the meeting, which began at 11 AM on 19 October in the Carlton Club. [11] Many of those arriving at the meeting were still shocked by recently learning of the Newport result. It was noted that Chamberlain was rather coldly received, in contrast to Law and Baldwin. [12] Although the meeting was private, a report was issued to the press by Conservative Central Office immediately after.

According to this report, Chamberlain as chair began by complaining that the "storm of attack and criticism" over the Chanak Crisis had weakened Britain's influence and undermined its authority. Chamberlain referred to the imminent general election and the need to unify the party, saying that the Coalition could not continue as it was and a critical decision was needed. Explaining that the real fight was not between Conservative and Liberal but between those who stand for individual freedom and those who are for the socialisation of the state, he asserted that it was not a moment to break with old allies and that it would be impossible to get a majority against the Labour Party without cooperation with the Liberals. He then rejected the idea of "half-hearted cooperation" in which the Conservatives would split with the Liberals after the election if they were able to form a government on their own. Chamberlain concluded that it would be arbitrary and mad to split from the Liberals "in face of the danger which confronts us".

Chamberlain was followed by Stanley Baldwin, who put forward the views of the anti-coalition ministers. He openly threatened to stand as an Independent Conservative in the election if the coalition continued and criticised the decision to call an election without consulting the party. Baldwin referred to the description of Lloyd George as "a dynamic force" and noted that the result of that force was the destruction of his own Liberal Party; he feared that the same destruction would be visited on the Conservative Party in time. As evidence he referred to the fact that both he and Chamberlain were prepared to "go into the wilderness" should the meeting go against them, a division he attributed to Lloyd George personally. This was famously summed up in his phrase: "a dynamic force can be a terrible thing".

Veteran MP Captain Ernest Pretyman spoke next, opposing the Coalition and asserting that the issues of the day could "best be met by Conservative principles rather than by a Coalition of which many members are very doubtful". Believing that the Conservative Party should come out on its own, he moved a resolution:

That this meeting of Conservative members of the House of Commons declares its opinion that the Conservative Party, whilst willing to cooperate with Coalition Liberals, fights the election as an independent party, with its own leader and its own programme.

The motion was seconded by George Lane-Fox, who said that it was impossible for a coalition to have principles. He believed it would be wrong to pretend to the electors that the Conservative Party was independent when it was intended that the Coalition would continue as before. Frank Mildmay regarded some of the criticism of Lloyd George as unfair and unpatriotic but referred to a previous speech by Chamberlain that declared that the Government should not go into an election as a coalition. He referred to his history as a Liberal Unionist and paid tribute to the measures introduced by Conservatives and Liberal Unionists in Coalition governments but appealed for "real true fidelity to the principles" of the Unionist Party. Sir Henry Craik also spoke in support of fighting the election independently, believing the party had not fully exercised its influence in Government.

Bonar Law

Law then spoke, admitting it was only at the last minute he decided to come to the meeting. He described the idea of the Coalition fighting and winning an election and the Conservatives then asking Lloyd George to resign in favour of Chamberlain as dishonourable since winning the election would be a mandate for Lloyd George. Law had no fear of a Labour Government being elected and thought continuing the Coalition would help Labour by making it the only credible opposition. He then described the split in the Conservative Party in which many members had refused to stand as Coalition supporters and said that carrying out Chamberlain's intentions would repeat what happened when Robert Peel repealed the Corn Laws: a split in which "the body that is cast off will slowly become the Conservative Party, but it will take a generation before it gets back to the influence which the party ought to have". He concluded by referring to the replacement of Asquith by Lloyd George because of the loss of confidence in Asquith's ability to win the war and stated that he had the same feeling now about Lloyd George.

One section of Law's speech was suppressed from the official report. In it Law accepted that he was "an opportunist" and that the smashing of the Liberal Party by Lloyd George "did not disturb me a bit". [13]

Law was followed by the Earl of Balfour, the former Prime Minister, who made a speech in support of the Coalition. He dismissed the suggestion that Lloyd George was insinuating Liberal principles onto the Conservative ministers and believed that breaking up the Coalition would destroy the machinery that would best tackle future political issues and artificially revive the two-party system. He concluded by strongly urging the meeting to support its leader, at which there were cries of "Bonar Law!". Colonel Leslie Wilson, the Chief Whip of the Conservative Party and a junior Minister in the Coalition, said that it would be impossible for any member of the Government to take the course proposed by Chamberlain; if asked at the election whether he would serve under Lloyd George if the Conservatives won a majority, his answer would have to be 'No'.

After James Fitzalan Hope made an attempt to adjourn the meeting until the following day, Sir A. Shirley Benn spoke of his recollection that the Coalition was to last one Parliament only. Lord Hugh Cecil urged a straight vote on whether there should be a Conservative policy supporting a Conservative Prime Minister, or a Coalition policy supporting Lloyd George. Chamberlain intervened from the Chair to accept that proposition and accepted that Pretyman's motion embodied it. He persuaded James Fitzalan Hope to withdraw his motion for an adjournment and then began to put Pretyman's motion to the vote. Wilfrid Ashley quickly intervened to point out that those supporting the motion were in favour of a Conservative Prime Minister and a Conservative government. [14]

The vote

At least 286 MPs were present. At least 11 MPs were absent abroad on the day, none of whom were supporters of the Coalition. [11]

The vote was taken by cards marked with the name of the MP. A number of slightly different figures have been published for the result.

The most commonly-quoted result is 187 against the coalition and 87 in favour. This was the number published in Volume 56 of Gleanings & Memoranda, the official Conservative Central Office record at that time, and was repeated in classic works such as Beaverbrook's Decline and Fall of Lloyd George, AJP Taylor's English History 1914-1945 and The Unknown Prime Minister, Robert Blake's 1955 biography of Law. [15]

The actual voting cards are preserved among the papers of J. C. C. Davidson, and a list of how each MP voted was published by Robert Rhodes James in his 1969 edition of Davidson's memoirs. He gives a figure of 185 voting against the coalition and 88 in favour, a figure accepted by Robert Blake. [16] Michael Kinnear later noted that despite giving a figure of 185 voting in favour, Rhodes James only actually listed 184 doing so. [17]

Kinnear (1973) wrote that according to a list kept at the time by Austen Chamberlain, 273 MPs voted, 187-86 with “at least a dozen abstentions”. Some ballot cards “may have been mixed up or marked inaccurately”. The resolution was a moderate one, calling for the Conservatives to fight the next election as a separate party, but not ruling out the negotiation of a new coalition, and some MPs - P. J. Ford told Austen Chamberlain at the time that it may have been as many as 50, but as he only named two Kinnear believes this to be an exaggeration - voted for it in the belief that they were supporting Chamberlain. Although Kinnear listed the contemporary views of all MPs, where known, in a long appendix, and named nine for whom Chamberlain and Davidson gave a different result, he stated that it was not possible to reconcile all discrepancies. [18]

R. J. Q. Adams also examined the voting cards for his 1999 biography of Law, and writes that the true figure is 187 against the coalition and 88 in favour. [19] To add to the confusion, the result is incorrectly listed as 186–87 on the wrapping paper in which they are held. [15] Adams lists Sir Robert Clough, MP for Keighley 1918–22, as the only abstention. [20] [15]

Ayesdisputed, 187-184
Noesdisputed, 88-86

Historian Michael Kinnear noted that according to Austen Chamberlain's list MPs voted according to a clear pattern, with those in traditionally Liberal areas supporting the Coalition, while those in safe Conservative seats opposed it. The Coalition's strongest supporters were in Scotland, East Lancashire, the Southwest of England, and the East of England. [21]

Aftermath

Immediately after the meeting, the dissenting Conservative ministers, including Baldwin and Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen, gave in their resignations to Lloyd George, being followed by former Coalition supporters including Chamberlain and Balfour. Lloyd George drove to Buckingham Palace in the middle of the afternoon to offer the Government's resignation. King George V summoned Law and invited him to form a new Government, but Law demurred on the grounds that he was not leader of his party and could not accept until he was. His accession to the leadership was, however, regarded as a formality, [22] and his first call after leaving the Palace was to invite Curzon to remain as Foreign Secretary when the Government was formed. [23]

A meeting of the Unionist Party was summoned for Monday 23 October at the Hotel Cecil and unanimously confirmed Law as the new Leader; he "kissed hands" and formally succeeded Lloyd George as Prime Minister in the afternoon, and immediately obtaining a dissolution of Parliament and calling a general election for 15 November.

The Conservatives secured an overall majority at the election. The Conservative Members who were first elected to Parliament in that election formed the Conservative Private Members' Committee to discuss and influence political events; the membership expanded in subsequent years as more new Conservative MPs were elected, and in 1926 all backbench members were invited to become members. The committee became popularly known as the 1922 Committee. [24] However the name does not, as is sometimes wrongly supposed, stem from the Carlton Club meeting and the committee was in fact formed following the election, in April 1923. [25]

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberal Party (UK)</span> Major political party in the United Kingdom from 1859 to 1988

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Conservative Party, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Beginning as an alliance of Whigs, free trade-supporting Peelites, and reformist Radicals in the 1850s, by the end of the 19th century, it had formed four governments under William Gladstone. Despite being divided over the issue of Irish Home Rule, the party returned to government in 1905 and won a landslide victory in the 1906 general election. Under prime ministers Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1905–1908) and H. H. Asquith (1908–1916), the Liberal Party passed reforms that created a basic welfare state. Although Asquith was the party leader, its dominant figure was David Lloyd George.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Lloyd George</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal politician from Wales, he was known for leading the United Kingdom during the First World War, for social-reform policies, for his role in the Paris Peace Conference, and for negotiating the establishment of the Irish Free State. He was the last Liberal prime minister; the party fell into third-party status during the last years of his premiership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. H. Asquith</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916

Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith,, generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British politician and statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last Liberal Party prime minister to command a majority government, and the most recent Liberal to have served as Leader of the Opposition. He played a major role in the design and passage of major liberal legislation and a reduction of the power of the House of Lords. In August 1914, Asquith took Great Britain and the British Empire into the First World War. During 1915, his government was vigorously attacked for a shortage of munitions and the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign. He formed a coalition government with other parties but failed to satisfy critics, was forced to resign in December 1916 and never regained power.

The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule. The two parties formed the ten-year-long coalition Unionist Government 1895–1905 but kept separate political funds and their own party organisations until a complete merger between the Liberal Unionist and the Conservative parties was agreed to in May 1912.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonar Law</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923

Andrew Bonar Law was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austen Chamberlain</span> British politician (1863–1937)

Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain was a British statesman, son of Joseph Chamberlain and older half-brother of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 45 years, as Chancellor of the Exchequer (twice) and was briefly Conservative Party leader before serving as Foreign Secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1923 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1923 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 December 1923. The Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. H. Asquith's reunited Liberal Party gained enough seats to produce a hung parliament. It is the most recent UK general election in which a third party won over 100 seats and the most narrow gap, of a "mere" 100 seats, between the first and third parties since. The Liberals' percentage of the vote, 29.7%, has not been exceeded by a third party at any general election since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1922 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and a divided Liberal Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1918 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent letters of endorsement to candidates who supported the coalition government. These were nicknamed "Coalition Coupons", and led to the election being known as the "coupon election". The result was a massive landslide in favour of the coalition, comprising primarily the Conservatives and Coalition Liberals, with massive losses for Liberals who were not endorsed. Nearly all the Liberal MPs without coupons were defeated, including party leader H. H. Asquith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton Club</span> Gentlemens club in London

The Carlton Club is a private members' club in the St James's area of London, United Kingdom. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyd George ministry</span> Government of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922

Liberal David Lloyd George formed a coalition government in the United Kingdom in December 1916, and was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George V. It replaced the earlier wartime coalition under H. H. Asquith, which had been held responsible for losses during the Great War. Those Liberals who continued to support Asquith served as the Official Opposition. The government continued in power after the end of the war in 1918, though Lloyd George was increasingly reliant on the Conservatives for support. After several scandals including allegations of the sale of honours, the Conservatives withdrew their support after a meeting at the Carlton Club in 1922, and Bonar Law formed a government.

The 1922 Newport by-election was by-election held in the parliamentary constituency of Newport in Wales on 18 October 1922. The by-election attracted especial attention, both at the time and since, as it was seen as a crucial electoral test of the viability of the Lloyd George Coalition Government, formed of followers of David Lloyd George with the Conservative Party, the latter of which contained an increasing number of members who wished to leave the coalition and regain the party's independence.

The Liberal Party was formally established in 1859 and existed until merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to create the Liberal Democrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxwell Thornton</span>

Maxwell Ruthven Thornton was an English Liberal politician and lawyer.

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 the First World War and the desire for revenge on Germany and its allies. Receiving the coupon was interpreted by the electorate as a sign of patriotism that helped candidates gain election, while those who did not receive it had a more difficult time as they were sometimes seen as anti-war or pacifist. The letters were all dated 20 November 1918 and were signed by Prime Minister David Lloyd George for the Coalition Liberals and Bonar Law, the leader of the Conservative Party. As a result, the 1918 general election has become known as "the coupon election".

The Maurice Debate was a debate in the British House of Commons which took place on 9 May 1918, during the First World War. A senior British Army officer, Major-General Sir Frederick Maurice, alleged that the War Cabinet had misled Parliament about troop strengths on the Western Front. The leader of the Liberal Party, H. H. Asquith, took up the allegations and attacked Prime Minister David Lloyd George, also a Liberal. The debate ripped apart the Liberal Party. While Asquith's attack was ineffective, Lloyd George vigorously defended his position, treating the debate like a vote of confidence. He won over the House with a powerful, if misleading, speech, rebutting all of Maurice's allegations. The debate did not cause the profound split in the Liberal Party, but did make it more visible and harder to heal. The main results were to strengthen Lloyd George, weaken Asquith, end public criticism of overall strategy, and strengthen civilian control of the military.

The 1921 Cardiganshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Cardiganshire on 18 February 1921. The election was important for the bitterness of the contest between the Coalition and Independent factions within the Liberal Party and the deepening of this division within the party as a factor in the long-term decline of Liberalism in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rise of Neville Chamberlain</span> Early life, business career, and political rise of a British politician

The early life, business career and political rise of Neville Chamberlain culminated on 28 May 1937, when he was summoned to Buckingham Palace to "kiss hands" and accept the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Chamberlain had long been regarded as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's political heir, and when Baldwin announced his retirement, Chamberlain was seen as the only possible successor.

The National Liberal Party was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923. It was created as a formal party organisation for those Liberals, led by Prime Minister David Lloyd George, who supported the Coalition Government (1918–22) and subsequently a revival of the Coalition, after it ceased holding office. It was officially a breakaway from the Liberal Party. The National Liberals ceased to exist in 1923 when Lloyd George agreed to a merger with the Liberal Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Barton (British politician)</span> British politician

Sir Andrew William Barton was a British Liberal politician and businessman.

References

  1. David Butler and Gareth Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, page 242 note a.
  2. 1 2 John Ramsden, "Newport and the fall of the Coalition", in Byelections in British Politics (Macmillan, 1973), p. 27.
  3. "Premier's Future", The Times, 11 October 1922, p. 10.
  4. "The Coalition Crisis", The Times, 12 October 1922, p. 12.
  5. "A Chamberlain Apologia", The Times, 14 October 1922, p. 10.
  6. "The Coalition Crisis", The Times, 17 October 1922, p. 12.
  7. "The Near East" (letter), The Times, 7 October 1922, p. 11.
  8. "Mr. Bonar Law's Position", The Times, 18 October 1922, p. 12.
  9. Michael Kinnear, The Fall of Lloyd George, Macmillan, 1973, pp. 122–3.
  10. John Ramsden, "Newport and the fall of the Coalition", in "Byelections in British Politics" (Macmillan, 1973), pp. 14-43 passim. Ramsden agrees with the consensus of historians that the result was highly influential on the meeting but argues that the by-election had unique characteristics and that the Conservative victory was not primarily motivated by the voters' wish to condemn the coalition.
  11. 1 2 Michael Kinnear, The Fall of Lloyd George, Macmillan, 1973, pp. 124–5.
  12. "Carlton Club Meeting", The Times, 20 October 1922, p. 12.
  13. Michael Kinnear, The Fall of Lloyd George, Macmillan, 1973, pp. 128–9.
  14. The source for this section is the official report of the meeting, as printed in The Times, 20 October 1922, pp. 8–9.
  15. 1 2 3 Adams 1999, p.328, detailed footnote on p.428
  16. Blake 1985, p.204
  17. Kinnear 1973, pp.89-90, 128-134, 221-42
  18. Kinnear 1973, pp.89-90, 128-134, 221-42
  19. presumably he counted them carefully although he does not specifically say so
  20. this may mean that he submitted a blank voting card, but Adams does not say so specifically
  21. Michael Kinnear, The British Voter (2nd edition, Batsford, 1981), pp. 104–5.
  22. "Fall of the Coalition", The Times, 20 October 1922, p. 12.
  23. "An Election at Once", The Times, 21 October 1922, p. 10.
  24. "Political Notes", The Times, 22 December 1926, p. 12.
  25. Harris, Robin. The Conservatives: A History. Random House, 2013. p.265.