Initially many belonged to the Unionist Free Food League created in July 1903 to counter the influence of the Tariff Reform League in the Unionist government of Arthur Balfour. However as many local Conservative and Liberal Unionist associations supported Chamberlain's campaign, those who opposed Tariff Reform found their position precarious. They eventually split three ways with some staying in the Unionist coalition in the hope Tariff Reform could be beaten internally, others joining the staunchly free tradeLiberal Party and a few choosing to run as independent Free Traders.
Those standing as Free Traders were concentrated in university constituencies, led by John Eldon Gorst, who had been previously elected as a Conservative Party M.P. but had split from the party in 1902 and was opposed to Chamberlain. The group did receive tacit (and sometimes active) support from former Liberal Unionist leader Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire and other Unionists opposed to tariff reform. However attempts to form some sort of pro-free trade electoral pact with the Liberals were unsuccessful.
The Free Traders were in favour of limited social reforms, and in particular of free trade. While several of its candidates received substantial votes in the 1906 General Election, none were elected. In January 1910 Gorst stood instead as a Liberal candidate, though unsuccessfully. A few other Free Trader candidates stood in this election but without luck. By then also the remaining free trade supporting Unionists who had stuck with their party had also been effectively purged.
In 1911 at the by-election for one of the Cambridge University seats, former Liberal MP Harold Cox stood as a Free Trader against official Conservative and independent Conservative candidates. There was no Liberal candidate but Cox still lost the contest.
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Joseph Chamberlain was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then, after opposing home rule for Ireland, a Liberal Unionist, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Conservatives. He split both major British parties in the course of his career. He was father, by different marriages, of Austen Chamberlain and of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.
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 formed 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.
Andrew Bonar Law was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923.
The 1906 United Kingdom general election was held from 12 January to 8 February 1906.
Sir John Eldon Gorst, was a British lawyer and politician. He served as Solicitor General for England and Wales from 1885 to 1886 and as Vice-President of the Committee on Education between 1895 and 1902.
The Conservative Party is the oldest political party in the United Kingdom and arguably the world. The current party was first organised in the 1830s and the name "Conservative" was officially adopted, but the party is still often referred to as the Tory party. The Tories had been a coalition that more often than not formed the government from 1760 until the Reform Act 1832. Modernising reformers said the traditionalistic party of "Throne, Altar and Cottage" was obsolete, but in the face of an expanding electorate 1830s–1860s it held its strength among royalists, devout Anglicans and landlords and their tenants.
The Tariff Reform League (TRL) was a protectionist British pressure group formed in 1903 to protest against what they considered to be unfair foreign imports and to advocate Imperial Preference to protect British industry from foreign competition. It was well funded and included politicians, intellectuals and businessmen, and was popular with the grassroots of the Conservative Party. It was internally opposed by the Unionist Free Food League but that had virtually disappeared as a viable force by 1910. By 1914 the Tariff Reform League had approximately 250,000 members. It is associated with the national campaign of Joseph Chamberlain, the most outspoken and charismatic supporter of Tariff Reform. The historian Bruce Murray has claimed that the TRL "possessed fewer prejudices against large-scale government expenditure than any other political group in Edwardian Britain".
The Bolton by-election, 1912 was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Bolton in Lancashire on 23 November 1912. Bolton returned two Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
The City of London by-election, February 1906 was a parliamentary by-election held on 27 February 1906 for the British House of Commons constituency of City of London, which covered the "Square Mile" which was the United Kingdom's traditional financial district.
The Hastings by-election 1908 was a Parliamentary by-election. Hastings returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
The Ashburton by-election, 1904 was a parliamentary by-election held in England on 7 January 1904 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for the British House of Commons constituency of Ashburton in Devon. It was triggered by the death of the sitting Liberal Party MP Charles Seale-Hayne.
The Buteshire by-election, 1905 was a by-election held on 3 March 1905 for the British House of Commons constituency of Buteshire.
The Leeds South by-election, 1908 was a parliamentary by-election for the House of Commons constituency of Leeds South in the West Riding of Yorkshire held on 13 February 1908.
Sir Robert Purvis was a British barrister and Liberal Unionist politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1895 to 1905 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough.
The Poplar by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
The Manchester North West by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 8 August 1912. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
The Manchester North West by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
The Cambridge University by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned two Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
The New Forest by-election was a Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. It was the last by-election of the 27th Parliament to take place before the 1906 general election.
The Unionist Free Food League was a British pressure group formed on 13 July 1903 by Conservative and Liberal Unionist politicians who believed in free trade and who wished to campaign against Joseph Chamberlain's proposals for Tariff Reform, which would involve an import tax on food. About 40 Conservative and 20 Liberal Unionist MPs attended the initial meeting. The former Unionist Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Michael Hicks Beach, became president of the group. He was replaced in October 1903 by the Liberal Unionist party leader, the Duke of Devonshire.
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