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.
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional social institutions and practices. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the status quo of the culture and civilization in which it appears. In Western culture, conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as organized religion, parliamentary government, and property rights. Conservatives tend to favor institutions and practices that guarantee stability and evolved gradually. Adherents of conservatism often oppose progressivism and seek a return to traditional values.
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.
A small-c conservative is anyone who believes in the philosophy of conservatism but does not necessarily identify with an official Conservative Party.
In the United Kingdom, the word liberalism can have any of several meanings. Scholars use the term to refer to classical liberalism; the term also can mean economic liberalism, social liberalism or political liberalism; it can simply refer to the politics of the Liberal Democrat party; it can occasionally have the imported American meaning, however, the derogatory connotation is much weaker in the UK than in the US, and social liberals from both the left and right wing continue to use liberal and illiberal to describe themselves and their opponents, respectively.
Liberalism and radicalism have played a role in the political history of Italy since the country's unification, started in 1861 and largely completed in 1871, and currently influence several leading political parties.
The 1915 Manitoba general election was held August 6, 1915 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. The Liberals under Norris won a landslide majority with 40 seats, replacing the Conservative government that had ruled the province since 1899.
The 1970 New York state election was held on November 3, 1970, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the state comptroller, the attorney general and a U.S. Senator, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.
The 1924 Newfoundland general election was held on 2 June 1924 to elect members of the 26th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Liberal-Progressives and Liberal-Conservative Progressives were new parties formed as a result of the collapse of the ruling Liberal Reform Party. The Liberal-Conservative Progressives were led by Walter Stanley Monroe and won the election weeks after the party's creation. During his time in office, Monroe alienated a number of his supporters: Peter J. Cashin, F. Gordon Bradley, C. E. Russell, Phillip F. Moore, Lewis Little and H.B.C. Lake, who all defected to the opposition Liberal-Progressive Party. In 1925, universal suffrage was introduced in Newfoundland: women aged 25 and older were allowed to vote. Monroe was replaced by Frederick C. Alderdice as Prime Minister in August 1928.
The 1928 Newfoundland general election was held on 2 June 1928 to elect members of the 27th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Liberal Party led by Richard Squires defeated the Conservative Party led by Frederick C. Alderdice and formed the government with the support of Fishermen's Protective Union members. Legislation had been introduced so that persons named to the Executive Council were no longer required to run for reelection. Helena E. Squires, elected in a 1930 by-election, became the first woman elected to the Newfoundland assembly.