Radicals (UK): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Political grouping in the British Parliament from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century}}

{{Politics of the United Kingdom}}

{{Infobox political party

The '''Radicals''' were a parliamentary political grouping in the [[United Kingdom]] in the early to mid [[19th century]], who helped to transform the [[British Whig Party|Whigs]] into the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]].

| colorcode = {{party color|Radicals (UK)}}

| name = Radicals

| leader1_title = Historical leaders

| leader1_name = {{plainlist|

*[[William Beckford (politician)|William Beckford]]

*[[Jeremy Bentham]]

*[[John Cartwright (political reformer)|John Cartwright]]

*[[James Mill]]

*[[Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet|William Molesworth]]

*[[Sir Charles Dilke, 2nd Baronet|Charles Dilke]]}}

| predecessor = [[Country Party (Britain)|Country Party]]<br />[[Levellers]]<br />[[Radical Whigs]]

| foundation = {{start date|1763}}<ref>S. MacCoby. ''The English Radical Tradition 1763-1914'', Nicholas Kaye, London 1952.</ref>

| dissolution = {{end date|1859}}

| merged = [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]]

| newspaper = {{plainlist|

*''[[The Westminster Review]]''

*''[[The Black Dwarf (journal)|The Black Dwarf]]''}}

| wing1_title = [[Grassroots|Grassroots wing]]

| wing1 = [[Hampden Clubs]]

| ideology = [[Radicalism (historical)|Radicalism]]<br/>'''Factions:'''<br/>Pro-[[American Revolution]]<br/>[[Jacobinism]] {{small|(1790–1804)}}<br/>[[Chartism]] {{small|(1838–1859)}}<br/>[[Utilitarianism]]

| position = [[Left-wing politics|Left-wing]]<ref>{{cite book|editor=Alan Sykes |title=The Rise and Fall of British Liberalism: 1776-1988 |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref name="radical">{{cite book|editor=James Frey |title=The Indian Rebellion, 1857–1859: A Short History with Documents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EXP6DwAAQBAJ&dq=leftist+%22Radicals%22+Britain+1859&pg=PR30 |quote= British politics of the first half of the nineteenth century was an ideological spectrum, with the Tories, or Conservative Party, on the right, the Whigs as liberal-centrists, and the radicals on the left. |date=2020 |page=XXX |publisher=Hackett Publishing|isbn=9781624669057 }}</ref>

| colours = {{color box|{{party color|Radicals (UK)}}|border=darkgray}} [[Red (color)|Red]]

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| seats1_title = [[Parliament of Great Britain]]<br/>([[1768 British general election|1768]]–[[1790 British general election|1790]])

| seats1 = {{Infobox political party/seats|1|558|hex=red}}

| seats2_title = [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]<br/>([[1802 United Kingdom general election|1802]]–[[1812 United Kingdom general election|1812]])

| seats2 = {{Infobox political party/seats|1|658|hex=red}}

| seats3_title = [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]<br/>([[1818 United Kingdom general election|1818]])

| seats3 = {{Infobox political party/seats|3|658|hex=red}}

| seats4_title = [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]<br/>([[1820 United Kingdom general election|1820]])

| seats4 = {{Infobox political party/seats|4|658|hex=red}}

| seats5_title = [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]<br/>([[1826 United Kingdom general election|1826]])

| seats5 = {{Infobox political party/seats|5|658|hex=red}}

| seats6_title = [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]<br/>([[1830 United Kingdom general election|1830]])

| seats6 = {{Infobox political party/seats|4|658|hex=red}}

| seats7_title = [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]<br/>([[1831 United Kingdom general election|1831]])

| seats7 = {{Infobox political party/seats|6|658|hex=red}}

-->

| country = the United Kingdom

}}

{{Liberalism UK|Parties}}

{{Radicalism sidebar|groups}}

The '''Radicals''' were a loose parliamentary political grouping in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain and Ireland]] in the early to mid-19th century who drew on earlier ideas of [[radicalism (historical)|radicalism]] and helped to transform the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]] into the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]].

==Background==

The [[Radicalism (historical)|Radical]] movement arose in the early 19th century to support parliamentary reform with additional aims including Catholic emancipation and free trade. Working class and middle class "Popular radicals" agitated to assert rights as well as relieving distress, while middle class "Philosophic radicals" strongly supported parliamentary reform, but were generally hostile to the arguments and tactics of the "popular radicals".

== History ==

this is all the fucking wrong ass answers

=== Early Radicals ===

The [[Radicalism (historical)|Radical]] movement arose in the late 18th century to support parliamentary reform, with additional aims including lower taxes and the abolition of [[sinecures]].<ref>Evans 2000, pp. 10, 98.</ref> [[John Wilkes]]'s reformist efforts in the 1760s, as editor of ''[[The North Briton]]'' and as an MP, were seen as radical at the time, but support dropped away after the [[Massacre of St George's Fields]] in 1768. Working class and middle class "Popular Radicals" agitated to demand the right to vote and assert other rights, including freedom of the press and relief from economic distress, while "[[Philosophical Radicals|Philosophic Radicals]]" strongly supported parliamentary reform, but were generally hostile to the arguments and tactics of the Popular Radicals. However, the term "Radical" itself, as opposed to "reformer" or "Radical Reformer", only emerged in 1819 during the upsurge of protest following the successful conclusion of the Napoleonic War.<ref>[[Élie Halévy]], ''The Liberal Awakening'' (London 1961) pp. 67–68.</ref> [[Henry Hunt (politician)|Henry "Orator" Hunt]] was the main speaker at the Manchester meeting in 1819 that ended in the [[Peterloo Massacre]]; Hunt was elected MP for the [[Preston (UK Parliament constituency)|Preston]] division in 1830–1832. The "root and branch" of the reforms which the adjective radical suggests, and at the time still strongly in concept denoted by reference to all its previous main uses, is the English constitution, which is not codified or restricted to particular customs, laws or documents.

==Formation= ofRadicals and the LiberalGreat Reform Act Party===

Radicals inside and outside Parliament were divided over the merits of the Whig [[Reform Act 1832]]. Some continued to press for the ballot and universal suffrage,<ref>Élie Halévy, ''The Triumph of Reform'' (London 1961) pp. 25–27</ref> but the majority (as mobilised in unions like the [[Birmingham Political Union]]) saw abolition of the [[rotten boroughs]] as a major step towards the destruction of what they called "Old Corruption" or "The Thing": "In consequence of the boroughs, all our institutions are partial, oppressive, and aristocratic. We have an aristocratic church, an aristocratic bar, an aristocratic [[Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom|game-code]], aristocratic taxation....all is privilege".<ref>J. Wade, 1831, quoted in M. Dorothy George, ''Hogarth to Cruikshank'' (London 1967) p. 169.</ref>

The parliamentary radicals were distinctly middle class; their radicalism consisted in opposition to the political dominance and economic interests of the traditional British elites, rather than to any affinity to [[socialism]].

The 1832 parliament elected on the new franchise – which raised the percentage of the adult population eligible to vote from some 3% to 6%<ref>Élie Halévy, ''The Triumph of Reform'' (London 1961) pp. 27–29</ref> – contained some 50 or 60 Radicals. This number shortly doubled in the 1835 election, leading many to envisage a House of Commons eventually divided between Radicals on the one side and conservatives (Tories and Whigs) on the other.<ref>Élie Halévy, ''The Triumph of Reform'' (London 1961) pp. 65–66, 195.</ref>

The Radicals joined with the [[Whigs (UK)|Whigs]] and the anti-protectionist [[Tory]] [[Peelite |Peelites]] to form the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] by [[1859]].

In fact, the Radicals failed either to take over an existing party, or to create a new, third force and there were three main reasons. The first was the continuing strength of Whig electoral power in the half-century following the 1832 Act. The latter had expressly been designed to preserve Whig landlord influence in the counties and the remaining small borough<ref>H. J. Hanham, ''The Reformed Electoral System in Great Britain'' (London 1968) pp. 12–15, 31.</ref> – one reason a radical like [[Henry Hetherington]] condemned the bill as "an invitation to the shopocrats of the enfranchised towns to join the Whiggocrats of the country".<ref>Quoted in Evans 2000, p. 101.</ref> Whigs were also able to profit in two-member constituencies from electoral pacts made with a more reforming candidate.<ref>Evans 2000, p. 71.</ref>

==Parliamentary reform==

Demand for parliamentary reform increased by [[1864]] with agitation from [[John Bright]] and the [[Reform League]]. The Liberal [[William Ewart Gladstone]] introduced a modest bill which was defeated by both Tories and reform Liberals, forcing the government to resign. [[Benjamin Disraeli]] took office, and the new minority [[Tory]] government introduced the [[Reform Act of 1867]] which almost doubled the electorate, giving the vote even to working men.

Secondly, there was the widening body of reforming opinion inside (and outside) Parliament concerned with other, unrelated causes, including international liberalism, anti-slavery, educational and pro-temperance reforms, admissibility of non-Anglicans ("nonconformists") to positions of power.<ref>Evans 2000, p. 45.</ref> The latter expanded later to [[disestablishmentarianism]] which replaced the old local government units of the simple parish unit vestry by the mid-nineteenth century, devising instead civil (non-religious) parishes for almost all areas.

==In fiction==

In the [[steampunk]] novel ''[[The Difference Engine]]'' by [[William Gibson (novelist)|William Gibson]] and [[Bruce Sterling]], the "Industrial Radicals" led by [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Lord Byron]] have organised the British Empire as a [[meritocracy|meritocratic]] industrial society organised by [[Steam engine|steam driven]] computers developed from [[Charles Babbage|Babbage]]'s [[difference engine]] and [[analytical engine]].

Thirdly, the Radicals were always more a body of opinion than a structured force.<ref>M. L. Henry, "Radicals", in S. H. Steinberg ed., ''A New Dictionary of British History'' (London 1963) p. 300</ref> They lacked any party organisation, formal leadership, or unified ideology. Instead, humanitarian Radicals opposed philosophic Radicals over the [[Factory Acts]]; political Radicals seeking a slimmed-down executive opposed [[Jeremy Bentham|Benthamite]] interventionists; universal suffrage men competed for time and resources with free traders – the Manchester men.<ref>Élie Halévy, ''The Triumph of Reform'' (London 1961) pp. 195–96.</ref>

==See also==

*[[Radicalism (historical)]]

*[[Liberalism]]

*[[Contributions to liberal theory]]

*[[Liberalism worldwide]]

*[[List of liberal parties]]

*[[Liberal democracy]]

*[[Liberalism in the United Kingdom]]

By 1859, the Radicals had come together with the Whigs and the anti-protectionist [[Tory]] [[Peelite]]s to form the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], though with the New Radicalism of figures like [[Joseph Chamberlain]] they continued to have a distinctive political influence into the closing years of the nineteenth century.<ref>G. M. Trevelyan, ''British History in the Nineteenth Century'' (London 1922) p. 383.</ref>

=== Continuing agitation and reform ===

Following the First Reform Act, popular demand for wider suffrage was taken up by the mainly [[working class|working-class]] movement [[Chartism]]. Meanwhile, Radical leaders like [[Richard Cobden]] and [[John Bright]] in the middle class [[Anti-Corn Law League]] emerged to oppose the existing duties on imported grain which helped farmers and landowners by raising the price of food, but which harmed consumers and manufacturers. After the success of the League on the one hand and the failure of Chartist mass demonstrations and petitions in 1848 to sway parliament on the other, demand for suffrage and parliamentary reform slowly re-emerged through the parliamentary radicals.<ref>Evans 2000, pp. 37, 46.</ref>

By 1866, with agitation from [[John Bright]] and the [[Reform League]], the Liberal Prime Minister [[Lord John Russell|Earl Russell]] introduced a modest bill which was defeated by both Tories and reform Liberals, forcing the government to resign. A [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] minority government led by the [[Edward Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby|Earl of Derby]] and [[Benjamin Disraeli]] took office and introduced the [[Reform Act 1867]] – which almost doubled the electorate, giving many working men the vote – in a somewhat opportunistic party fashion.<ref>H. J. Hanham, ''The Reformed Electoral System in Great Britain'' (London 1968) pp. 4, 11.</ref>

Further Radical pressure led to the [[Ballot Act 1872]] and the [[Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883|Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act]] of 1883, followed by the [[Representation of the People Act 1884]].<ref>Evans 2000, pp. 63, 67.</ref> Progressive liberals like [[John Morley]] and [[Joseph Chamberlain]] continued to value radicalism as a unifying bridge between the classes, and a common goal.<ref>{{cite journal|first=John|last=Vincent|title=John Morley|journal=History|volume=54|year=1969|page=316}}</ref> However, in 1886 Chamberlain helped form the breakaway [[Liberal Unionist Party]] that mostly supported Conservative governments. The long career of [[David Lloyd George]] saw him moving from radical views in the 1890s to becoming Prime Minister in a postwar coalition with the Conservatives in 1918. From 1900 and the rise of the Labour Party and the gradual achievement of the majority of the original Radical goals, Parliamentary Radicalism ceased to function as a political force in the early twentieth century.<ref>M. L. Henry, "Radicals", in S. H. Steinberg ed., ''A New Dictionary of British History'' (London 1963) p. 300.</ref>

=== Disappearance as a political party ===

Radicals were absorbed by the Liberal Party by 1859, but did show their presence as a faction of the Liberal Party.<ref name="radical2">{{cite book|editor=Jonathan Sperber |title=Europe 1850-1914: Progress, Participation and Apprehension |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9iWsAgAAQBAJ&dq=leftist+%22Radicals%22+Britain+1859&pg=PA92 |quote=Counter-balancing Palmerston's more moderate image was his chancellor of the exchequer, William Gladstone (1809–98), who enjoyed support on the left wing of the Liberal Party and among British radicals. This duo kept politics on course ... |date=2014 |page=92 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9781317866602 }}</ref>

== Literary echoes ==

* ''[[Felix Holt, the Radical]]'' (1866), a social novel written by [[George Eliot]], offered a positive view of an idealistic and well-educated committed Radical.<ref>I. Ousby ed. ''The Cambridge Guide to literature in English'' (Cambridge 1995) p. 327.</ref>

* ''[[Beauchamp's Career]]'' (1875), a satirical novel written by [[George Meredith]]. It portrays life and love in upper-class Radical circles and satirises the Conservative establishment.

* [[Anthony Trollope]] offered a more shaded view in his outline for ''[[The Way We Live Now]]'' (1875), describing his anti-hero as "A scapegrace. Has glimmerings of Radical policy for the good of the people".<ref>M. Sadleir, ''Anthony Trollope'' (London 1945) p. 422.</ref> Economically liberal and laissez-faire, Trollope finds non-radicalism bucolic, extolling the rural county of [[Suffolk]]: "The people are hearty, and radicalism is not quite so rampant as it is elsewhere. The poor people touch their hats, and the rich people think of the poor."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5231/5231-h/5231-h.htm|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of the Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope|publisher=Gutenberg}}</ref>

* ''[[The Difference Engine]]'' (1990), an alternative history ("[[Steampunk]]") novel by [[William Gibson]] and [[Bruce Sterling]], partially based on ''[[Sybil, or The Two Nations]]'' by [[Benjamin Disraeli]], which includes a fictional Industrial Radical Party.

== Prominent Radicals ==

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

* [[Thomas Attwood (economist)|Thomas Attwood]]

* [[William Beckford (politician)|William Beckford]]

* [[Edward Spencer Beesly]]

* [[Jeremy Bentham]]

* [[John Biggs (MP)|John Biggs]]

* [[John Bright]]

* [[Timothy Brown (radical)|Timothy Brown]]

* [[Charles Buller]]

* [[Lord Byron]]

* [[Richard Carlile]]

* [[John Cartwright (political reformer)|John Cartwright]]

* [[William Cobbett]]

* [[Richard Cobden]]

* [[Sir Charles Dilke, 2nd Baronet|Sir Charles Dilke]]

* [[Charles James Fox]]

* [[William Godwin]]

* [[George Peabody Gooch]]

* [[Thomas Hill Green]]

* [[George Grote]]

* [[Thomas Hardy (political reformer)|Thomas Hardy]]

* [[Frederic Harrison]]

* [[William Hazlitt]]

* [[Thomas Hodgskin]]

* [[Thomas Holcroft]]

* [[George Holyoake]]

* [[William Hone]]

* [[Henry Hunt (politician)|Henry Hunt]]

* [[Leigh Hunt]]

* [[Douglas William Jerrold]]

* [[Walter Savage Landor]]

* [[James Mill]]

* [[John Stuart Mill]]

* [[Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet|Sir William Molesworth]]

* [[George Odger]]

* [[Thomas Paine]]

* [[Joseph Parkes]]

* [[Francis Place]]

* [[Richard Price]]

* [[Joseph Priestley]]

* [[John Arthur Roebuck]]

* [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]]

* [[Thomas Spence]]

* [[Edward John Trelawny]]

* [[John Wilkes]]

* [[Mary Wollstonecraft]]

* [[Thomas Jonathan Wooler]]

* [[Christopher Wyvill (reformer)|Christopher Wyvill]]

}}

{{clear}}

== See also ==

{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|

* [[Foxite]]

* [[Hampden Clubs]]

* [[Liberalism in the United Kingdom]]

* [[Philosophical Radicals]]

* [[Popular democracy]]

* [[History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom|Socialism in the United Kingdom]]

* [[The British Reform Movement]]

* [[Owenism]]

* [[National Union of the Working Classes]]

* [[Radical Reform Association]]

* [[Metropolitan Political Union]]

}}

== References ==

{{reflist|2|}}

== Bibliography ==

* {{cite book |first=E. J. |last=Evans |title=Parliamentary Reform in Britain, c.1770–1918 |place=Harlow |publisher=Longman |year=2000 |isbn=0582294673 }}

* {{cite book |first=Philip |last=Harling |title=The Waning of "Old Corruption": the politics of economical reform in Britain, 1779–1846 |place=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1996 |isbn=9780191676772 }}

* {{cite book|first=William|last=Harris|author-link=William Harris (Birmingham Liberal)|title=The History of the Radical Party in Parliament|place=London|publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.|year=1885|url=https://archive.org/details/historyradicalp00ggoog}}

* {{cite book |first=David |last=Worrall |title=Radical Culture: discourse, resistance and surveillance, 1790–1820 |place=New York/London |publisher=Harvester Wheatsheaf |year=1992 |isbn=0745009603 }}

== External links ==

* [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/struggle_democracy/getting_vote.htm Getting the vote]

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[[simple:Radical]]