His Majesty's Loyal Opposition - The Unionist Party in Opposition 1905-1915 (Paperback, illustrated edition)

This book describes the workings of a major political party in opposition during a period recognised as being of crucial importance in the development of the modern British political system. It attempts to explain why uniquely in the twentieth century the Unionist Party was unsuccessful at three consecutive general elections; why the period was dominated by internal party dissension when the presentation of a united image was naturally of some importance; and why, even by the outbreak of the European War in 1914, the Party's recovery was at best partial and uncertain. This is a high politics' study, based primarily upon a wide range of unpublished private papers. It contributes not only to the history of the Conservative and Unionist Party, but also to a controversial period of British history whose study is still, despite some notable exceptions, dominated by writings on the Liberal and Labour Parties.