'True to his principles'? John Bright, Liberalism and Irish Home Rule 1886-1889

Citation

Cawood I (2014) 'True to his principles'? John Bright, Liberalism and Irish Home Rule 1886-1889. Journal of Liberal History, (85), pp. 10-19. https://liberalhistory.org.uk/journal-articles/true-to-his-principles/

Abstract
In his 2012 biography, Bill Cash suggests that John Bright’s behaviour during the home rule crisis of 1886 revealed him to have become a Conservative by the end of his life. Cash’s reasoning was that Bright had, by 1886, become more concerned with preserving the rule of law and the unity of Great Britain than with the abstract concepts of ‘freedom and liberty’ that had dominated his political philosophy in his earlier career. Ian Cawood examines Cash’s claims and concludes that, to the contrary, Bright remained the epitome of radical Victorian Liberalism to the end of his life.

Journal
Journal of Liberal History, Issue 85

People

Dr Ian Cawood

Associate Professor, History