Liberal Unionist Party

Liberal Unionist Party
Liberal Unionist Party
Leaders	Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire; Joseph Chamberlain; Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby; Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne;
Founded	1886
Dissolved	1912
Split from	Liberal Party
Merged into	Conservative and Unionist Party
Headquarters	London, England
Ideology	Conservative liberalism; British unionism;
Political position	Centre to centre-right
	Politics of the United Kingdom; Political parties; Elections;

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 (later the Duke of Devonshire) 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.^[2]^[3]

^ Blaxill, Luke (2016). "Opposition to Irish Home Rule". In Huzzey, Richard; Childs, Mike (eds.). Campaigning for Change: Lessons from History. London. p. 106. Having two parties and two sets of leaders allowed the Unionists to appeal to a broader group of voters and remain anchored in the political centre.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Wesley Ferris, "The Liberal Unionist Party, 1886–1912"" (PhD dissertation, McMaster University, 2008.
^ Ian Cawood, The Liberal Unionist Party: A History (2012)

[1] Blaxill, Luke (2016). "Opposition to Irish Home Rule". In Huzzey, Richard; Childs, Mike (eds.). Campaigning for Change: Lessons from History. London. p. 106. Having two parties and two sets of leaders allowed the Unionists to appeal to a broader group of voters and remain anchored in the political centre.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[2] Wesley Ferris, "The Liberal Unionist Party, 1886–1912"" (PhD dissertation, McMaster University, 2008.

[Cawood-3] Ian Cawood, The Liberal Unionist Party: A History (2012)

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