Chamberlain, Joseph

Chamberlain, Joseph (b. 8 July 1836, d. 2 July 1914). British Liberal Unionist politician Born in London, he left school at the age of 16, and went to work in Birmingham in 1854. He quickly established a considerable income through manufacturing screws, and this enabled him to become active in politics. He achieved national prominence as an outspoken critic of the 1870 Education Act, though his reputation as a radical Liberal derived from his time as Mayor of Birmingham (1873–6), when his innovative application of the ‘municipal gospel’ led to the municipalization of water and gas, as well as the destruction of slums through large-scale street clearances. His success in Birmingham was also based on the development of an effective political organization, which he sought to translate to the national level through the establishment of the National Liberal Association in 1877. Despite his lack of experience, he became President of the Board of Trade (1880–5), and of the Local Government Board (1885–6). He left the Liberal Party in opposition to Home Rule for Ireland and joined the Liberal Unionists, who subsequently worked with the Conservative Party. In coalition with the latter, he was Colonial Secretary (1895–1903). He resigned, however, in order to campaign openly for the abandonment of free trade through tariff reform. Free trade was so deeply entrenched in the English system of government that the main effect of his campaign (and his main impact on the twentieth century) was to split the Conservatives and Liberal Unionists and render them incapable of government for two decades, just as he had done with the Liberals in 1886.

protectionism