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Primrose League
Primrose League. Victorian Conservative organization. Founded in 1883 by Lord Randolph Churchill and John Gorst, the Primrose League was intended to enable the Conservatives to adapt to the extension of democracy. The Tory leaders feared that any popular organization would eventually challenge their authority. However, the league avoided this problem because it was not officially part of the Conservative Party, and because it made no claim to influence the party's policy.
The key to its success lay in combining political propaganda, often in the form of lantern slides, with a regular programme of social activities. These included music-hall, dances, teas, summer fêtes, train excursions, and cycling clubs, all available very cheaply. Though derided by opponents as a ‘matrimonial agency’, the league benefited greatly from its social role. By 1886, 200,000 members had been enrolled, and by 1891 over a million, of whom half were women. This made the league the largest political organization in Britain in its heyday—the late 1880s and 1890s. Thereafter it suffered a steady decline and after 1918 its membership was largely absorbed into the official party structure. Martin Pugh |
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Primrose League." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Primrose League." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-PrimroseLeague.html JOHN CANNON. "Primrose League." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-PrimroseLeague.html |
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Primrose League
Primrose League Victorian Conservative organization. Founded in 1883 by Lord Randolph Churchill and John Gorst, the Primrose League was intended to enable the Conservatives to adapt to the extension of democracy. The key to its success lay in combining political propaganda with a regular programme of social activities. These included music‐hall, dances, teas, summer fêtes, train excursions, and cycling clubs, all available very cheaply. By 1886, 200,000 members had been enrolled, and by 1891 over a million, of whom half were women.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Primrose League." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Primrose League." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-PrimroseLeague.html JOHN CANNON. "Primrose League." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-PrimroseLeague.html |
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Primrose League
Primrose League An organization founded by Sir Drummond Wolf and Lord Randolph CHURCHILL in 1883, devoted to the cause of Tory democracy. The League used the emblem of DISRAELI's favourite flower to focus on his concept of Conservatism. This involved defence of traditional features of British life, but also a wish to broaden support for Conservatism by showing its capacity to improve living and working conditions for the masses.
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Cite this article
"Primrose League." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Primrose League." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-PrimroseLeague.html "Primrose League." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-PrimroseLeague.html |
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