The Liberal Democrat History Group are pleased to announce that the latest issue of the Journal of Liberal History (issue 129, winter 2025-26) has just been published.

The Journal is published quarterly and can be purchased here or you can take out an annual subscription here. For those of you who are attending the spring conference, the Journal can be bought from the History Group stand in the exhibition area. You can also subscribe there too.

The Journal was first published in 1993 as a newsletter. It has come a long way since then and is read by people from all walks of life and all over the world.

The latest issue is packed, across its 56 pages, with features, articles and reviews.

Liberal History News

Michael Meadowcroft pens an obituary to his SDP colleague Dick Taverne, who died in October 2025. Taverne had previously been the Labour MP for Lincoln, holding the seat from 1962-74. He was a passionate pro-European, SDP candidate and finally sat in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat.

Ed Davey unveils a plaque commemorating Sam Green, Liberal Councillor for Durham City Council and the first openly gay councillor elected in the UK. We have reprinted Ed’s article from the Liberal Democrat website,

We have also updated our Liberal candidates directory on the Journal of Liberal History website. This is a great resource and, who knows, you might find details of a long-lost family member who stood for the party.

Articles

Showcasing the work of historians, whether professional or amateur, is what the Journal does best. All the articles are peer-reviewed by leading historians, allowing for an accessible and interesting read.

In this issue, our authors have provided us with a broad set of articles:

The political skills of four Liberal Prime Ministers – Part 1: Rosebery and Campbell-Bannerman.

Alan Mumford compares the political skills of two different Prime Ministers. It is an entertaining and critical article that measures the worth of these men against seven-point criteria. Find out how they stack up!

The final act of ‘Liverpool’s most distinguished son’ – Gladstone, Hengler’s Circus, September 1896

Paul A. Nuttall recalls William Ewart Gladstone’s speech on the Armenian massacres in the city of his birth – his last significant political intervention.

Edward Donner and the rise of Manchester Liberalism

Derek Earis recounts the story of a major figure in Manchester Liberalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Liberalism: the ideas that built the Liberal Democrats

Peter Truesdale provides us with a report of the Liberal Democrat History Group’s fringe meeting in Bournemouth, 20 September 2025. The guest speakers at the meeting were Professor Jon Parry and Professor David Howarth, with Baroness Featherstone chairing. A video of the meeting is on our YouTube channel – here.

Reviews

As you would expect, the History Group’s access to experts in their field willing to review the many books on Liberalism that are published every year.

The current Journal of Liberal History is no exception, with no less than five books being reviewed.

• Liberal Democrat History Group, Liberalism: The ideas that built the Liberal Democrats, reviewed by William Wallace.
• Cable and Smith, Partnership and Politics in a Divided Decade, reviewed by Duncan Brack.
• Ayshford et al (eds.), The Simons of Manchester, reviewed by Jaime Reynolds.
• Lefebvre, Liberalism as a Way of Life, reviewed by David Howarth.
• Brittain-Catlin, The Edwardians and their Houses, reviewed by Iain Sharpe.

Finally, there is a 30% discount code for my book, Emlyn Hooson and the Welsh Liberal Party, 1962-1979.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab the latest issue and immerse yourself in a thoroughly engaging read. You’ll come away knowing more than when you started.

Also, if you’d like to write an article or a review for the Journal then get in touch with our editor, Duncan Brack.

* Dr Nicholas K. Alderton is deputy editor of the Journal of Liberal History and a Welsh historian. His book, Emlyn Hooson and the Welsh Liberal Party, 1962-1979, has recently been published by the University of Wales Press and is available here.