Liberal Imperialists

The Liberal Imperialists were a faction within the British Liberal Party in the late 1890s and early 1900s, united by views regarding the policy toward the British Empire. They supported the Second Boer War which a majority of Liberals opposed, and wanted the Empire ruled on a more benevolent basis. The most prominent members were R. B. Haldane, H. H. Asquith, Sir Edward Grey and Lord Rosebery. The group adopted a formal identity under the title "The Imperial Liberal Council", the inaugural meeting of which was held on 10 April 1900 at the Westminster Palace Hotel. That meeting was chaired by Robert William Perks. Stephen Koss described Perks`s role in the group as: "It was not Rosebery who recruited Perks as first-lieutenant, but Perks who recruited Rosebery as captain". In his 1979 paper, Thomas Boyle identified the numerical strength of the Imperialists among the Liberal Party`s representation in the House of Commons as being 51 out of a total 189 immediately prior to the 1900 general election; 53 out of a total 184 immediately after that general election; and 76 out of a total 213 at the time of the 1905 dissolution of Parliament.