Transformation of Urban Liberalism: Party Politics and Urban Governance in Late Nineteenth-Century England

Abstract

The Transformation of Urban Liberalism re-evaluates the dramatic and turbulent political decade following the 'Third Reform Act', and questions whether the Liberal Party's political heartlands - the urban boroughs - really were in decline. Using parallel case studies, James Moore illustrates how the party gradually began to transform into a social democratic organisation through a re-evaluation of its role and policy direction. This process was heavily influenced by 'grass roots politics', suggesting that late Victorian politics was more democratic and open than sometimes thought.