Archive for charles grey
Forgotten Liberal heroes: Earl Grey
Nick Robinson has returned to the radio for a second series of his short portraits of British Prime Ministers and in the list this time is Earl (Charles) Grey, one of the figures I’ve previously highlighted as a forgotten Liberal hero. Robinson’s piece is history as light entertainment – so it starts off with the [...]
The forgotten liberal hero: Earl Grey
Listen to Liberal Democrats make speeches and there are frequent references to historical figures, but drawn from a small cast. Just the quartet of John Stuart Mill, William Gladstone, David Lloyd George, David Penhaligon corner almost all of the market, especially since Bob Maclennan stopped making speeches to party conference. Some of the forgotten figures [...]
Earl Grey 1764–1845: biography
UPDATE: Since this post appeared I have written an expanded version of Earl Grey’s biography. This biography first appeared in the Dictionary of Liberal Biography, produced by the Liberal Democrat History Group. Charles Grey, second Earl Grey, Viscount Howick and Baron Grey, was the Prime Minister who oversaw the Great Reform Act of 1832, which [...]
Viscount Melbourne, 1779–1848: biography
UPDATE: Since this post appeared I have written an expanded biography of Viscount Melbourne. This biography first appeared in the Dictionary of Liberal Biography, produced by the Liberal Democrat History Group. Right from his London birth on 15 March 1779, at Melbourne House in Piccadilly, William Lamb, second Viscount Melbourne, was at the centre of [...]
What if … the 1832 Great Reform Act hadn’t happened?
This was my contribution to the collection of historical counter-factuals, President Gore…: and Other Things That Never Happened. At one key stage the Great Reform Bill was passed by a majority of just one. What would have happened if the Bill had instead been defeated at that stage? The general election of July and August [...]
Book review: Lord Brougham and the Whig Party by Arthur Aspinall
I wrote this book review of Lord Brougham and the Whig Party by Arthur Aspinall for the Journal of Liberal History, Issue 55. The book was first published in 1927 and republished in the edition reviewed in 2005. Lawyer, orator, politician and prolific writer of letters, articles, history and even a three volume romance, Henry [...]
