Talk:Unionist government, 1895–1905

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Name[edit]

Why was this called the "Unionist" government. It was a coalition of Conservative and Liberal Unionist, in which the Conservative party held more than 300 seats vs. the Liberal Unionist party holding only 60-70.

I assume Unionist was a term understood to encapsulate both the Conservative and Liberal Unionist parties, but that is not clear from the article.

Onceinawhile (talk) 09:47, 25 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Correct, although I think it also had connotations of national unity & strength as well. The officially merged party from 1912 was officially known as the "Unionist Party" until Irish independence in the early 1920s. History books, or at any rate those pitched at students and general readers, generally talk of the Conservatives/Tories to avoid confusion, but documents from the era (Edwardian times, WW1 etc) talk of the "Unionists".Paulturtle (talk) 01:34, 30 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Reverting to the old name "Conservative" in the early 1920s was, I think, seen as part of a rebranding - a kinder, gentler party for a new era, with FE Smith now marginalised and the party no longer banging on harshly about Ireland, the Empire and Tariffs.Paulturtle (talk) 07:34, 30 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Prorogation[edit]

During the recent political/legal debates about the prorogation of Parliament, it came to light that Parliament was prorogued (suspended) in the autumn of 1901. Anybody know why? To do with the Boer War perhaps?Paulturtle (talk) 01:39, 30 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]