BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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The representation of the Primrose League in parliamentary
boroughs was significantly less, thus emphasising its strength in the
rural districts.
Only 51 boroughs appear in the 1888 Roll under
borough or city classifications, distinct from county groupings.
Breaking that figure down by region, we find Primrose designated
boroughs representing just under 24 percent of all English
parliamentary boroughs.
The corresponding figures are only 9 and 3
percent, respectively, for Wales and Scotland.
While useful in demonstrating the sheer size and scope of
Primrose activities, the national figures tell us little about the
regional variations.
For a detailed county by county listing, it is
necessary to consult Appendices F, G, and H.
They provide a breakdown,
respectively, of League membership up to 1888 (F); a comparison of
these figures to census returns for 1891 (G); and groupings of
counties, ranked by order of their Habitation representation for 1888,
along with comparable 1899 figures (H).
What general conclusions can be drawn from this material? In
counties where members exceeded 20,000 (Appendix F), the Primrose
League achieved its greatest representation.
These included in
descending order of importance, Lancashire, Yorkshire, London,
Lincolnshire, Hampshire, Kent, and Cheshire.
Other; strong contenders
regiments and disciplined, but intervening only as auxiliaries."
Foremost of all political interest groups existing in Britain at the
end of the nineteenth century, was the Primrose League, comprised of
"battalions of Amazons . . . [with] a field of political activity which
they do not possess elsewhere and a sphere of influence which they have
hitherto never enjoyed in the English state nor in any other country."
Ostrogorski, Democracy and the Organization of Political Parties, vol.
1, pp. 440, 530, 534-35, 547-48.