BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

244
Times are altered, and we have altered so much in our
division, and I know the alteration amongst our own
neighbours and men is extraordinary. . . . Instead of
coming to the squire, the men go on their own ideas,
which were put into their heads by men who ought to
know better. ... I may say that they really urged
their opinions in places of worship, and these are the
men who spoil our men and the chance—we had a little—
of returning a good Conservative.32
Seven years later Lord Spencer lamented the increasing
predilection of some of his tenants to join the Primrose League and
vote for the Conservatives in the 1892 General Election. Nevertheless,
he remained resigned to their independent voter preference, despite his
obvious dissatisfaction.
They had "habitations" in villages altogether belonging
to me, and of course I could say nothing to tenants who
took this line, in the heart of my property where at
former Elections there were only 4 of 5 Tory votes in
the Polling boxes, there were 50 this week. People
here had little or no personal consideration in the
fight and we Liberals cannot object, even if we regret
to lose votes.33
The pseudomedieval
framework underlying the rituals of the
Primrose League hinted at the innovative, indeed, modern mechanisms
which were the driving force in reforging deferential relations. The
adoption of the terms "Knights" and "Dames," the issuance of
"Precepts," and the referral of local associations as "Habitations"
reflected a conscious effort to conjure up a mythical past when all
peoples lived in a state of rural bliss and maintained harmonious
32 ibid., p. 220. For the influence of the Primrose League in
Norfolk Villages, see L. Marion Springall, Laboring Life in Norfolk
Villages (London: G. Allen and Unwin, 1936), p. 111.
33 Janet Howarth, "The Liberal Revival in Northamptonshire,"
The Historical Journal, vol. 12, no. 1 (1969), p. 90.