BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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that all qualified voters supporting the Conservative candidate were
transported and encouraged to make their way to the polls. 12
Thus, despite the focus on social activity in the functions of
Habitations, their role in the political sphere must not be minimized.
In fact, the active Habitations performed a number of services
indispensable to the Conservative party.
In an era when the means of
disseminating information was restricted, the availability of public
transportation limited, and fairly stringent restrictions placed on
campaign expenditures, the Primrose League was a fundamental
source of
support to the Conservative party in ensuring that its supporters were
actively encouraged to vote and to demonstrate their support of the
Unionist cause.
Ill
The first two local
studies to be considered are based on
Ladywood Habitation
in Birmingham and Huddersfield Habitation located
in West Riding, Yorkshire.
They provide an interesting point of
comparison. Both boroughs were Liberal in outlook. In the case of
Birmingham, the city was dominated by Chamberlain's political machine
which, in 1886, endorsed Liberal Unionism, aligning itself with the
Conservatives.
On the other hand, Huddersfield remained, like much of
West Riding, Yorkshire, a center for Radicalism, sponsoring Labor
candidates in the 1895, 1906, and both 1910 elections. 13
12
Ibid., 1 May 1894, p. 5; 1 August 1896, p. 8; 1 November
1898, p. 11; 1 November 1900, p. 4.
13
Briggs, History of Birmingham, vol. 2, pp. 181-83.