BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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1904. This trend was never fully reversed, as indicated in the
diminishing base of Knights' and Dames' Tributes recorded between 1900
and 1914 and in the years immediately following the First World War.
Overall the organization performed most effectively in
parliamentary districts in which the Conservative party predominated,
although its strong position in the East Midlands in both the 1880's
and the 1890's suggests its ability to make inroads even within
staunchly Liberal strongholds.
clustered an array of notables.
At its organizational apex were
Its greatest proportion of membership
appeared to come from the ranks of the middle and lower middle class,
as well as from a generous cross-section of the rural agrarian
community. While the Primrose League fared least well in urban,
industrial communities,
it nevertheless did manage to make some inroads
amongst the lower class, particularly those individuals engaged in
nonunion and nonindustrial trades and services positions.
Thus, the
Conservatives were able to proclaim, with some justification, its truly
multi-class representation.
The Primrose League was, above all, interested in promoting
popular opposition to Home Rule.
The issue remained the fundamental
credo throughout the period under study, followed in close succession
by an emphasis on the maintenance of the "constitution," the empire,
religion, the monarchy, and the House of Lords.
Despite efforts by Conservatives to move beyond these themes
between 1900-1914, both the party and League ultimately failed to shift
their central focus.
The proposals for tariff reform and colonial
preference advocated by Chamberlain in the early years of the twentieth