Winston Churchill first entered Parliament in 1900, being elected as Member of Parliament for Oldham as a Conservative. However, in 1904, Churchill defected from the Conservatives to the Liberals, due to disagreements with Joseph Chamberlain's proposals for tariffs which were being accepted by Arthur Balfour and the Conservative leadership.
But Churchill wasn't the only Conservative who opposed tarriffs and supported free trade - indeed, he was a member of a group of Conservative MPs, known as the 'Hughligans' (after their leader, Lord Hugh Cecil) who supported free trade and opposed Imperial Preference.
So what if Churchill followed the rest of this group and remained a Conservative, simply arguing against tariffs within the Party's ranks rather than crossing the floor? How would history have changed if Churchill remained a Conservative his entire life, rather than becoming a Liberal from 1904 to 1924?
But Churchill wasn't the only Conservative who opposed tarriffs and supported free trade - indeed, he was a member of a group of Conservative MPs, known as the 'Hughligans' (after their leader, Lord Hugh Cecil) who supported free trade and opposed Imperial Preference.
So what if Churchill followed the rest of this group and remained a Conservative, simply arguing against tariffs within the Party's ranks rather than crossing the floor? How would history have changed if Churchill remained a Conservative his entire life, rather than becoming a Liberal from 1904 to 1924?