Prime Ministers and Divided Parties

The Long View

• Episode: Prime Ministers and Divided Parties
• Website: The Long View
• Feed URL: https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/b006s7d6.rss
• Duration: 00:27:46
• Published: 2019-01-08 12:35

Jonathan Freedland compares Theresa May's woes now with those of Arthur Balfour in 1903-06, taking the long view of prime ministers confronted with deep divisions in their own party. In the early 1900s Prime Minister Arthur Balfour was faced with a seemingly irreconcilable split in his party. Back then, Balfour’s Conservatives were tearing themselves apart over Imperial Preference - a proposal for a free trade zone within the British Empire. Advocates of Imperial Preference saw it as vital to maintaining Britain's place in the world. Opponents saw it as a dangerous folly. Jonathan Freedland looks at what lessons can be drawn from Balfour's experiences. Producer: Laurence Grissell