New in paperback. Hardcover was published in 2012. The Liberal Unionist party was one of the shortest-lived political parties in British history. It was formed in 1886 by a faction of the Liberal party, and in 1912 it amalgamated with the Conservatives. The issues which this book explores are central to an understanding of the development of the twentieth century Conservative party, the emergence of a national political culture, and the problems, both organisational and ideological, of a sustained period of coalition in the British parliamentary system.