The Progressive Party was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
aligned to the
Liberal Party that contested municipal elections in the United Kingdom.
History

It was founded in 1888 by a group of Liberals and leaders of the
labour movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
. It was also supported by the
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The F ...
, and
Sidney Webb was one of its councillors. In the first elections of the
London County Council
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
(LCC) in January 1889 the Progressive Party won 70 of the 118 seats. It lost power in 1907 to the
Municipal Reform Party
The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 194 ...
(a Conservative organisation) under
Richard Robinson.
Leaders
:1889:
Thomas Farrer
:1890:
James Stuart
:1892:
Charles Harrison
:1898:
Thomas McKinnon Wood
:1908:
John Benn
:1918:
John Scott Lidgett
Members
London Reform Union
In 1892 the
London Reform Union was formed as the propaganda arm of the party.
See also
*
:Progressive Party (London) politicians
References
Defunct political parties in England
Politics of London
Political parties established in 1888
History of local government in London (1889–1965)
1888 establishments in England
Liberal Party (UK)
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