(b. Glasgow, 7 Sept. 1836; d. London, 28 Apr. 1908). British; leader of the Liberal Party 1900 – 8, Prime Minister 1905 – 8 Campbell-Bannerman ("CB") was the son of a lord provost of Glasgow and educated at Glasgow High School and at the universities of Glasgow and Cambridge. He then entered the family business and this wealth made him financially secure for the rest of his life. He won the seat of Stirling Burghs in 1868 for the Liberals and held it until his death forty years later. "CB" was the first incumbent to be given the official title of Prime Minister and was the last Prime Minister to die in office.

He held junior office under Gladstone (1871 – 4) and in Gladstone's second administration he was Chief Secretary for Ireland (1884 – 5), though without a Cabinet seat. In this post he had to face the full fury of the Irish Nationalist MPs. He then became Secretary of State for War in the short-lived 1886 government, and held the same post again during Gladstone's last spell of office (1892 – 4) and Lord Rosebery's (1895). His range of administrative experience was therefore rather limited.

For most of his career Campbell-Bannerman was not regarded as leadership material — more formidable figures were available. He was an indifferent parliamentary performer, although a steady administrator — seen by colleagues as a proverbial pair of safe hands. He was widely thought to be indolent, and he certainly liked long vacations. In the 1890s the Liberal Party was highly fractious and had already split in 1886 over Gladstone's advocacy of Home Rule (or self-government) for Ireland. Campbell-Bannerman followed Gladstone.

After Rosebery resigned the Liberal leadership at short notice in 1895, the party faced a vacuum. A number of fancied contenders disclaimed any interest in the succession and Asquith was thought to be too inexperienced. The post fell largely by default in 1899 to Campbell-Bannerman. He was widely seen as a temporary leader — until Rosebery returned. "CB" had a difficult task keeping the party together during the Boer War. A number of frontbench colleagues supported the war but he and Lloyd George opposed it. His task was eased and the Liberals unified when Chamberlain split the Conservative Party with his campaign for protection in 1903. An increasingly frustrated Prime Minister, A. J. Balfour resigned in December 1905 and Campbell-Bannerman was invited by the King to form the government. Balfour calculated that the Liberals would be too divided to govern effectively. The leading Liberals Grey, Asquith, and Haldane announced that they would not serve unless Campbell-Bannerman agreed to go to the House of Lords and not as only a nominal Prime Minister. He refused and they backed down. The new minority government lasted only a few weeks until he called an election in 1906, which the Liberals won by a landslide.

Campbell-Bannerman led what turned out to be a great reforming administration. It was a tribute to his skill that he kept so many talented colleagues together. His own role in directing the government was minimal; he took a limited view of his role. He was dogged by ill-health and died after two years in office. He was not a dynamic leader and adhered to traditional Liberal ideas of free trade, self-government, and social reform.

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Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry (1836-1908). Prime minister. A genial and popular politician, Campbell-Bannerman acquired a reputation as uninspired. In fact he proved to be more shrewd and determined than his rivals. He held the Liberal Party together during a difficult, post-Gladstonian period, leading it to its greatest electoral victory in 1906.

‘C-B’ was educated in Glasgow and at Cambridge, and became a partner in the family firm. As MP for Stirling Burghs from 1868 C-B showed himself a radical Gladstonian, supporting Scottish disestablishment and Irish Home Rule.

However, C-B made little impact as a junior minister in Gladstone's 1868 and 1880 governments. In 1884-5 he served briefly as chief secretary for Ireland and reached the cabinet as secretary of state for war in 1886. He retained this post in Gladstone's last administration in 1892 and under Rosebery in 1894-5, though by that time he harboured ambitions to become Speaker. Instead he was destined to fill the vacuum left by Gladstone's retirement. Rosebery quit in 1896, and Sir William Harcourt resigned as leader in 1898. When both John Morley and H. H. Asquith declined the poisoned chalice, C-B became leader almost by default.

He was promptly faced with the task of guiding the divided Liberal Party through a period dominated by the Boer War. The use of concentration camps by Kitchener to quell the Boers provoked C-B's memorable words: ‘When is a war not a war? When it is carried on by methods of barbarism in South Africa.’ His prospects were rapidly transformed during 1902-4 as the Balfour government split over tariff reform. As prime minister 1905-8 he successfully bridged the gap between New Liberal policies and Gladstonian traditions. Adopting the role of a firm chairman, he gave free rein to his exceptionally able ministers. Important reforms were enacted in connection with trade unions and school meals; old-age pensions were devised by Asquith and the British army reorganized by Haldane. By the time of his retirement through ill-health in 1908, C-B had pointed the Liberals towards their next great goal—the reduction of the powers of the Lords.

1836–1908, British statesman. Entering Parliament (1868) as a Liberal, he served as secretary to the admiralty (1882–84), secretary of state for Ireland (1884), and secretary of state for war (1886, 1892–95). He was knighted in 1895. In 1899 he was elected leader of the Liberal party (succeeding Sir William Harcourt) and led opposition to British policy in the South African War (1899–1902). When the Conservative government resigned in 1905, Campbell-Bannerman became prime minister. Before ill health caused his retirement in 1908 he had furthered many Liberal measures, including that of self-government for the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.

Bibliography

See biography by J. Wilson (1974).

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