National Liberal Club - Notable Members

Notable Members

• Dr Donald Adamson, author and historian
• John Hamilton-Gordon, 7th Earl of Aberdeen, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland 1886 & 1905–15, Governor-General of Canada 1893–98; founder member
• Lord Alderdice, Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1998–2004
• Danny Alexander, Lib Dem MP 2005–present, Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2010–present
• William Allan, Liberal MP 1893–1903
• William Allen, Liberal MP 1892–1900, National Liberal MP 1931–35
• George, 8th Duke of Argyll, Lord Privy Seal and Liberal politician
• John Arlott, cricket commentator
• Lord Ashdown, Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1988–99, Liberal/Lib Dem MP 1983–2001
• H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister 1908–16, Leader of the Liberal Party 1908–26, Home Secretary 1892–95, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1905–08, Liberal MP 1886–1918 & 1920–24
• John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, Liberal MP 1870–1900; founder member
• Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, Liberal MP 1962–70, Chief Whip of the Liberal Party 1963–70
• Desmond Banks, Baron Banks, Liberal peer; President of the Club
• Ernest Belfort Bax, socialist journalist and philosopher
• Catherine Bearder, Lib Dem MEP 2009–present
• Sir Alan Beith, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1992–2003, Liberal/Lib Dem MP 1973–present; currently President of the Club
• David Bellotti, Lib Dem MP 1990–92
• Thomas Berridge, solicitor and Liberal candidate
• Peter Bessell, Liberal MP 1964–70
• The Rt Hon Charles Booth, philanthropist and shipowner
• William Copeland Borlase, Liberal MP 1880–87; founder member
• Sharon Bowles, Lib Dem MEP 2005–present
• Charles Bradlaugh - see "Notable rejections" below.
• Lord Bradshaw, Lib Dem peer and academic
• Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey, Liberal MP 1865 & 1868–86, Governor of Victoria, Australia 1895–1900; founder member
• Jacob Bright, Liberal MP 1867–74, 1876–85 & 1885–95; founder member
• Ernest Brown, Leader of the National Liberal party 1940–45, Liberal (later National Liberal) MP 1923–24 & 1927–45
• James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce, Oxford Regius Professor of Civil Law 1870–93, President of the Board of Trade 1894–95, Chief Secretary for Ireland 1905–07, Liberal MP 1880–1907; founder member
• John Burns, Liberal MP 1892–1918, President of the Local Government Board 1905–14, President of the Board of Trade 1914
• Sir Menzies Campbell, Leader of the Liberal Democrats 2006–07, Liberal/Lib Dem MP 1987–present
• Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister 1905–08, Leader of the Liberal Party 1899–1908, Chief Secretary for Ireland 1884–85, Secretary of State for War 1886 & 1892–95, Liberal MP 1868–1908
• Rupert Carington, 4th Baron Carrington, Liberal MP 1880–85
• Mark Bonham Carter, Liberal MP 1958–59, publisher
• Violet Bonham Carter, Liberal activist and daughter of H.H. Asquith
• Richard Causton, Liberal MP 1880–85 & 1888–1910
• G.K. Chesterton, novelist, poet and playwright.
• Lord Chidgey, Lib Dem MP 1994–2005
• Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats 2007–present, Deputy Prime Minister 2010–present, Lib Dem MEP 1999–2004, Lib Dem MP 2005–present
• John Creasey, crime and science fiction writer
• Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland 1892–95, Leader of the House of Lords 1908–16, Colonial Secretary 1908–10, Secretary of State for India 1910–15, Secretary of State for War 1931
• Hugh Dalton, Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer 1945–47, Labour MP 1924–31 & 1935–59
• Clement Davies, Leader of the Liberal Party 1945–56, Liberal MP 1929–62; Vice-President of the Club
• Baron de Forest, Liberal MP 1911–18
• Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, Conservative MP 1848–69, Conservative Foreign Secretary 1866–68 & 1874–78, Liberal Colonial Secretary 1882–85; founder member
• Joseph Devlin, Irish Nationalist MP 1902–22 & 1929–34
• Sir Charles Dilke, President of the Local Government Board 1882–85, Liberal MP 1868–86 & 1892–1911
• Lord Ezra, Chairman of the National Coal Board 1971–81, Liberal/Lib Dem peer
• Lord Fearn, Lib Dem MP 1987–92 & 1997–2001
• Joseph Firth Bottomley Firth, barrister and Liberal MP 1880–85 & 1888–89; founder member
• Isaac Foot, Liberal MP 1922–24 & 1929–35
• Harold Frederic, American journalist and novelist
• Jonathan Fryer, writer, broadcaster and Liberal/Lib Dem politician
• Air Marshal Lord Garden, Lib Dem peer, RAF officer and academic; Vice-Chairman of the Club at the time of his death
• Baroness Garden, Lib Dem peer
• David Lloyd George, Prime Minister 1916–22, Leader of the Liberal Party 1926–31, President of the Board of Trade 1905–08, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1908–15, Minister of Munitions 1915–16, Secretary of State for War 1916, Liberal MP 1890–1945
• Henry George, politician, writer and political economist; elected as a Temporary Member of the NLC in 1888–89
• Stephen Gilbert, Lib Dem MP 2010–present
• Henry Gladstone, 1st Baron Gladstone of Hawarden, businessman and President of the Club 1932–35
• Herbert Gladstone, Liberal MP 1880–1910, Home Secretary 1905–10, Governor-General of South Africa 1910–14; founder member
• William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister 1868–64, 1880–85, 1886 & 1892–94, Leader of the Liberal Party 1866–75 & 1880–94, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1852–55, 1859–66, 1873–74 & 1880–82, Tory (later Peelite, later Liberal) MP 1832–45, 1847–95; founder member and first President of the Club
• Gopal Krishna Gokhale, founder of the Indian Independence Movement, who invited Mahatma Gandhi to the club as a guest in 1914
• Francis Carruthers Gould, cartoonist
• Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, Leader of Liberal Party 1875–80, Foreign Secretary 1851–52, 1870–74, 1880–85; presided over the club's inaugural dinner in 1882
• Hamar Greenwood, last ever Chief Secretary for Ireland 1920–22, Liberal (later Conservative) MP 1906–22 & 1924–29
• Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, Foreign Secretary 1905–16, Liberal MP 1885–1916
• Jo Grimond, Leader of the Liberal Party 1956–67 & 1976, Liberal MP 1950–83; served on the club's General Committee in the early 1950s
• Frederick Edward Guest, Chief Whip of the Coalition Liberal party 1917–21, Secretary of State for Air 1921–22, Liberal (later Conservative) MP 1910–22, 1923–29 & 1931–37
• John Gulland, Liberal Chief Whip 1915–19, Liberal MP 1906–18
• Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, Secretary of State for War 1905–12, Lord Chancellor 1912–15 & (as Labour) 1924, Labour Leader of the House of Lords 1924, Liberal MP 1885–1911
• Lewis Harcourt, Secretary of State for the Colonies 1910–15, Liberal MP 1904–16
• Sir William Harcourt, Home Secretary 1880–85, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1886 & 1892–95, Leader of the Liberal Party 1896–98, Liberal MP 1868–1904. Just days before his death, Harcourt dined at the club and declared "This is my last public appearance", which it proved to be.
• Frederic Harrison, Radical jurist and historian
• Sir Arthur Haworth, Liberal MP 1906–12
• Jean Henderson, barrister and Liberal candidate
• Farrer Herschell, 1st Baron Herschell, Liberal MP 1874–1885, Lord Chancellor 1886 & 1892–95; founder member
• George Holyoake, secularist and pioneer of workers' co-operatives; made an Honorary Member of the club in 1893
• Mary Honeyball, Labour MEP 2000–present
• Anthony Hope, author, best known for The Prisoner of Zenda
• Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 2010–12, Lib Dem MEP 1999–2005, Lib Dem MP 2005–present
• Julian Huppert, Lib Dem MP 2010–present
• Rufus Isaacs, Lord Chief Justice 1913–21, Viceroy of India 1921–25, Foreign Secretary 1931, Liberal MP 1904–13
• Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford, Liberal (later Liberal Unionist) MP 1869–95, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1895–1902; founder member
• Roy Jenkins, Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer 1967–70, Labour Home Secretary 1965–67 & 1974–76, founder and Leader of the Social Democratic Party
• Leifchild Jones, 1st Baron Rhayader, Liberal MP 1905–10, 1910–18, 1923–24 & 1929–31
• Lord Jones of Cheltenham Lib Dem MP 1992–2005
• Paul Keetch Lib Dem MP 1997–2010
• The Rt Rev Eric Kemp, Bishop of Chichester 1974–2001; President of the Club
• Charles Kennedy, Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1999–2006, SDP/Lib Dem MP 1983–present
• William Edwardes, 4th Baron Kensington,Liberal Whip 1880–85 & 1892–95; founder member
• Benjamin Kidd, pioneering sociologist.
• John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, Colonial Secretary 1880–82, Secretary of State for India 1882–85, 1886 & 1892–94, Foreign Secretary 1894–95; a Vice-President of the club
• Herbert, 1st Earl Kitchener, Field Marshal and Secretary of State for War 1914-6
• Lord Kirkwood, Lib Dem MP 1983–2005
• Baroness Kramer, Lib Dem MP 2005–10
• Henry Labouchère, Radical Liberal MP 1865–66, 1867–68, 1880–1906
• Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 2nd Baronet, of Brayton, Liberal MP 1859–65, 1868–85, 1886–1900, 1903–06; founder member
• Sir John Leng, Liberal MP 1889–1906; founder member
• Robert Wynn Carrington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire, President of the Board of Agriculture 1905–11; Chairman of the Club 1895–1921, President of the Club 1903–28
• Gordon Lishman, Director of Age Concern 2000–09, Liberal/Lib Dem activist
• Robert Reid, 1st Earl Loreburn, Liberal MP 1880–85 & 1886–1905, Lord Chancellor 1905–12
• William John Locke, novelist and playwright
• Thomas Lough, President of the Board of Education 1905–08, Liberal MP 1892–1918
• David Low, cartoonist
• Henry Lucy, journalist, humourist, and parliamentary sketchwriter
• Ramsay MacDonald, Labour Prime Minister 1924 & 1929–35, Labour MP 1906–18, 1922–35 & 1936–37; joined when he was private secretary to Liberal MP Thomas Lough (see above)
• Lord MacLennan, Leader of the SDP 1987–88, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1988, Labour (later SDP, later Lib Dem) MP 1966–2001
• Lord McNally, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords 2004–present, Minister of State for Justice 2010, Labour (later SDP) MP 1979–83
• Thomas James Macnamara, Liberal MP 1900–24
• Baroness Maddock, Lib Dem MP 1993–97, Lib Dem peer
• Paul Marshall, Financier and philanthropist
• Henry William Massingham, journalist, Editor of The Star 1890–91, Editor of The Nation 1907–23
• Charles Masterman, head of the British War Propaganda Bureau 1914–18, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1914–15, Liberal MP 1906–14 & 1923–24
• Michael Meadowcroft, Liberal MP 1983–87
• James Meston, 1st Baron Meston, civil servant and businessman; Chairman of the Club
• Arnold Morley, Postmaster General 1892–95, Liberal MP 1880–95; founder member
• John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn, historian, biographer, Chief Secretary for Ireland 1886 & 1892–95, Secretary of State for India 1905–10 & 1911, Liberal MP 1883–95 & 1896–1908
• Gilbert Murray, classicist and humanist
• T. M. Nair, Indian politician and founder of the Justice Party
• George Newnes, Liberal MP 1885–95 & 1900–10, publisher, founding Editor of The Strand Magazine
• Dadabhai Naoroji, Liberal MP 1892–95, intellectual and educator
• Cecil Norton, Liberal MP 1892–1916
• Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook, First Lord of the Admiralty 1880–85; founder member and first Chairman of the club
• Charles Wilson, 2nd Baron Nunburnholme (1875–1924), British Liberal politician
• T.P. O'Connor, Irish Nationalist MP 1880–1929 and "Father of the House"
• Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan, Lord Chancellor 1870–74 & 18802, founder member
• Lembit Öpik, Lib Dem MP 1997–2010
• William Monson, 1st Viscount Oxenbridge, Liberal Chief Whip in the House of Lords 1880–92
• David Pratt, South African farmer & socialite, who attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd in 1960 over the latter's role as the founder of South African apartheid
• William Pringle, Liberal MP 1922–24
• George Haven Putnam, American author, soldier and publisher; elected a Temporary Member of the NLC in 1888–89
• Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, Diwan (Prime Minister) of Travancore, 1936-1947
• Lord Razzall, Lib Dem peer
• Walter Rea, 1st Baron Rea, Liberal MP 1906–18, 1923–24 & 1931–35
• H.J. Reckitt, Liberal MP 1893, 1895–1907
• Charles Henry Roberts, Liberal MP 1906–18 & 1922–23
• J. M. Robertson, Liberal MP 1906–18
• Thomas Atholl Robertson, fine arts printer; and Chairman of the NLC political committee
• Inga-Stina Robson, Anglo-Swedish political activist, Liberal/Lib Dem peer
• Lord Rochester, Lib Dem peer
• Thorold Rogers, economist, historian and Liberal MP 1880–86; founder member
• Henry Enfield Roscoe, chemist and Liberal MP 1885–95
• Paul Rowen, Lib Dem MP 2005–10
• Walter Runciman, 1st Baron Runciman, Liberal MP 1914–18
• G.W.E. Russell, Liberal MP 1880–85, 1892–95; founder member
• Thomas Wallace Russell, Unionist MP 1886–1910 & 1911–18
• Herbert Samuel, Home Secretary 1916 & 1931–32, High Commissioner of Palestine 1920–25, Leader of the Liberal Party 1931–35, Leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords 1944–55, Liberal MP 1902–18 & 1929–35
• C.P. Scott, Editor of the Manchester Guardian 1872–1929, Liberal MP 1895–1906
• Charles Scribner, American publisher; elected as a Temporary Member of the NLC in 1888–89
• Brian Sedgemore, Labour MP 1974–79 & 1983–2005, Lib Dem defector
• Nancy Seear, Baroness Seear, academic and Liberal/Lib Dem peer
• Ian Swales, Lib Dem MP 2010–present
• Ignatius O'Brien, 1st Baron Shandon, Lord Chancellor of Ireland 1913–18
• George Bernard Shaw, writer, journalist, playwright and socialist
• Lord Shipley, Lib Dem peer, Leader of Newscastle City Council 2006–10
• Sir Archibald Sinclair, Leader of the Liberal Party 1935–45, Secretary of State for Air 1940–45, Liberal MP 1922–45
• Cyril Smith, Liberal MP 1972–92
• Richard Causton, 1st Baron Southwark, Paymaster-General 1905–10, Liberal MP 1880–85 & 1888–1910; founder member
• Stephen Spender, poet and novelist
• Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baron Stalbridge, Liberal MP 1861–86, Liberal whip 1880–85; founder member
• James Stansfeld, President of the Local Government Board 1871–74 & 1886, Liberal MP 1859–95
• Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Weardale, Liberal MP 1886–92, 1893–1900 & 1904–06
• Michael Steed, psephologist and Liberal/Lib Dem politician
• Lord Steel, Leader of the Liberal Party 1976–88, Liberal/Lib Dem MP 1965–97, Presiding Officer (Speaker) of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003, Lib Dem peer; Vice-President of the Club
• Bram Stoker, theatre manager and author of Dracula.
• Peter Stollery, Canadian Liberal MP 1972–81, Senator 1981–2010
• Lord Taylor of Goss Moor, Liberal & Lib Dem MP 1987–2010
• William Tebb, social reformer
• Lord Teverson, Lib Dem MEP 1994-9
• Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet and writer
• Jeremy Thorpe, Leader of the Liberal Party 1967–76, Liberal MP 1959–79
• Viscount Thurso, Lib Dem MP 2001–present
• Lord Tordoff, Lib Dem peer
• Lord Tyler, Liberal/Lib Dem MP 1974 & 1992–2005
• Francis Vane, pioneer of the Boy Scout movement
• Edgar Wallace, crime writer, journalist, novelist and playwright
• Lord Wallace of Saltaire, academic and Lib Dem government whip 2010–present
• Diana Wallis Lib Dem MEP 1999–present
• Lord Watson, Lib Dem peer
• Robert Spence Watson, reformer and political activist; founder member of the club, later its Vice-President
• Henry Webb, Liberal MP 1911–18 & 1923–24
• Sidney Webb, socialist writer, economist, co-founder of the London School of Economics.
• H.G. Wells, writer, journalist, novelist, pacifist and socialist
• Harry Willcock, anti-ID card campaigner in the 1950s
• Arthur John Williams, Liberal MP 1885–95; founder member
• Thomas McKinnon Wood, Secretary for Scotland 1912–16, Liberal MP 1906–18, Chairman of London County Council 1898–99
• Richard Younger-Ross Lib Dem MP 2001–10