ABSTRACT
From a background of provincial Nonconformity and municipal activism Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914), M.P. for Birmingham from 1876, formed the National Liberal Federation in 1877 to channel radical energies toward the reconstruction of the Liberal party. As leader of the radical section Chamberlain became a member of the Liberal cabinet from 1880 to 1885. In the spring of 1885 he proposed an "Unauthorised Programme" for the extension of democracy and betterment of the working classes. Chamberlain's espousal of the Unionist cause after 1886 was a damaging blow as most radicals supported W. E. Gladstone (1809-1898) in Home Rule for Ireland.
