ABSTRACT
The complex structure of Edwardian Conservatism demanded a political calculus that could cope with several parameters, and hence the tariff programme evolved as a formula and language of political integration. Given that food taxes were thought to be an electoral millstone, it is worth dwelling on the question of why they became such an important part of the tariff programme. The tariff programme also addressed and attempted to harmonize different interests within the rural and urban sectors. In similar fashion the diversity of interests within the manufacturing sector shaped the evolution of the tariff programme for industry. In short, the tariff campaign, as the following detailed examination of the tariff programme will demonstrate, represented a political economy of integration, support for British agriculture, British industry and British jobs against foreign competition, and the defence of the existing social fabric against the threat of Socialism.
