ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the Primrose League's experience in social politics enabled it to branch out into wartime philanthropic and patriotic work that kept its membership active and its organisation intact. The Primrose League's political environment changed considerably between 1914 and 1918. A political truce declared in August 1914 was the first remarkable political development with which the Primrose League dealt. The Primrose League's use of politics in the social sphere was its most crucial contribution to ensure its post-war existence. The chapter highlights how the Primrose League's operation of politics in the social sphere proved to be most crucial for its continuation into the post-1918 political world. It shows the need to consider the political impact of seemingly non-political activities in a wartime setting which were rooted in Victorian traditions of female philanthropy and social activities.
