Lancashire Conservatives, Tariff Reform and Indian Responsible Government

The success of Tory Democracy in Lancashire heightened its influence in Conservative party debates about tariff reform and India. New Delhi’s imposition of tariffs from 1917 prompted Lancashire Conservatives to gradually modify their position on free trade, so that by 1931 they supported imperial preference. India’s reluctance to lower tariffs led many to criticise the 1933 India white paper. Historians have examined front bench and die-hard conservative efforts to win over Lancashire, but they have overlooked the extent to which local feeling and activism on India was native to the county and not imported from Westminster.