| Description | Minutes, 1894-1935; cash books, 1894-1895; petty cash books with names of subscribers, 1894-1958; cash receipt books, 1947-1958; General Election papers, 1945-1959; presscuttings; Small Heath by-election papers, 1961; municipal elections papers, Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield, West Midland, 1962; Liberal Clubs in the West Midland region, 1950-1956; West Midland Young Liberals correspondence, 1950-1954; papers of monthly Federation and Executive Officers' meetings and Annual General Meetings, 1948-1960; miscellaneous correspondence and printed papers relating to general business, 1948-1961; and papers of the West Midland Women's Liberal Federation, 1948-1961. |
| Administrative History | The Midland Liberal Federation was formed at an inaugural meeting held in Birmingham on 23 May 1894. The meeting was attended by delegates from Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. According to its rules and constitution of 1930, its primary object was "to create and maintain Liberal opinion and conviction by means of Meetings, Conferences, and discussions; to stimulate Liberal thought and ideas and to secure the co-operation of all persons in general sympathy with progressive politics".
The Federation worked with and assisted the affiliated Liberal Associations in the parliamentary constituencies within its geographical area. It also coordinated with other District Federations and with the National Liberal Federation. By 1930, the area of the Midland Federation no longer encompassed Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. The Federation appears to have been reconstituted as the West Midland Liberal Federation by 1947.
Reference: Minute books of the Midland Liberal Federation. |