The Liberal Revival

Abstract

The two major parties hoped to win the election, to gain or to retain power. Except for a brief period after Orpington, the Liberals’ aims were always more modest. They sought to amass a sufficiently large total vote to be able to make an impact on the political world, and to increase substantially their bridgehead in the House of Commons. For the Liberal leaders, the 1964 election was never seen as a war in itself; it was regarded as no more than a single battle — albeit an important one — in a continuing campaign.