‘Begin afresh’

Complementing the discussion in Chapter 4, Chapter 5 examines Mary’s interaction with the machinery of the Liberal Party. It considers Mary’s attempts to work with and act alongside members of the Liberal Party in the late 1870s and 1880s. In contrast to her involvement with the Conservatives, her relationship with the Liberal Party was born out of necessity rather than ideological impulse and speaks to the restraints aristocratic women often worked within. In 1878, Mary and her husband found themselves cutting all ties with the Conservative Party. In an attempt to keep her political influence alive, Mary turned to the Liberal Party. This chapter considers, in turn, her relationship with local party officials, her only recorded electioneering efforts, her alliances with the Liberal leadership in the build-up to her husband’s appointment as Colonial Secretary in 1882, and her experiences of and involvement in Liberal cabinet politics.