6

In his landmark study The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy, David Cannadine has argued for the continuous decline of the aristocracy in Great Britain since 1832, and especially after 1911. In this paper, however, I will suggest that within the general context of its decline, the British aristocracy actually enjoyed considerable residual political power in the interwar years which was apparent in a number of political movements. It could be argued that their political presence was in large part confined to the fringes, notably in the form of their involvement in fascistic movements such as the English Mistery. Yet, at the outset of Second World War, Lord Halifax, an hereditary peer, nearly became Prime Minister and although he failed to obtain the highest office, Winston Churchill, a scion of one of Britain’s haute aristocratic families, became Prime Minister in 1940. Arguably until the 1960s, many of the most prominent figures in British politics were still aristocrats. In short, the apparent decline of the British Aristocracy since the 1911 Parliament Act should not be overstated.