John Bright in the Quaker coat and collar that he wore in the first years of his political life. Photo: Image from 'The Life of John Bright' by George Macaulay Trevelyan. Words from John Bright’s speech opposing the Crimean War.
Thought for the Week: John Bright’s legacy
Nick Wilding introduces this themed edition of the Friend, marking the bicentenary of John Bright's birth
Imagine the scenario: a new government comes to power promising an ethical foreign policy, but then invades and occupies a foreign country – bringing death to its impoverished communities and the destruction of its heritage. This may sound strangely familiar, but I am not referring to the Labour government and Iraq, rather to the Liberal one of Gladstone in 1882. The savage attack on the sovereign state of Egypt, with the bombing of Alexandria, led to one of its respected ministers resigning in disgust. The name of this eminent gentleman was John Bright and, for many British people, his presence in the cabinet had been the insurance that the government would retain its moral stance. This was because, throughout Bright’s forty-year political career, he had been steadfast in his opposition to war.
