Manchester Liberalism (also called theManchester School,Manchester Capitalism andManchesterism) comprises the political, economic and social movements of the 19th century that originated inManchester. Led byRichard Cobden andJohn Bright, it won a wide hearing for its argument thatfree trade would lead to a more equitable society, making essential products available to all. Its most famous activity was theAnti-Corn Law League that called for repeal of theCorn Laws that keptfood prices high. It expounded the social and economic implications of free trade andlaissez-fairecapitalism. The Manchester School took the theories ofeconomic liberalism advocated byclassical economists such asAdam Smith and made them the basis for government policy. It also promotedpacifism,anti-slavery,freedom of the press andseparation of church and state.[1]
For much of the 19th century,Manchester was the hub of the world's textile manufacturing industry and had a large population of factory workers who were disadvantaged by the Corn Laws, theprotectionist policy that imposedtariffs on imported wheat and therefore increased the price of food. The Corn Laws were supported by theland-owning aristocracy because they reduced foreign competition and allowed landowners to keep grain prices high. That increased the profits from agriculture as the population expanded. However, the operation of the Corn Laws meant that factory workers in thetextile mills of northern England were faced with increasing food prices. In turn, mill owners had to pay higher wages, which meant that the price of finished goods was higher, and the foreign trade competitiveness of their products was reduced.
Mercantilism holds that a country’s prosperity is dependent on large exports, but limited imports of goods. At the beginning of the 19th century, trade in Britain was still subject toimport quotas,price ceilings and other state interventions. That led to shortages of certain goods in British markets, in particularcorn (grains usually requiring grinding, most often, but not always wheat).
Manchester became the headquarters of the Anti-Corn Law League from 1839. The League campaigned against the Corn Laws, which it said would reduce food prices and increase the competitiveness of manufactured goods abroad. Manchester Liberalism grew out of that movement. That has led to the situation seen in modern Britain, where the country benefits from less expensive food, imported from trading partners, and those partners in turn benefit from less expensive goods imported from Britain, in a system of globalised cooperation in production.
Manchester Liberalism has a theoretical basis in the writings ofAdam Smith,David Hume andJean-Baptiste Say.
The great champions of the Manchester School wereRichard Cobden andJohn Bright. As well as being advocates of free trade,[2] they were radical opponents of war and imperialism, and proponents of peaceful relations between peoples. The "Little Englander" movement saw little benefit in paying taxes to defend colonies such asCanada, which contributed little trade to Manchester manufacturers and could not supply their main raw material ofcotton.[3]
In January 1848,ConservativeBenjamin Disraeli first used the term "the Manchester School".[4] According to historianRalph Raico and as indicated by the German liberalJulius Faucher in 1870, the term "Manchesterism" was invented byFerdinand Lassalle (the founder of German socialism) and was meant as an abusive term.[5]
In September 2025,Andy Burnham toldTom McTague his ideology is “Burnhamism” or “Manchesterism”.[6]
