Radical

In Britain, supporter of parliamentary reform before the Reform Bill of 1832. As a group the Radicals later became the progressive wing of the Liberal Party. During the 1860s (led by Cobden, Bright, and J S Mill) they campaigned for extension of the franchise, free trade, and laissez-faire, but after 1870, under the leadership of Joseph Chamberlain and Charles Dilke, they adopted a republican and semi-socialist programme. With the growth of socialism in the later 19th century, Radicalism ceased to exist as an organized movement.

In France, the Radical Party was a major force in the politics of the Third Republic, 1871-1940.

The radical may be said to have been the product of the ideas germinating in Europe from the philosophy of Rousseau after the French Revolution, and partly an inevitable outcome of the growth of industrial society. The name radical reformer appears first to have been assumed by Hunt, Cobbett, and others, who were intent on influencing the people in the direction of great and popular constitutional changes. By the time of the first Reform Bill of 1832 the Radicals had gained a definite and permanent footing in the House of Commons, where they were represented by at least 55 members. From this time forward the term became gradually interchangeable with ‘Liberal’.