View source for National Liberal Club

{{Short description|London gentlemen's club}}
{{distinguish|National Liberal Federation|National Liberal Party (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Use British English|date = November 2016}}
{{Infobox building
| name                = National Liberal Club
| alternate_names     = NLC<br />The National Liberal
| status              = [[Private members' club]]
| image               = National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place (geograph 4771434).jpg
| image_alt           =
| caption             = View of the club from the [[Thames Embankment]]
| map_type            = 
| map_alt             = 
| map_caption         = 
| building_type       = 
| architectural_style = [[French Renaissance architecture|French Renaissance]]
| owner               = 
| landlord            = 
| coordinates         = {{coord|51.5061|-0.1238|type:landmark_region:GB-WSM|display=inline,title}}
| address             = [[Whitehall Court|1 Whitehall Place]], [[London]]
| groundbreaking_date = 1884
| completion_date     = 1887
| opened_date         = 1887
| architectural       =
| architect           = [[Alfred Waterhouse]]
| architecture_firm   = 
| civil_engineer      = 
| main_contractor     = 
| website =  {{URL|http://www.nlc.org.uk/}}	
| references          = 
}}
{{Liberalism sidebar}}
The '''National Liberal Club''' ('''NLC''') is a London [[private members' club]], open to both men and women. It was established by [[William Ewart Gladstone]] in 1882 to provide club facilities for [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] campaigners among the newly enlarged electorate following the [[Third Reform Act]] in 1884, and was envisioned as a more accessible version of a traditional London club.

The club's [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] building on the Embankment of the river [[Thames]] is the second-largest club-house built in London. (It was the largest ever at the time, but was superseded by the later [[Royal Automobile Club]] building completed in 1911.) Designed by [[Alfred Waterhouse]], it was completed in 1887.<ref name="autogenerated1979">Lejeune, Anthony, with Malcolm Lewis, ''The Gentlemen's Clubs of London'' (Bracken Books, 1979 reprinted 1984 and 1987) chapter on National Liberal Club.</ref> Its facilities include a dining room, a bar, function rooms, a billiards room, a [[smoking room]], a library and an outdoor riverside terrace. It is located at [[Whitehall Court|Whitehall Place]], close to the [[Houses of Parliament]], the [[Thames Embankment]] and [[Trafalgar Square]].

==History==

[[File:Arthur_John_Williams.jpg|thumb|left|[[Arthur John Williams]], who first proposed creating the club.]]

===Early years===
The genesis of the club lay with [[Wales|Welsh]] Liberal party activist (and later MP) [[Arthur John Williams]], who proposed the creation of such a club at a Special General Meeting of the short-lived Century Club on 14 May 1882, so as to provide "a home for democracy, void of the class distinction associated with the [[Devonshire Club|Devonshire]] and [[Reform Club]]s". The first full meeting of the new club was held on 16 November 1882, at the (now-demolished) [[Westminster Palace Hotel]] on Victoria Street. The Century Club itself then merged into the NLC at the end of the year.<ref>''[[Cornhill Magazine]]'', Volume 88, Smith, Elder and Co. (1903), pp. 314, 319, states that the Century Club merged into the NLC "'''more than''' twenty years ago."</ref> In its early years, the club declared its objects to be: 
::1. The provision of an inexpensive meeting place for Liberals and their friends from all over the country.
::2. The furtherance of the Liberal cause.
::3. The foundation of a political and historical library as a memorial to Gladstone and his work.<ref name="autogenerated2006">Peter Harris, "A Meeting Place for Liberals", ''Journal of Liberal History'', No. 51, Summer 2006, pp. 18–23.</ref>
An initial circular for subscribers meant that by the end of 1882, 2,500 members from over 500 towns and districts had already signed up for the new club, and membership would reach 6,500 by the time the clubhouse opened in 1887.<ref name="autogenerated1925">Robert Steven, ''The National Liberal Club: Politics and Persons'' (Robert Holden, London, 1925), 91pp.</ref>

[[File:NLC temporary building.JPG|thumb|right|This [[Trafalgar Square]] building temporarily housed the NLC in 1883–87, whilst the club's own premises were being planned and then built.]] 
An initial temporary clubhouse opened on [[Trafalgar Square]] in May 1883, on the corner of [[Northumberland Avenue]] and [[Whitehall]]. The club would be based here for the next four years. The opening of the first clubhouse was marked by an inaugural banquet for 1,900 people at the [[Royal Aquarium]] off [[Parliament Square]], which ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' reported saw the consumption of 200 dozen bottles of [[Pommery]] champagne.<ref name="autogenerated2006"/><ref name="autogenerated2012">[[Michael Meadowcroft]], ''Celebrating 130 years o high Victorian style and elegance'' (NLC News, No. 63, November 2012), pp. 12–14.</ref> During the club's time on Trafalgar Square, a [[parliamentary question]] was asked in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] about the [[White Ensign]] being raised on the club's flagpole as part of a prank.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1883/may/04/the-national-liberal-club |title=THE NATIONAL LIBERAL CLUB.   |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=4 May 1883 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref>

The club's foundation stone on the modern clubhouse was laid by Gladstone on 9 November 1884, when he declared "Speaking generally, I should say there could not be a less interesting occasion than the laying of the foundation-stone of a Club in London. For, after all, what are the Clubs of London? I am afraid little else than temples of luxury and ease. This, however, is a club of a very different character", and envisioned the club as a popular institution for the mass electorate.<ref name="autogenerated2">G. W. E. Russell, ''Fifteen Chapters of Autobiography''(Thomas Nelson, London, undated), Chapter XXII.</ref> However, another of the club's founders, [[George W. E. Russell|G. W. E. Russell]], noted "We certainly never foresaw the palatial pile of terra-cotta and glazed tiles which now bears that name. Our modest object was to provide a central meeting-place for Metropolitan and provincial Liberals, where all the comforts of life should be attainable at what are called 'popular prices'", but added "at the least, we meant our Club to be a place of "ease" to the Radical toiler. But Gladstone insisted that it was to be a workshop dedicated to strenuous labour."<ref name="autogenerated2"/> Funds for the clubhouse were raised by selling 40,000 shares of £5 each ({{Inflation|UK|5|1884|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}), in a Limited Liability Company, with the unusual stipulation that "No shareholder should have more than ''ten'' votes", so as to prevent a few wealthy men from dominating the club.<ref name="autogenerated1925"/> However, this only raised £70,000 ({{Inflation|UK|70000|1884|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}),<ref name="autogenerated2012"/> and so an additional £52,400 was raised for the construction of the clubhouse by the Liberal Central Association.<ref>Roy Douglas, ''The History of the Liberal Party, 1895–1970'' (Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1971), p. 17.</ref> The remaining £30,000 necessary was raised by mortgage debentures.<ref name="autogenerated2012"/>

[[File:Elliott & Fry10a.jpg|thumb|right|Former Prime Minister [[William Ewart Gladstone]] was the club's first President. A keen feller of trees in his spare time, his axe is still on display in the club smoking room today, along with a chest made from an oak tree cut down by Gladstone.]]
The clubhouse was still unfinished when it opened its doors in 1887, but it was opened early on 20 June to allow members to watch that year's Jubilee processions from the club terrace.<ref name="autogenerated2006"/> It was when the club had only recently moved to its present address that "[[Bloody Sunday (1887)|Bloody Sunday]]" ensued on its doorstep during the Trafalgar Square riot of 13 November 1887. NLC members flocked to the windows to watch [[George Bernard Shaw]] (a member of the club) address the demonstration, and later in the day, witnessed the bloodshed which ensued.<ref>[http://www1.webng.com/timesofshaw/articles/1925.html 'Portrait of George Bernard Shaw'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625025358/http://www1.webng.com/timesofshaw/articles/1925.html |date=25 June 2011 }}, ''The Times'', 1 November 1925.</ref>

In its late-19th-century heyday, its membership was primarily political, but had a strong journalistic and even bohemian character. Members were known to finish an evening's dining by diving into the Thames.<ref name="autogenerated1925"/> Of the club's political character, George Bernard Shaw remarked at a debate in the club, "I have never yet met a member of the National Liberal Club who did not intend to get into Parliament at some time, except those who, like our chairman [[Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire|Lord Carrington]], are there already."<ref>George Bernard Shaw, 'The Case for Equality: speech at a National Liberal Club debate of 1913', in ed. James Fuchs, ''The Socialism of Shaw'' (New York, 1926), p. 58.</ref>

On the club's launch, it represented all factions of liberalism from [[whiggism|whiggery]] to [[Radicalism (historical)|radicalism]], but within four years it was rocked by the [[Government of Ireland Bill 1886|Home Rule Crisis of 1886]], which saw the [[Liberal Unionist Party|Liberal Unionists]] led by [[Joseph Chamberlain]] and the [[Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire|Marquess of Hartington]] (both of whom had been founder members of the NLC) secede from the party and eventually go into alliance with the Conservatives. Indeed, Chamberlain had been one of the NLC's most enthusiastic promoters upon its launch. At the 1884 ceremony of Gladstone's foundation-stone-laying for the club, Hartington had argued that the club would be the future home of Chamberlain's Radical [[Birmingham Caucus]], and Chamberlain, standing next to him, pointedly refused to contradict him.<ref>Sir Alexander Mackintosh, ''Joseph Chamberlain: An Honest Biography'' (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1914), p. 327.</ref> Chamberlain himself resigned in 1886, shortly after the Home Rule split, Hartington and other prominent Liberal Unionists followed early in 1887,<ref name="autogenerated1891">Hamilton Fyfe and [[Joseph Irving]] (eds.), ''The Annals of Our Time ...: pt. 1. 20 June 1887 – December 1890'' (Macmillan, London, 1891).</ref> and when a further 130 Unionists simultaneously seceded from the club in 1889, the ''[[Scots Observer]]'' called it "one of the most important events that has recently occurred in home politics", due to its ramifications for the Liberal Party breaking in two.<ref>''The Scots Observer'', Vol. 1 (1889), p. 58.</ref>

[[File:National Liberal Club Wikimedia UK foyer illustrations.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Three founding vice-presidents of the club: [[Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire|the Marquess of Hartington]], [[Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville|Earl Granville]], and [[William Harcourt (politician)|William Vernon Harcourt]]. Within five years, Hartington would resign over the club's [[Irish Home Rule movement|pro-Home Rule]] direction.]]
The club enjoyed a reputation for radicalism, and H. V. Emy records that Radicals secured 
{{blockquote|a distinct success when the Radical wing of the National Liberal Club (NLC) captured the club's organisation in the summer of 1897 and elected a new political committee with [[Henry Labouchère|[Henry] Labouchere]] as the chairman and [[Harold Reckitt|H. J. Reckitt]] as secretary. The Committee itself included [[Robert Reid, 1st Earl Loreburn|Sir Robert Reid]], [[Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Weardale|[Philip] Stanhope]], [[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel|Herbert Samuel]], [[Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading|Rufus Isaacs]] and W. F. Thompson, the editor of ''[[Reynold's News]]''. The Committee wrote an open letter to the constituencies, asking them for their opinions on policy, designating several areas where opinion would be welcome. By November, the replies indicated that the weight of opinion lay with the democratisation of Parliament, involving the abolition of the Lords' veto, reform of registration and electoral law, and devolution. Amongst "other prominent reforms" were included all the major issues of the day (except nationalisation). These were then drafted into a manifesto of Radical reform which was "greatly resented by the official organisation." 38,000 copies were circulated, and a meeting of the General Committee of the [[National Liberal Federation|NLF]] at [[Derby]] agreed to make reform a priority, a decision endorsed by [[H. H. Asquith|[H. H.] Asquith]] a few days later.<ref name="autogenerated1973">H. V. Emy, ''Liberals Radicals and Social Politics 1892–1914'' (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1973), p. 66.</ref>}}

[[File:National Liberal Club, London, August 2016 45.jpg|thumb|left|A portrait of the club's first chairman, [[William Monson, 1st Viscount Oxenbridge|Viscount Oxenbridge]], hanging in the present Bar (previously a corner of the Dining Room).]]
This reputation for radicalism was underlined when former Liberal prime minister [[Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery|Lord Rosebery]] resigned from the club in September 1909, denouncing it as "a hotbed of socialism."<ref name="autogenerated1979"/>

Several discussion groups met at the club, including [[the Rainbow Circle]] in the 1890s, an influential group of Liberal, [[Fabian Society|Fabian]] and socialist thinkers who came to be identified with the [[Bloomsbury Group]].<ref>[[Michael Freeden]], ''Minutes of the Rainbow Circle 1894–1924, edited and annotated'' (Camden New Series/Royal Historical Society, London, 1989).</ref>

[[File:National Liberal Club Gladstone bust entrance.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The bust of Gladstone by the club's front entrance. The inscription alludes to Gladstone's 1872 speech in which he argued ‘The principle of Liberalism is trust in the people, qualified by prudence. The principle of Conservatism is mistrust of the people qualified by fear.’.]]
It was also the site of much intrigue in the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] over the years, rivalling the [[Reform Club]] as a social centre for Liberals by the advent of the [[First World War]], although its membership was largely based on Liberal activists in the country at large; it was built on such a large scale to provide London club facilities for Liberal activists from around the country, justifying its use of the description 'national'.

On 22 March 1893, during the Second Reading of the Clubs Registration Bill, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP (who was later to defect to the Liberals) [[Thomas Gibson Bowles]] told the House of Commons "I am informed there is an establishment not far from the House frequented by Radical millionaires and released prisoners, the National Liberal Club, where an enormous quantity of whisky is consumed."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1893/mar/22/second-reading-1#S4V0010P0-02268 |title=Hansard |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=22 March 1893 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref> Despite this remark, it seems that the club accounted for relatively little alcohol consumption by the standards of the day – [[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel|Herbert Samuel]] commented in 1909 that the average annual consumption of alcoholic liquor per NLC member was 31s. 4d. per annum, which compared very favourably with equivalent Conservative clubs, including 33s. 5d. for the nearby [[Constitutional Club]], 48s. for the [[City Carlton Club]], and 77s. for the [[Junior Carlton Club]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1909/may/11/duty-in-respect-or-intoxicating-liquor#S5CV0004P0-04751 |title=Hansard |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=11 May 1909 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref> One possible explanation was the strength of the [[Temperance movement]] in the Liberal party at the time.

On 3 December 1909, Liberal Chancellor [[David Lloyd George]] used the club to make a speech fiercely denouncing the [[House of Lords]], in what was seen as a ''de facto'' launch of the [[January 1910 United Kingdom general election|"People's Budget" general election of January 1910]].<ref>Peter Rowland, ''Lloyd George'' (Barrie and Jenkins, London, 1975), p. 223.</ref>

On 21 November 1911, the club was one of a number of buildings to have their windows smashed in by the [[suffragette]] [[Women's Social and Political Union]], in protest at the Liberal government's inaction over [[women's suffrage|votes for women]].<ref>[[John Grigg]], ''Lloyd George: The People's Champion, 1902–1911'' (University of California Press, Los Angeles, 1978), p. 299.</ref>

During the [[Marconi scandal]] of 1912, [[Winston Churchill]] used a speech to the club to mount an impassioned defence of embattled ministers [[David Lloyd George]] and [[Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading|Rufus Isaacs]], asserting that there was "no stain of any kind" upon their characters.<ref>[[Richard Toye]], ''Lloyd George and Churchill: Rivals for Greatness'' (Macmillan, London, 2007), p. 97.</ref>

[[File:National Liberal Club portrait of Violet Bonham Carter.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The club's portrait of First World War Liberal activist and diarist [[Violet Bonham Carter]].]]
[[File:National Liberal Club Wikimedia UK war memorial.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The club's war memorial, commemorating staff killed in the [[First World War]].]]

===First World War===
The club's cosmopolitan and internationalist make-up drew outside criticism as nationalist feelings rose in the First World War - the fervently anti-German and anti-semitic campaigner [[Arnold White]] wrote in his 1917 tract ''The Hidden Hand'' that:

{{cquote|an official of the National Liberal Club at the beginning of the war publicly ex- pressed the opinion that Germans would always be welcome. The spiritual home of every pro-German crank in the country was the National Liberal Club — a temple of luxury and ease where every enemy of England enjoyed the rites of hospitality. [[Enver Pasha|Enver [Pasha]]] when he was "Bey", and all the cosmopolitans, all the friends of every country but their own, were made welcome at the National Liberal Club.<ref>[[Arnold White]], ''The Hidden Hand'' (G. Richards Ltd., London, 1917), p. 109.</ref>}}

From late 1916 to December 1919, the clubhouse was requisitioned by the British government for use as a billet for Canadian troops, the club relocating in the meantime to several rooms in the [[Westminster Palace Hotel]] - the venue of its original meetings in 1882–3. Many of the Canadian troops billeted in the clubhouse were offered heavily discounted temporary club membership during their stay, although it appears that some overstayed their welcome – a "farewell dinner" by the club on 19 March 1919 attempted to hint that their departure was imminently expected. At the end of the First World War, the Canadian soldiers who had stayed there presented the club with a moose head as a gift of thanks, which was hung in the billiards room for many years. After the troops finally left in December 1919, the club was closed for a year for renovations (partly necessitated by the damage done by the troops), and did not re-open until 19 December 1920.<ref name="autogenerated1925"/>

As [[H. H. Asquith]] was deposed as prime minister by [[David Lloyd George]], he spent his last full evening as prime minister on 8 December 1916 reporting to a full meeting of the Liberal Party at the club. It provided an overwhelming vote of confidence in his leadership.<ref>[[Roy Jenkins]], ''Asquith'' (Collins, London, 1964), p. 461.</ref>


===Inter-war years===
During the Liberal Party's 1916–23 split, the Asquith wing of the party was in the ascendant in the club, while Liberal prime minister [[David Lloyd George]] (who had been a regular by the Smoking Room in previous years, often found warming his bottom by the fireplace where his portrait now hangs) was personally shunned by many NLC members. This was a highly acrimonious time within the Liberal Party, with both the Asquithian and Lloyd Georgeite factions believing themselves to be the 'true' Liberal party, and viewing the other faction as 'traitors'.<ref name="autogenerated1925" /> [[Michael Bentley (historian)|Michael Bentley]] has written of this period that "The ''Lloyd George Liberal Magazine'', which appeared monthly between October 1920 and December 1923, spent much space attacking the National Liberal Club for its continued Asquithian partisanship – in particular for its refusal to hang portraits of Lloyd George and Churchill in the main club rooms, or to accept nominations for membership from Coalition Liberals. The creation of a separate '[[1920 Club]]' in neighbouring [[Whitehall Court]] was one reaction to this treatment."<ref>Michael Bentley, ''The Liberal Mind 1914–29'' (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007), p. 81.</ref> The Lloyd George and Churchill portraits were removed in 1921 and put into the club's cellar.<ref>[[Richard Toye]], ''Lloyd George and Churchill: Rivals for Greatness'' (Macmillan, London, 2007), p. 243.</ref> At the time, the Asquithians were popularly known as "Wee Frees", and historian Cameron Hazlehurst wrote that, "the civilities of social life at the National Liberal Club were increasingly reserved by 'Wee Frees' for 'Wee Frees.'"<ref>Cameron Hazlehurst (ed.), "Introduction", ''The Lloyd George Liberal magazine, Volume 1, Issues 1–6'' (Harvester Press, Sussex, 1973), p. xii.</ref>

[[File:National Liberal Club, London, August 2016 01.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The tiling of the club's original Grill Room.]]
The reunion of the two branches of the Liberal Party in the run-up to the [[1929 United Kingdom general election|December 1923 general election]] meant that the neighbouring 1920 Club for Lloyd George supporters was disbanded, and "the portraits of Lloyd George and [fellow Lloyd George Liberal] [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]], long consigned to the cellar, were recovered and reinstated in the places of honour in the smoking room",<ref>[[Frank Owen (politician)|Frank Owen]], ''Tempestuous Journey: Lloyd George, His Life and Times'' (Hutchinson, London, 1954), p. 675.</ref> although Churchill's defection back to the Conservatives within less than a year meant that his portrait was just as swiftly returned to the basement, and would not re-emerge for another 16 years.<ref>[[William Manchester]], ''The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory, 1874–1932'' (Michael Joseph, London, 1983), p. 750.</ref>

[[File:Birkenhead by Spy0002.jpg|thumb|upright|A copy of this print of [[F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead|F. E. Smith]] is on display in the same club facilities used by Smith, along with a caption recounting the well-known anecdote (see left)]]There is a well-known story told of the NLC, that the Conservative politician [[F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead|F. E. Smith]] would stop off there every day on his way to [[Houses of Parliament|Parliament]], to use the club's lavatories. One day the hall porter apprehended Smith and asked him if he was actually a member of the club, to which Smith replied "Good God! You mean it's a club as well?". This story, and apocryphal variations thereof (usually substituting Smith with Churchill), are told of many different clubs.<ref>Sam Aldred, ''Clubland's Hidden Treasures'' (Privately printed, London, 2020), p. 188.</ref> The original related to the NLC, at the half-way point between Parliament and Smith's [[barristers' chambers|chambers]] in Elm Court, Temple. The comment was a jibe at the brown tiles in some of the NLC's late-Victorian architecture.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1992/jun/23/identity-cards-scheme#S5LV0538P0-01343 |title=Identity Cards Scheme   |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=23 June 1992 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref>

During the [[hung parliament]] of 1923–24, it was at the club that Asquith – as Leader of the reunited Liberal Party – announced on 6 December 1923 that the Liberals would support [[Ramsay MacDonald]] in forming [[First Labour Government (UK)|Britain's first ever Labour government]].<ref>Peter Rowland, ''Lloyd George'' (Barrie and Jenkins, London, 1975), p. 604.</ref>

The club continued to be a venue for large-scale meetings of Liberals. On [[Armistice Day]] 1924, over one hundred defeated Liberal candidates met at the club to express their anger at Lloyd George's failure to use his infamous "[[Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925|Lloyd George fund]]" to help the Liberals in [[1924 United Kingdom general election|the disastrous general election campaign one month earlier]].<ref>[[Frank Owen (politician)|Frank Owen]], ''Tempestuous Journey: Lloyd George, His Life and Times'' (Hutchinson, London, 1954), p. 684.</ref> After the [[1929 United Kingdom general election|1929 general election]], the first meeting of the newly expanded Parliamentary Liberal Party was held at the club, with all MPs except one (the independently minded [[Rhys Hopkin Morris]]) re-electing Lloyd George as Liberal Party Leader.<ref>J. Graham Jones, ''David Lloyd George and Welsh Liberalism'' (National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, 2010), p. 271.</ref>

In 1932, the club first introduced non-political membership (now simply called Membership, in contrast to Political Membership). [[Michael Meadowcroft]] explains that this was done to provide, "membership for Liberals who, by reason of their employment, such as judges, military officers or senior civil servants, were not permitted to divulge their politics", and so who had been previously debarred by the club's insistence on all members signing a declaration of Liberal politics.<ref name="autogenerated2012"/> This continues to this day, with Members signing a pledge that they will "not use the club or...membership thereof for political activities adverse to Liberalism", and not having full voting rights at Annual General Meetings, but otherwise enjoying the full benefits of club membership.<ref>National Liberal Club application form, 2011.</ref>

[[File:National Liberal Club interior 02.jpg|thumb|left|The main staircase, as reconstructed to a simplified design after the wartime bombing]]

===Second World War===
On 11 May 1941 the club suffered a direct hit by a [[Luftwaffe]] bomb during [[the Blitz]], which utterly destroyed the central staircase and caused considerable damage elsewhere. The £150,000 cost of reconstructing the staircase in 1950 ({{Inflation|UK|150000|1950|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) placed a considerable strain on the club's finances, although generous support from the [[War Damage Commission]] helped to fund the new staircase.<ref>Short cinema documentary, ''[[Look at Life (British cinema series)|Look at Life: Members Only]]'' (1965).</ref> In the nine-year interim between the bomb blast and the rebuilding of the staircase, members had to use the stairs of the club's turret tower, often taking highly circuitous routes around the vast clubhouse.

One of the items damaged in the blast was the 1915 portrait of [[Winston Churchill]] (a member of the club), by [[Ernest Townsend]]. Ironically, after 25 years of being hidden from sight, it had only just been put on display the year before. Painted in the year of the [[Dardanelles Campaign]], Churchill was soon unavailable for unveiling the portrait as he went into exile in the trenches. After his return, his strong support for the [[United Kingdom coalition government (1916–1922)|Lloyd George coalition]] meant that from 1916 he proved to be ''persona non-grata'' at the club, and this only increased after he left the Liberal Party in 1924. Thus from 1915 to 1940 (with only a brief display in 1923–4), the painting was held by the club in storage. When Churchill became prime minister in May 1940, the club rushed out the painting and put it on display in the main lobby (where it still hangs today). It was bombed after one year, suffering a diagonal gash down the middle. The painting was then painstakingly restored, and Churchill re-unveiled it himself on 22 July 1943, at a ceremony also attended by [[Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill|his wife]] (a lifelong Liberal), Liberal Leader [[Sir Archibald Sinclair]] (a friend and colleague of over 30 years, then serving in Churchill's cabinet), lifelong friend [[Violet Bonham Carter|Lady Violet Bonham Carter]], Club chairman [[James Meston, 1st Baron Meston|Lord Meston]] and cartoonist [[David Low (cartoonist)|David Low]].<ref name="autogenerated133"/>

===Post-war era===
The fortunes of the NLC have mirrored those of the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] – as the Liberals declined as a national force in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, so did the NLC. However, despite the Liberals' national decline, the NLC remained a focus for debate.

[[File:National Liberal Club Harry Willcock memorial.jpg|thumb|Memorial to Harry Willcock inside the National Liberal Club]]
In the early 1950s, it was a centre of anti-ID card sentiment, and [[Harry Willcock]], a member who successfully campaigned for the abolition of ID cards, tore his up in front of the club as a publicity stunt in 1951. He subsequently died at a meeting of the [[Eighty Club]] during a debate on 12 December 1952, with his last word being "Freedom."<ref>Plaque in the NLC smoking room.</ref>

It was at a debate at the club in 1971 that [[Yale]] professor [[James Tobin]] first publicly voiced his proposal for a ''[[Tobin tax]]'' on financial transactions.<ref>Shirreff, David. ''Euromoney''. London: October 1996., Iss. 330; p. 16.</ref>

In addition to the Blitz bombing in 1941, the club also sustained an attack from an [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] bomb at 12 past midnight on 22 December 1973 (as part of a concerted Christmas bombing campaign) which blew open the front door and gashed the duty manager's arm,<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=92VHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XHwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5130,3618564&dq=national-liberal-club&hl=en "4 Wounded in 3-Bomb Blitz on London"], ''Times-Union'', 22 December 1973, p. 3.</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iRMyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6aEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1142,1526798&dq=national-liberal-club&hl=en "Bombs Explode, Injuring Four in London"], ''The Montreal Gazette'', 22 December 1973, p. 41.</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QGo0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=4wkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4211,5657695&dq=national-liberal-club&hl=en "Terrorist Bombs Injure Londoners"], ''Star-News'', 23 December 1973.</ref> while on 10 January 1992 an IRA briefcase bomb exploded outside the club, shattering many of its windows.<ref>"Police seek car after IRA bomb in Whitehall", ''The Daily Telegraph''. London (UK): 11 January 1992, p. 1.</ref>

During the [[February 1974 United Kingdom general election|February 1974 general election campaign]], Liberal Leader [[Jeremy Thorpe]] was defending a wafer-thin majority of 369 votes in [[North Devon (UK Parliament constituency)|his Devon constituency]]. Instead of fighting a "typical" party leader's election campaign based in London and focusing on the London-based media, Thorpe spent almost the entire election in his constituency, keeping in contact with the national press via a live [[closed-circuit television]] link-up to daily press conferences at the National Liberal Club. Thorpe later credited this system with giving him more time to think of answers to questions, and it helped to keep the Liberal campaign both distinctive and modern.<ref>[[Jeremy Thorpe]], ''In My Own Time: Reminiscences of a Liberal Leader'' (Politico's, London, 1999), p. 107.</ref> Further Liberal election campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s retained the idea of a daily press conference at the NLC, but with live participants rather than a TV link-up to the party leader.<ref>Ivor Crewe and Anthony King, ''SDP: The Birth, Life and Death of the Social Democratic Party'' (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995), p. 200.</ref>

[[File:The National Liberal Club interior (4843463497).jpg|thumb|left|The east end of the Smoking Room]]
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, all London clubs were in serious decline,<ref name="autogenerated1979"/> and the NLC was no exception. By the 1970s the club was in a serious state of disrepair, its membership dwindling, and its finances losing almost a thousand pounds a week. In 1976, Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe handed over the club to Canadian businessman George Marks, styling himself George de Chabris (and, more improbably,  "His Serene Holiness the Prince de Chabris", which he claimed was "a Catholic title"), who, unknown to Thorpe, was a shrewd operator. "De Chabris" claimed to be a multi-millionaire willing to funnel money into the club (although both his wealth and his willingness to finance the club turned out to be untrue), and he spent nine months running the club, relaxing membership rules and bringing in more income, but also moving his family in rent-free, running several businesses from its premises, paying for a sports car and his children's private school fees from the club's accounts, and he eventually left in a hurry owing the club £60,000, ({{Inflation|UK|60000|1976|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) even emptying out the cash till of the day's takings as he went. He eventually agreed to pay back half of that sum in instalments. In his time at the club he also sold it a painting for £10,000, when it was valued at less than £1,000.<ref>Lewis Chester, [[Magnus Linklater]] and David May, ''Jeremy Thorpe: A Secret Life'' (Fontana, 1979), pp. 190–194, for a detailed description of de Chabris' involvement in the club in the 1970s. See also The Times, Thursday, 21 October 1982; pg. 8; Issue 61368; col B.</ref> One of his more controversial reforms was to sell the National Liberal Club's Gladstone Library (which contained the largest library of 17th- to 20th-century political material in the country, including 35,000 books and over 30,000 pamphlets) to the [[University of Bristol]] for £40,000. The pretext given was that the club could no longer afford to pay the Librarian's wages, and that it did not want to leave such valuable material unguarded.<ref>The Times, Wednesday, 10 November 1976; pg. 1; Issue 59857; col G; The Times, Friday, 19 November 1976; pg. 4; Issue 59865; col G.</ref> [[Ian Bradley]] described it as "a derisory sum" for the sale, particularly in light of the unique collection of accumulated candidates' manifestos from 19th-century general elections.<ref>The Times, Thursday, 21 October 1982; pg. 8; Issue 61368; col B.</ref> Until its sale, it had been, as Peter Harris observed, "The most extensive of the Club libraries of London."<ref name="autogenerated2006"/> The collection is still housed at Bristol today. However, the papers referring to the history of the club itself were returned to the NLC in the 1990s, as they had not been included in the sale, and had been sent to Bristol by accident.<ref name="autogenerated2006"/>

[[File:National Liberal Club interior 07.jpg|thumb|right|The view from the west end of the Smoking Room]]
After the 1977 dismissal of de Chabris, a 1978 rescue package by [[Lawrence Robson|Sir Lawrence Robson]] (a former Liberal Party President and parliamentary candidate, co-founder and partner of [[Robson Rhodes]], and husband of Liberal peer [[Inga-Stina Robson|Baroness Robson]]) did much to stabilise the club and secure its future – to this day the club honours Sir Lawrence with a portrait in the Smoking Room, and one of its function rooms has been renamed the Lawrence Robson Room.

As the Liberal Party's lease on its headquarters expired in 1977, the party organisation moved to the upper floors of the NLC, the negotiations being arranged by "de Chabris". The Liberals occupied a suite of rooms on the second floor, and a series of offices converted from bedrooms on the upper floors. The party continued to operate from the NLC until 1988, when it merged with the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] to form the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], and moved to occupy the SDP's old headquarters in Cowley Street. During this time, party workers were known to avail themselves of the club downstairs, and the NLC bar became known as the "Liberal Party's 'local'" and a Liberal Party song "Down at the Old NLC" was written in response to this:

{{blockquote|<poem>
Come, come, roll up your trouser leg
Down at the old NLC.
Come, come, stuff your coat on the peg,
Down at the old NLC.
There to get your apron on:
Learn the secret organ song;
Bend your thumb when you shake hands.
Come, come, drinking till the dinner gong,
Down at the old NLC.</poem>|1985. Words: [[Mark Tavener]]. Tune: ''[[The Old Bull and Bush|Down at the Old Bull and Bush]]''<ref>ed. Ralph Bancroft, ''Liberator'' songbook, 2004 edition – notes for the song "Down at the old NLC".</ref>}}

[[File:National Liberal Club terrace 01.jpg|thumb|upright|right|The Terrace.]]
In the autumn of 1980, former Liberal Leader [[Jo Grimond]] delivered the inaugural '[[Eighty Club]]' lecture to the Association of Liberal Lawyers at the club, drawing press attention for his scathing criticism of those Liberals who believed that their future lay in some form of [[social democracy]], or what he termed, "a better yesterday".<ref>Michael McManus, ''Jo Grimond: Towards the Sound of Gunfire'' (Birlinn, Edinburgh, 2001), pp. 347–348. The full text of Grimond's NLC speech can be found [http://www.totalpolitics.com/speeches/liberal/liberal-politics-general/34778/inaugural-80-club-lecture-national-liberal-club.thtml here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113202826/http://www.totalpolitics.com/speeches/liberal/liberal-politics-general/34778/inaugural-80-club-lecture-national-liberal-club.thtml |date=13 November 2011 }}</ref>

In 1985, reminiscent of the earlier de Chabris deals, the club undertook a two-year negotiation to sell off its second-floor and basement function rooms, and the 140 bedrooms from the third floor to the eighth floor (including two vast ballrooms and the Gladstone Library, which had contained 35,000 volumes before their sale in 1977, and was standing empty by the 1980s) to the adjoining [[Royal Horseguards Hotel]], which is approached from a different entrance, and which has operated as a hotel since 1971. This was not without some dissent among the membership, but the sale ensured that the club's financial future was secure, and the remaining part of the club still operating, mainly on the ground and first floors of the vast building, still remains one of the largest clubhouses in the world.<ref>''The Standard'', Friday 19 April 1985, p. 2.</ref> Originally built for 6,000 members, the club still provides facilities for around 2,000.

The club's calendar includes an Annual [[Whitebait]] Supper, where members depart by river from [[Embankment Pier]], downstream to The Trafalgar, the Greenwich tavern which Gladstone used to take his cabinet ministers to by boat; as well as the Political and Economic Circle, which was founded by Gladstone in the 1890s.

On 17 July 2002, [[Jeremy Paxman]] conducted a well-publicised interview with Lib Dem leader [[Charles Kennedy]] in the club's Smoking Room for an edition of ''[[Newsnight]]''. The interview generated controversy over Paxman's querying Kennedy's alcohol intake, including his asking, "Does it trouble you that every single politician to whom we've spoken in preparing for this interview said the same thing – 'You're interviewing Charles Kennedy, I hope he's sober'?" It was the first time a major television interviewer had raised the topic with the Lib Dem leader, who resigned three and half years later after admitting that he suffered from alcoholism.<ref>Greg Hurst, ''Charles Kennedy: A Tragic Flaw''  (Politico's, London, 2006), p. 179.</ref>

In the [[2006 Liberal Democrats leadership election]], [[Chris Huhne]] launched his leadership campaign from the main staircase of the club,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/jan/13/liberaldemocrats.chrishuhne |title=Full text of Chris Huhne's speech |work=The Guardian |date=13 January 2006 |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref> while in the [[2007 Liberal Democrats leadership election]], frontrunner and eventual winner [[Nick Clegg]] launched his successful leadership bid from the club's David Lloyd George Room, praising "the elegance of the National Liberal Club".<ref>Tudor Jones, ''The Revival of British Liberalism, from Grimond to Clegg'' (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2011), p. 216.</ref> As party leader, Clegg has delivered further landmark addresses at the club, such as his "muscular liberalism" speech of 11 May 2011, marking one year of the Liberal Democrats in power as part of the [[Cameron–Clegg coalition|Conservative-led coalition government]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.libdems.org.uk/latest_news_detail.aspx?title=One_Year_In:_Coalition_and_Liberal_Politics_-_Nick_Clegg's_speech_to_mark_the_first_anniversary_of_the_Coalition&pPK=b06a3476-8433-42d4-83f7-cbcba784f4b5 |title=One Year in: Coalition and Liberal Politics - Nick Clegg's speech to mark the first anniversary of the Coalition &#124; the Liberal Democrats: Latest News Detail |access-date=6 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322225452/http://www.libdems.org.uk/latest_news_detail.aspx?title=One_Year_In%3A_Coalition_and_Liberal_Politics_-_Nick_Clegg%27s_speech_to_mark_the_first_anniversary_of_the_Coalition&pPK=b06a3476-8433-42d4-83f7-cbcba784f4b5 |archive-date=22 March 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

After the Liberal Democrats' mixed result in the 2017 general election, party leader [[Tim Farron]] used the club to give his first major speech, calling on Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] to resign after she had lost her majority.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/09/tim-farron-mocks-theresa-mays-own-coalition-of-chaos |title=Archived copy |website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |access-date=6 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==Clubhouse==
[[File:Elliott & Fry12.jpg|thumb|upright|Noted British architect [[Alfred Waterhouse]] designed the building]]Designed by leading Victorian architect [[Alfred Waterhouse]] using the [[Renaissance Revival architecture]] style, the clubhouse was constructed at a cost of some £165,950; a substantial sum in 1884 ({{Inflation|UK|165950|1884|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}). An earlier design by architect John Carr was rejected by members.<ref name="autogenerated2006"/>

The NLC was described by ''[[Munsey's Magazine]]'' in 1902 as possessing, "The most imposing clubhouse in the British metropolis",<ref>''[[Munsey's Magazine]]'', Volume 26 (1902), p. 653.</ref> and at the time of its construction, it was the largest clubhouse ever built; only the subsequent [[Royal Automobile Club]] building from 1910 was larger. The NLC's building once hosted its own branch of the Post Office,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1911/jun/02/whitehall-place-post-office#S5CV0026P0-04268 |title=Hansard |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=2 June 1911 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref> something which the Royal Automobile Club still does. Waterhouse's design blended French, Gothic and Italianate elements, with heavy use of Victorian Leeds [[Burmantofts Pottery]] tilework manufactured by Wilcox and Co.<ref name="autogenerated2006"/> The clubhouse is built around load-bearing steelwork concealed throughout the structure, including steel columns inside the tiled pillars found throughout the club.<ref name="autogenerated2006"/> (It was this resilient structure which enabled the building to survive a direct hit in the Blitz.) Waterhouse's work extended to designing the club's furnishings, down to the Dining Room chairs.<ref name="autogenerated2006"/>

[[File:National Liberal Club exterior 01.jpg|thumb|left|The front entrance, on the building's land-facing side]]
It was the first London building to incorporate a [[lift (elevator)|lift]], and the first to be entirely lit throughout by electric lighting. To provide its electricity, the Whitehall Supply Co. Ltd. was incorporated in 1887, being based underneath the club's raised terrace. By the time the supply opened in 1888, it had been bought by the expanding Metropolitan Electricity Supply Co.<ref>Gavin Stamp and Colin Amery, ''Victorian buildings of London, 1837–1887: an illustrated guide'' (Architectural Press, London, 1980), p. 148.</ref> NLC members were so enamoured with the modern wonder of electric lighting that the original chandeliers featured bare light bulbs, whose distinctive hue was much prized at the time.<ref>The Revd. Peter Harris, club archivist, "The Refurbishment of the Club Rooms", ''NLC Club News'', No. 61, November 2011, p. 13.</ref>

The club's wine cellar was converted from a trench dug in 1865, intended to be the [[Waterloo and Whitehall Railway]], stretching from [[Great Scotland Yard|Scotland Yard]] to [[London Waterloo railway station|Waterloo station]], which planned to carry freight that would have been powered by air pressure; digging was abandoned in 1868, and when the company wound up in 1882, the National Liberal Club adapted the tunnel to its present use.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/bakerloo.html|title=CULG - Bakerloo Line|website=www.davros.org}}</ref>

Over the years, numerous Liberal and Liberal Democrat MPs have lived at the club, including [[David Lloyd George]] in the 1890s,<ref>[[John Grigg]], ''The Young Lloyd George'' (Eyre Methuen, London, 1973), pp. 127, 164, 225.</ref> [[Cyril Smith]] in the 1970s<ref>[[Cyril Smith]], ''Big Cyril: The Autobiography of Cyril Smith'' (W.H. Allen, London, 1977).</ref> and [[Menzies Campbell]] in the late 1980s.<ref>[[Menzies Campbell]], ''Menzies Campbell: My Autobiography'' (Hodder & Stoughton, London, 2008), p. 108.</ref>

==In literature==
The club has had a number of members who were notable authors, including [[Rupert Brooke]], [[G. K. Chesterton]], [[Jerome K. Jerome]], [[George Bernard Shaw]], [[Bram Stoker]], [[Dylan Thomas]], [[H. G. Wells]] and [[Leonard Woolf]]; several of whom featured the club in some of their works of literature.

Additionally, the [[Authors' Club]], founded in 1891 in neighbouring [[Whitehall Court]], lodged with the National Liberal Club between 1966 and 1976, and has done so again since 2014.

[[File:National Liberal Club interior 12.jpg|thumb|upright|right|The Dining Room was described by NLC member [[H. G. Wells]] in ''[[Tono-Bungay]]'' (1909).]]
*[[G. K. Chesterton]], who was a member, mentions it as a setting in the short story "The Notable Conduct of Professor Chadd" in his collection ''[[The Club of Queer Trades]]'' (1905), with the narrator having a one-hour conversation on politics and God with a judge he meets on the club's balcony.<ref>[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1696/1696-h/1696-h.htm G. K. Chesterton, ''The Club of Queer Trades''] (1905) on Project Gutenberg.</ref>
*[[H. G. Wells]], who was also a member, referred to the club in one scene of his autobiographical novel ''[[Tono-Bungay]]'' (1909), in which the narrator George Ponderevo visits the club dining room with his uncle, admiring "the numerous bright-shaded tables ... the shiny ceramic columns and pilasters, [and looked] at the impressive portraits of Liberal statesmen and heroes, and all that contributes to the ensemble of that palatial spectacle."<ref>[[H. G. Wells]], ''[[Tono-Bungay]]'' (London, 1909), Book 3, Chapter 2.</ref>
*H. G. Wells also gave a lengthy description of the NLC in his novel ''[[The New Machiavelli]]'' (1911), discussing the narrator's experience of visiting the club during the 1906 general election:

[[File:H. G. Wells, c.1890.jpg|thumb|NLC member [[H. G. Wells]] painted a vivid, detailed portrait of the club at the time of the [[1906 United Kingdom general election|Liberal landslide of 1906]].]]
{{cquote|I engaged myself to speak at one or two London meetings, and lunched at the [[Reform Club|Reform]], which was fairly tepid, and dined and spent one or two tumultuous evenings at the National Liberal Club, which was in active eruption. The National Liberal became feverishly congested towards midnight as the results of the counting came dropping in. A big green-baize screen had been fixed up at one end of the large smoking-room with the names of the constituencies that were voting that day, and directly the figures came to hand, up they went, amidst cheers that at last lost their energy through sheer repetition, whenever there was record of a Liberal gain. I don't remember what happened when there was a Liberal loss; I don't think that any were announced while I was there.

How packed and noisy the place was, and what a reek of tobacco and [[whisky]] [[vapor|fumes]] we made! Everybody was excited and talking, making waves of harsh confused sound that beat upon one's ears, and every now and then hoarse voices would shout for someone to speak. Our little set was much in evidence. Both the Cramptons were in, Lewis, Bunting Harblow. We gave brief addresses attuned to this excitement and the late hour, amidst much enthusiasm.

"Now we can DO things!" I said amidst a rapture of applause. Men I did not know from Adam held up glasses and nodded to me in solemn fuddled approval as I came down past them into the crowd again.

Men were betting whether the Unionists would lose more or less than two hundred seats.

"I wonder just what we shall do with it all", I heard one sceptic speculating....}}
:Wells later described the State Opening of the new 1906 parliament:

{{cquote|It is one of my vivid memories from this period, the sudden outbreak of [[top hat|silk hats]] in the [[smoking room|smoking-room]] of the National Liberal Club. At first I thought there must have been a funeral. Familiar faces that one had grown to know under [[trilby|soft felt hats]], under [[bowler hat|bowlers]], under [[fedora (hat)|liberal-minded wide brims]], and above artistic [[necktie|ties]] and [[tweed jacket]]s, suddenly met one, staring with the stern gaze of self-consciousness, from under silk hats of incredible glossiness. There was a disposition to wear the hat much too forward, I thought, for a good Parliamentary style.}}
:About the club more broadly, Wells' narrator reflected:

{{cquote|My discontents with the Liberal party and my mental exploration of the quality of party generally is curiously mixed up with certain impressions of things and people in the National Liberal Club. The National Liberal Club is Liberalism made visible in the flesh—and [[salt glaze pottery|Doultonware]]. It is an extraordinary big club done in a bold, wholesale, shiny, marbled style, richly furnished with numerous paintings, steel engravings, busts, and full-length statues of the late Mr. Gladstone; and its spacious dining-rooms, its long, hazy, crowded smoking-room with innumerable little tables and groups of men in armchairs, its magazine room and library upstairs, have just that undistinguished and unconcentrated diversity which is for me the Liberal note. The pensive member sits and hears perplexing dialects and even fragments of foreign speech, and among the clustering masses of less insistent whites his roving eye catches profiles and complexions that send his mind afield to [[Calcutta]] or [[Rangoon]] or the [[West Indies]] or [[Sierra Leone]] or [[Cape of Good Hope|the Cape]]....

I was not infrequently that pensive member. I used to go to the Club to doubt about Liberalism. About two o'clock in the day the great smoking-room is crowded with countless little groups. They sit about small round tables, or in circles of chairs, and the haze of tobacco seems to prolong the great narrow place, with its pillars and bays, to infinity. Some of the groups are big, as many as a dozen men talk in loud tones; some are [[duologue]]s, and there is always a sprinkling of lonely, dissociated men. At first one gets an impression of men going from group to group and as it were linking them, but as one watches closely one finds that these men just visit three or four groups at the outside, and know nothing of the others. One begins to perceive more and more distinctly that one is dealing with a sort of human [[mosaic]]; that each patch in that great place is of a different quality and colour from the next and never to be mixed with it. Most clubs have a common link, a lowest common denominator in the Club Bore, who spares no one, but even the National Liberal bores are specialised and sectional. As one looks round one sees here a clump of men from the [[North of England|North Country]] or the [[Staffordshire Potteries|Potteries]], here an island of [[South London]] politicians, here a couple of young [[Jews]] ascendant from [[Whitechapel]], here a circle of journalists and writers, here a group of Irish politicians, here two [[East India]]ns, here a priest or so, here a clump of old-fashioned Protestants, here a little knot of eminent [[rationalism|Rationalists]] indulging in a [[blasphemous]] story '''sotto voce'''. Next to them are a group of [[anglicise]]d [[Germans]] and highly specialised [[chess (game)|chess-players]], and then two of the oddest-looking persons—bulging with documents and intent upon extraordinary business transactions over long cigars ...

I would listen to a stormy sea of babblement, and try to extract some constructive intimations. Every now and then I got a whiff of politics. It was clear they were against [[House of Lords|the Lords]]—against [[plutocrats]]—against [[press baron|Cossington's]] newspapers—against the [[brewery|brewers]].... It was tremendously clear what they were against. The trouble was to find out what on earth they were for!...

As I sat and thought, the streaked and mottled pillars and wall, the various views, aspects, and portraits of [[William Ewart Gladstone|Mr. and]] [[Catherine Gladstone|Mrs. Gladstone]], the partitions of polished [[mahogany]], the yellow-[[waistcoat|vested]] waiters, would dissolve and vanish, and I would have a vision of this sample of miscellaneous men of limited, diverse interests and a universal littleness of imagination enlarged, unlimited, no longer a sample but a community, spreading, stretching out to infinity—all in little groups and duologues and circles, all with their special and narrow concerns, all with their backs to most of the others.

What but a common antagonism would ever keep these multitudes together? I understood why modern [[electioneering]] is more than half of it [[denunciation]]. Let us condemn, if possible, let us obstruct and deprive, but not let us do. There is no real appeal to the commonplace mind in "Let us do." That calls for the creative imagination, and few have been accustomed to respond to that call. The other merely needs jealousy and bate, of which there are great and easily accessible reservoirs in every human heart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1047/1047-h/1047-h.htm|title=The New Machiavelli, by H. G. Wells|website=www.gutenberg.org}}</ref>}}
*''Foe-Farrell'' (1918) by [[Arthur Quiller-Couch]] features a scene in which the intoxicated title character is apprehended after a night of drunken excess, and pleads that he is a member of the NLC. The narrator tells him "the National Liberal Club carries its own recommendation. What's more, it's going to be the saving of us...They'll admit you, and that's where you'll sleep to-night. The night porter will hunt out a pair of pyjamas and escort you up the lift. Oh, he's used to it. He gets politicians from [[Bradford]] and such places dropping in at all hours. Don't try the marble staircase—it's winding and slippery at the edge."<ref>[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19114/19114-h/19114-h.htm The Project Gutenberg EBook of Foe-Farrell], by Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch.</ref>
*The club is referred to in passing in several [[P. G. Wodehouse]] stories:
:*In a [[Mr. Mulliner|Mulliner]] tale in the short story collection ''[[Young Men in Spats]]'' (1936), Mr. Mulliner describes a state of complete pandemonium as being "more like that of Guest Night at the National Liberal Club than anything he had ever encountered."
:*In the short story collection ''[[Eggs, Beans and Crumpets]]'' (1940), [[Bingo Little]] makes an ill-considered bet on a horse after a perceived omen: "On the eve of the race he had a nightmare in which he saw his Uncle Wilberforce dancing the rumba in the nude on the steps of the National Liberal Club and, like a silly ass, accepted this as a bit of stable information."
:*In the novel ''[[The Adventures of Sally]]'' (1922), it is said that an uncle of Lancelot "Ginger" Kemp is "a worthy man, highly respected in the National Liberal Club".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/dvsll10h.htm |title=The Adventures of Sally by P. G. Wodehouse – Project Gutenberg |publisher=Gutenberg.org |date=1 February 2005 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref><ref>[[P. G. Wodehouse]], ''The Adventures of Sally'' (Herbert Jenkins, 1922).</ref>
*The 1920s-set detective thriller ''The Blyth House Murder'' (2011) by Terry Minahan features the club as a setting, with Chapter 8 entitled "Murder at the National Liberal Club."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=uadxYkuwzAMC&q=national+liberal+club ''The Blyth House Murder''], Terry Minahan (2011).</ref>

==Membership==
The NLC is a private members' club, with membership needing the nomination of an existing member, and a waiting period of at least one month. Members are in one of two categories: either Members, who sign a declaration that they shall not use the club's facilities or their membership for 'political activities adverse to Liberalism', or Political Members, who sign the same declaration, plus an additional declaration that they are a Liberal in their politics, in exchange for additional voting rights within the club. Non-political Membership was first introduced in 1932, to allow Liberals to join when they had been barred up until that point, as several occupations such as judges, army officers and senior civil servants specifically forbade political declarations.<ref>Michael Meadowcroft, "Celebrating 130 Years of High Victorian Style and Elegance", ''NLC News'', Issue 63, pp. 13–14.</ref>

It is currently one of the few London clubs to contain other clubs within. The [[Authors Club]] meets and hosts events at the NLC.

In return for a collective subscription, members of the [[Mill Hill School|Old Millhillian's Club]] (OMC) were allowed to use the NLC clubhouse after 1968, when their own neighbouring [[Whitehall Court]] clubhouse closed down, until the arrangement was discontinued in the 2010s.

===Ethnic minority members since the 1880s===
[[File:Dadabhai_Naoroji 1889.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Dadabhai Naoroji]], later Britain's first Indian MP, pictured in 1889, when he was a member of the club.]]
In keeping with its liberal roots, it was one of the first London club to invite ethnic minorities as members, and the first to do so from its very foundation. (A handful of other Victorian clubs remained accessible to minority candidates, including the [[East India Club]] whose members included the opium trader Sir [[Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy]], but the NLC's ethnic minority members tended to be more radical and anti-imperialist than "establishment" figures such as Jejeebhoy.) The first recorded ethnic minority member of the NLC, [[Dadabhai Naoroji]] was admitted in 1885, when the club was less than three years old. Spurred on by Club Secretary [[William Digby (writer)|William Digby]] (himself a long-standing anti-imperialist campaigner), by the late 1880s, the club had cultivated a large overseas and expatriate membership, particularly concentrated in India and among Indian nationals resident in London.<ref>Mira Matikkala, ‘Anti-Imperialism, Englishness, andEmpire in late-Victorian Britain’ (Cambridge, PhD, 2006).</ref> [[Henry Sylvester Williams]], the Trinidadian lawyer, pan-Africanist, and [[Progressive Party (London)|Progressive Party]] Marylebone councillor, was a member,<ref name = "WilliamsODNB">{{Cite ODNB|id=59529|title=Williams, Henry Sylvester|last = Sherwood|first = Marika|author-link = Marika Sherwood}}</ref> as were [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], a successful barrister who went on to be the founder of modern-day [[Pakistan]]; [[C. P. Ramaswami Iyer]], the [[Diwan (title)|Diwan]] (Prime Minister) of [[Travancore]]; and [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]], the Indian independence leader, who mentored the young [[Mahatma Gandhi]] - himself an occasional visitor to the club as Gokhale's guest.

===Women members since the 1960s===

Since the club's 1882 foundation, women had always been allowed to use the club as visitors, but remained barred from membership until the 1960s, when it became one of the first "gentlemen's clubs" to admit women members. It offered women an 'associate membership' category from 1967 until 1976. The Lady Associate membership referendum was submitted for adoption by the General Committee in June 1967.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=12 June 1967|title=Membership Committee 12th June 1967|journal=National Liberal Club Membership Committee Minutes January 1960 to December 1975|volume=23}}</ref> The first five applications for Lady Associate Members were approved by the Membership Committee in November 1967.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=6 November 1967|title=Membership Committee 6th November 1967|journal=National Liberal Club Membership Committee Minutes January 1960 to December 1975|volume=23}}</ref> "Number of lady associate members elected, or applying, at 19 January 1968" was 34.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=29 January 1968|title=Membership Committee 29th January 1968|journal=National Liberal Club Membership Committee Minutes January 1960 to December 1975|volume=23}}</ref> One of the early Lady Associate Members was Miss. V.E. Wilcox, approved by the Membership Committee in March 1968.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=11 March 1968|title=Membership Committee, 11th March 1968|journal=National Liberal Club Membership Committee Minutes January 1960 to December 1975|volume=23}}</ref> Lady Associate members initially had to be the wife or widow of a member of NLC. In 1969, women who were not related by family relationships to a male member could be nominated as Lady Associate Member, paying a higher membership fee to a Lady Associate member who is a wife or widow of a member. Both types of Lady Associate member fees were still lower than male members' membership fees because of restricted privileges of Lady Associate members.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=12 May 1969|title=Membership Committee 12th May 1969|journal=National Liberal Club Membership Committee Minutes January 1960 to December 1975|volume=23}}</ref> Other early Lady Associate members included [[Violet Bonham Carter]] and [[Nancy Seear]].

It did not admit women as full members until 1976, although this did still make it the first major London club to admit women, while many other such clubs did not admit women until the 1990s or 2000s (and several still do not). The next major London club to admit women was the [[Reform Club]], in 1981. The club's first full women members in 1976 were Christina Baron and Joyce Arram.

In 2016, the Club elected its first female chairman, Janet Berridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.libdemvoice.org/national-liberal-club-to-trial-relaxation-of-dress-code-57555.html |title=National Liberal Club to trial relaxation of dress code |publisher=LibDemVoice |access-date=2021-06-17}}</ref>

===Dress code===
When the club was originally launched in 1882, like every other London club of the era it had no prescriptive dress code. In 1888, a simple requirement was introduced that "No member shall appear in any public rooms of the Club in a dressing gown, slippers, or other ''[[wiktionary:deshabille|deshabille]]''." Beyond that, the club's only dress code was a request in the Regulations that members "dress and conduct themselves in a manner consistent with civilised standards", but precisely how members chose to observe that remained a matter of considerable personal interpretation.<ref name="meadowcroftdresscode2017">Michael Meadowcroft, "Breaking the Code", ''NLC News'', Issue 72, April 2017, pp. 22-23.</ref> Indeed, the club's first official history, in 1925, noted that an unusual feature of the NLC was the way in which it enjoyed far more casual dress than other London clubs, with members turning up in their working clothes, and it singled out, "the practical tabooing of evening dress, which assisted in securing the attendance of the House of Commons and Press Gallery men for at least part of the social evening."<ref name="autogenerated1925"/>

This absence of any prescriptive dress code remained the club's ''modus operandi'' from 1882 until 1979, when the club's flurry of recent scandals led the General Committee to impose a strict jacket-and-tie dress code for men for the very first time, emulating the jacket-and-tie dress codes introduced in other London clubs in the 1950s, which the NLC had previously held out against. No vote of the membership was held on the new dress code.<ref name="meadowcroftdresscode2017"/> This strict jacket-and-tie dress code remained in place for 40 years after the General Committee's 1979 decision, although a 2005 review led the club to permit men to remove their jackets on the club's terrace.<ref name="meadowcroftdresscode2017"/>

In May 2018, the club's Annual General Meeting voted by 49 to 36 in favour of a trial relaxation of the dress code in July and August of that year, removing the jacket-and-tie requirement from every part of the club except the Dining Room.<ref name="berridge2018">{{Cite web|url=https://www.libdemvoice.org/national-liberal-club-to-trial-relaxation-of-dress-code-57555.html|title=Janet Berridge, "National Liberal Club to trial relaxation of the dress code", ''Lib Dem Voice'', 19 May 2018}}</ref> It was the first time in 39 years that members had been permitted a formal vote on the dress code. At the following AGM in May 2019, the dress code was more permanently relaxed, by 80 votes to 19.

==Film and television appearances==
The club has been used as a location in numerous films and television programmes, including:

*''[[Look at Life (British cinema series)|Look at Life: Members Only]]'' (1965) – a two-minute sequence on the NLC as part of this short cinema featurette on London clubs.
*''[[Casino Royale (1967 film)|Casino Royale]]'' (1967) – a short scene filmed in front of the club's main entrance on Whitehall Place, with [[Derek Nimmo]] putting [[Joanna Pettet]] into a taxi driven by [[Bernard Cribbins]].
*''[[The Man Who Haunted Himself]]'' (1970) – billiards room scene with [[Roger Moore]] and [[Thorley Walters]], filmed in the basement ballroom. A later scene filmed in the same room is intercut with footage of Moore in the [[Reform Club]], making it seem as if the room is part of the Reform.
*''[[Zeppelin (film)|Zeppelin]]'' (1971) – numerous scenes filmed in the Gladstone Library, River Room, Billiards Room and various other areas of the club, all doubling for First World War-era government offices. [[Ronald Adam (actor)|Ronald Adam]] plays the unnamed prime minister, with [[Michael York (actor)|Michael York]], [[Richard Hurndall]] and [[Rupert Davies]] as various army and navy officers.
*''[[The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine]]'' (1971) – "Just one more please" sketch in which [[William Mervyn]] plays a politician emerging from the club, being chased by [[Marty Feldman]]'s increasingly frenzied press photographer.
*''[[Savage Messiah (1972 film)|Savage Messiah]]'' (1972) – two scenes of this [[Ken Russell]] film, shot in the Gladstone Library (which doubled for the interior of Paris' [[Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève]]), in which [[Dorothy Tutin]] and Scott Antony played the writer Sophie Brzeska and the sculptor [[Henri Gaudier-Brzeska]] meeting for the first time.
*''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'', episode 2.7, ''[[List of The Professionals episodes#Series Two|Not a Very Civil Civil Servant]]'' (1978) – duelling scene between [[Gordon Jackson (actor)|Gordon Jackson]] and [[Lewis Collins]], whilst [[Martin Shaw]] looks on, filmed in the basement ballroom.
*''[[The Elephant Man (1980 film)|The Elephant Man]]'' (1980) – two scenes in this [[David Lynch]] film, both with [[John Gielgud]] and [[Anthony Hopkins]]. The first was filmed in an unidentified room of the NLC doubling for Gielgud's office, the second in the Gladstone Library doubling as a hospital boardroom.
*''[[Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years]]'' (1981) – Episode 2 – scene filmed in the men's restroom, with [[Eric Porter]] and [[Edward Woodward]] playing [[Neville Chamberlain]] and [[Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood|Samuel Hoare]].
*''[[The Missionary]]'' (1982) – scene filmed in the basement ballroom, with the room redressed with a boxing ring and climbing frames to look like a sports-themed club, with [[Michael Palin]] and [[Denholm Elliott]]. There is also an establishing shot of the club's main hall.
*''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'' (1985) – Party scene in this [[Terry Gilliam]] film, set in the NLC's main staircase and basement ballroom, the latter having been heavily redressed in Gilliam's trademark style. [[Jonathan Pryce]], [[Michael Palin]], [[Jim Broadbent]], [[Katherine Helmond]], [[Peter Vaughan]], Jack Purvis, [[Kathryn Pogson]] and [[Elizabeth Spender]] all appear in this scene.
*''[[House of Cards (UK TV series)|House of Cards]]'' (1990) – Episode 2 – scene filmed in the Gladstone Library, with [[Kenny Ireland]] as Benjamin Landless, a thinly veiled spoof of [[Rupert Murdoch]].
*''[[The Russia House (film)|The Russia House]]'' (1990) – Potomac-Blair Publishing launch party scene, set in Moscow, filmed in The Reading & Writing Room
*''[[The Wings of the Dove (1997 film)|The Wings of the Dove]]'' (1997) – establishing shot of the front entrance, followed by a scene filmed in the dining room, with [[Linus Roache]], [[Alison Elliott]], and [[Elizabeth McGovern]].
*''[[Spooks (TV series)|Spooks]]'' (2002–11) – numerous shots of the smoking room, staircase, main hall and exterior in many episodes, for instance [[Spooks (series 5)#Episodes|series 05, episode 05, "The Message"]] (2006), in which [[Peter Firth]] and [[Tim McInnerny]] lunch at the latter's unnamed club.
*''[[Sparkling Cyanide#Film, TV, Radio and theatrical adaptations|Sparkling Cyanide]]'' (2003) – scene filmed in the main staircase, doubling for a barrister's chambers.
*''[[The Alan Clark Diaries]]'' (2004) – scene filmed in the dining room, with [[John Hurt]] playing [[Alan Clark]].
*''[[Hustle (TV series)|Hustle]]'', episode 1.2, ''[[List of Hustle episodes#Series 1: 2004|Faking It]]'' (2004) – exterior scene of the club entrance, with [[Marc Warren]] and [[Robert Pugh]].
*''[[The Constant Gardener (film)|The Constant Gardener]]'' (2005) – based on the [[John le Carré]] novel, with scenes filmed in the main entrance, smoking room and dining room, featuring [[Ralph Fiennes]] and [[Bill Nighy]].
*''[[And When Did You Last See Your Father?]]'' (2007) – award ceremony scene filmed in the Gladstone Library, with [[Colin Firth]] and [[Jim Broadbent]]
*''[[Shanghai (2010 film)|Shanghai]]'' (2010) – brief scene with [[John Cusack]] and [[David Morse (actor)|David Morse]] in the smoking room.
*''[[The Hour (2011 TV series)|The Hour]]'' (2011) – Episode 1 – several scenes in the main hall and the smoking room.
*''[[Dancing on the Edge (TV series)|Dancing on the Edge]]'' (2013) – German embassy party scene filmed in the Gladstone Library and the Whitehall Suite
*''[[London Spy]]'' (2015) – Episode 3 – scenes filmed outside and in the main entrance hall and smoking room
*''[[Doctor Strange (2016 film)|Doctor Strange]]'' (2016) – scenes of the London Sanctum filmed in the main entrance hall
*''[[The Crown (TV series)|The Crown]]'', episode 3.8, ''Dangling Man'' (2019) – party scenes filmed in the main entrance hall, staircase and dining room
*''[[Tenet (film)|Tenet]]'' (2020) – scene in Shipley's Auction House

==Notable members==
Over the years the NLC has contained a large number of notable members. In addition to many politicians, including seven Prime Ministers – five Liberals from Gladstone to Lloyd George, one Labour (Ramsay MacDonald) and one Conservative (Winston Churchill), its membership has also contained a sizeable literary element, with writers including [[Rupert Brooke]], [[G. K. Chesterton]], [[John Creasey]], [[Jerome K. Jerome]], [[George Newnes]], [[C. P. Scott]], [[George Bernard Shaw]], [[Bram Stoker]], [[Edgar Wallace]], [[H. G. Wells]] and [[Leonard Woolf]].

{{Div col}}
*[[Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway]], Liberal MP 1880–86, 1892–1910.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair|John Hamilton-Gordon, 7th Earl of Aberdeen]], Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland 1886 & 1905–15, Governor-General of Canada 1893–98; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Geoffrey Acland]], Chairman of the Liberal Party 1954–56.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Donald Adamson]], author and historian.
*[[Paul Addison]], historian.<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Elkan Nathan Adler]], author, lawyer, historian, and noted collector of Jewish books and manuscripts.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Sir William Agnew, 1st Baronet|Sir William Agnew]], art dealer and Liberal MP 1880–86.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale]], Liberal MP 1892–1907; President of the National Liberal Federation, 1893–90.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Lord Alderdice]], Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1998–2004<ref name="autogenerated3">''The National Liberal Club – List of Members October 2008'' (National Liberal Club, 2008 – distributed to all members).</ref>
*[[Abdullah Yusuf Ali]], barrister, Islamic scholar, and translator of the [[Qur'an]] into English.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Asaf Ali]], Indian [[Freedom fighters of India|pro-independence politician]], Indian Ambassador to the USA 1947–48, Governor of Odisha 1948–52<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/m-asaf-ali|title=M. Asaf Ali &#124; Making Britain|website=www.open.ac.uk}}</ref>
*[[Charles Peter Allen]], Liberal MP 1900–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Ronald Wilberforce Allen]], Liberal MP 1923–24.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[William Allan (UK politician)|Sir William Allan]], Liberal MP 1893–1903.<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[William Allen (National Liberal politician)|William Allen]], Liberal MP 1892–1900, National Liberal MP 1931–35.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Annand]], Scottish newspaper editor, briefly a Liberal MP for 16 days before his death in 1906.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George Latimer Apperson]], Editor of ''[[The Antiquary (magazine)|The Antiquary]]'', 1899–1915.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Robert Applegarth]], trade unionist and working class political activist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll]], Lord Privy Seal 1852–55, 1859–66 & 1880–81, and Secretary of State for India 1868–74
*[[John Arlott]], cricket commentator.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George Armitstead, 1st Baron Armitstead]], Liberal MP, 1868–73 & 1880–86.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Paddy Ashdown]], Baron Ashdown, Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1988–99, Liberal/Lib Dem MP 1983–2001<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Sir Robert Aske, 1st Baronet|Sir Robert Aske]], Liberal MP 1923-4 & 1929–45.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[H. H. Asquith]], Prime Minister 1908–16, Leader of the Liberal Party 1908–26, Home Secretary 1892–95, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1905–08, Liberal MP 1886–1918 & 1920–24<ref name=autogenerated1>''Who Was Who, 1897–present''.</ref>
*[[David Austick]], Liberal MP 1973–74.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury]], Liberal MP 1870–1900; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury]], Liberal MP 1962–70, Chief Whip of the Liberal Party 1963–70.<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[John Baker (Portsmouth politician)|Sir John Baker]], Liberal MP 1892–1900 & 1906–09.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Arnold Baker]], judge and Liberal parliamentary candidate; chairman of the club.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Joseph Allen Baker]], engineer and Liberal MP 1905–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Desmond Banks, Baron Banks]], President of the Liberal Party 1968–69; President of the Club<ref name="National Liberal Club 2011 p.33">[[Michael Meadowcroft]], ''A Guide to the Works of Art of the National Liberal Club, London'' (National Liberal Club, London, 2011), p. 33.</ref>
*[[Godfrey Baring|Sir Godfrey Baring]], Liberal MP 1906–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Sir John Barker, 1st Baronet|Sir John Barker]], Liberal MP 1900–01 & 1906–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Arthur Rhys Barrand]], Coalition Liberal MP 1918–22.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Edmund Broughton Barnard|Sir Edmund Broughton Barnard]], Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Ernest Belfort Bax]], socialist journalist and philosopher<ref>Henry Tudor and J.M. Tudor (eds.), "The Movement and the Final Goal: Bernstein's Second Exchange With Belfort Bax", ''Marxism and Social Democracy: The Revisionist Debate, 1896–1898'' (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988), p. 172.</ref>
*[[Thomas Bayley (politician)|Thomas Bayley]], Liberal MP 1892–1906.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Catherine Bearder]], Lib Dem MEP 2009–present<ref>''The National Liberal Club – List of Members October 2009'' (National Liberal Club, 2009 – distributed to all members).</ref>
*[[Andrew Beattie (politician)|Sir Andrew Beattie]], Senator of the [[Parliament of Southern Ireland]], 1920–2.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Leonard Behrens|Sir Leonard Behrens]], President of the Liberal Party, 1958–59.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Alan Beith|Sir Alan Beith]], Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1992–2003, Liberal (later Lib Dem) MP 1973–2015; currently President of the Club<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Sir Hugh Bell, 2nd Baronet|Sir Hugh Bell]], Mayor of Middlesbrough, 1874, 1883 & 1911.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Joseph Bell]], physician and real-life inspiration for [[Sherlock Holmes]]<ref>''National Liberal Club: List of Members, July 1900'' (National Liberal Club, London, 1900).</ref>
*[[William Bellairs|Sir William Bellairs]], army general.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[David Bellotti]], Lib Dem MP 1990–92<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[George Jackson Bentham]], Liberal MP 1910–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Cornelis Berkhouwer]], Dutch Liberal MEP 1963–84, President of the European Parliament 1973–75.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Charles Bernard (civil servant)|Sir Charles Bernard]], Chief Commissioner of Burma, 1880–83 & 1886–87.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Berridge|Sir Thomas Berridge]], solicitor and Liberal candidate.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Charles Albert Berry]], nonconformist [[Anglicanism#Anglican divines|divine]].<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Berry (surgeon)|Sir James Berry]], surgeon.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Peter Bessell]], Liberal MP 1964–70<ref>Lewis Chester, [[Magnus Linklater]] and David May, ''Jeremy Thorpe: A Secret Life'' (Fontana, 1979), p. 86.</ref>
*[[John Bethell, 1st Baron Bethell]], banker and Liberal MP 1906–22.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Alfred Billson (British politician)|Alfred Billson]], Liberal MP 1892–95, 1897–1900 & 1906–07.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Blindell|Sir James Blindell]], Liberal and National Liberal MP 1929–37.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Herbert Mills Birdwood]], colonial administrator, Acting Governor of Bombay in 1895.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Peter Boizot]], Liberal Party candidate, founder of the [[PizzaExpress]] chain.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Joseph Cheney Bolton]], Liberal MP 1880–92.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[The Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]] [[Charles Booth (philanthropist)|Charles Booth]], philanthropist and shipowner
*[[William Copeland Borlase]], Liberal MP 1880–87; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Bhupendra Nath Bose]], President of the [[Indian National Congress]], 1914.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Sharon Bowles]], Baroness Bowles, Lib Dem MEP 2005–14 and peer.<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Laurence George Bowman]], Liberal candidate and Headmaster of the Jews Free School, 1908–30.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Arthur Boyer]], Canadian Liberal Senator, 1909–22.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Charles Bradlaugh]] – see "Notable rejections" below.
*[[William Bradshaw, Baron Bradshaw]], Lib Dem peer and academic<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Thomas Bramsdon]], Liberal MP 1900, 1906–10, 1918–22 & 1923–4.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey]], Liberal MP 1865 & 1868–86, Governor of Victoria, Australia 1895–1900; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Gavin Campbell, 1st Marquess of Breadalbane]], Liberal Whip in the Lords, 1873–95.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Frank Briant]], Liberal MP 1918–29 & 1931–34.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Brigg|Sir John Brigg]], Liberal MP 1895–1911.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Jacob Bright]], Liberal MP 1867–74, 1876–85 & 1885–95; founder member.<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[George Bryant Britton]], Coalition Liberal MP 1918–22.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Henry Broadhurst]], trade unionist and [[Lib-Lab]] MP 1880–92, 1894–1906.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[William Brocklehurst Brocklehurst]], Liberal MP 1906–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Rupert Brooke]], poet<ref>''National Liberal Club, List of Members, 1912'' (NLC, London, 1906).</ref>
*[[Stopford Brooke (politician)|Stopford Brooke]], Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Ernest Brown (MP)|Ernest Brown]], Leader of the National Liberal party 1940–45, Liberal (later National Liberal) MP 1923–24 & 1927–45<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir John Brunner, 1st Baronet]], industrialist and Liberal MP 1885–86, 1887–1910, and President of the National Liberal Federation 1911–8.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Sir John Brunner, 2nd Baronet]], Liberal MP 1906–18 & 1923–24.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce]], Oxford Regius Professor of Civil Law 1870–93, President of the Board of Trade 1894–95, Chief Secretary for Ireland 1905–07, Liberal MP 1880–1907; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Abel Buckley]], cotton manufacturer and Liberal MP 1885–86.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Percy William Bunting|Sir Percy William Bunting]], Editor of ''[[The Contemporary Review]]'', 1882–1911, Editor of the ''Methodist Times'', 1902–1907.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Leslie Burgin]], Liberal and Liberal National MP 1929–45, Minister of Transport, 1937–39, Minister of Supply, 1939–40.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Burnie]], businessman and Liberal MP 1922–24.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Burns]], Liberal MP 1892–1918, President of the Local Government Board 1905–14, President of the Board of Trade 1914<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Burt]], trade unionist, Liberal MP 1874–1918, and one of the first working-class MPs.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[William Pollard Byles|Sir William Pollard Byles]], owner of the ''Yorkshire Observer'' and Liberal MP 1892–95 & 1906–17.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[William Sproston Caine]], Temperance advocate and Liberal MP 1880–85, 1886–90, 1892–95 & 1900–03.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Caldwell (Scottish politician)|James Caldwell]], Liberal Unionist (later Liberal) MP 1886–92 & 1892–1910.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Patsy Calton]], Lib Dem MP 2001–5.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Menzies Campbell|Sir Menzies Campbell]], Leader of the Liberal Democrats 2006–07, Liberal (later Lib Dem) MP 1987–2015<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman]], Prime Minister 1905–08, Leader of the Liberal Party 1899–1908, Chief Secretary for Ireland 1884–85, Secretary of State for War 1886 & 1892–95, Liberal MP 1868–1908<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Alan Campbell Johnson]], author, journalist, public relations consultant and Liberal candidate.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Neville Cardus]], cricket writer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Rupert Carington, 4th Baron Carrington]], Liberal MP 1880–85<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Andrew Carnegie]], industrialist and philanthropist, calls for whose expulsion as a member followed the 1892 [[Homestead Strike]]<ref>Krass, Peter, ''Carnegie'', John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]], New Jersey, 2002, p. 296.</ref>
*[[Cyril Carr]], Chairman of the Liberal Party, 1972–73, Leader of Liverpool City Council 1974–75.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Mark Bonham Carter]], Liberal MP 1958–59, publisher<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Violet Bonham Carter]], Liberal activist and daughter of H. H. Asquith.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George Catlin (political scientist)|Sir George Catlin]], political scientist and philosopher.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Richard Causton, 1st Baron Southwark|Richard Causton]], Liberal MP 1880–85 & 1888–1910.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Samuel Chadwick]], Wesleyan Methodist minister, Editor of the ''Joyful News'', and Principal of [[Cliff College]].<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Henry Chancellor (politician)|Henry Chancellor]], Liberal MP 1910–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Andy Chande]], Tanzanian businessman.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Francis Channing, 1st Baron Channing of Wellingborough]], Liberal MP 1885–1910.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Mahadev Bhaskar Chaubal|Sir Mahadev Bhaskar Chaubal]], Indian civil servant.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Walter Butler Cheadle]], paediatrician.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[G. K. Chesterton]], novelist, poet and playwright.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[R. K. Shanmukham Chetty|Sir R. K. Shanmukham Chetty]], Indian lawyer, economist and Finance Minister 1947–49.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[David Chidgey]], Baron Chidgey, Lib Dem MP 1994–2005<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Gavin Brown Clark]], Liberal MP 1885–1900.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Andrew Clarke (British Army officer, born 1824)|Sir Andrew Clarke]], army general, [[Governor of the Straits Settlements]] 1874–75.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Charles Goddard Clarke]], Liberal MP 1906–8.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Peter William Clayden]], Liberal [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformist]] journalist and author.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Nick Clegg]], Leader of the Liberal Democrats 2007–2015, Deputy Prime Minister 2010–2015, Lib Dem MEP 1999–2004, Lib Dem MP 2005–17.<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[John Clifford (minister)|John Clifford]], nonconformist minister.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Edward Treacher Collins]], surgeon and ophthalmologist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Stephen Collins (politician)|Sir Stephen Collins]], Liberal MP 1906–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Jeremiah Colman, 1st Baronet|Sir Jeremiah Colman]], industrialist and founder of [[Colman's Mustard]].<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Colville (Liberal politician)|John Colville]], Liberal MP 1895–1901.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Joseph Compton-Rickett]], Paymaster-General 1916–19, Liberal MP 1895–1919.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Arthur Comyns Carr]], Liberal MP 1923–24, President of the Liberal Party 1958–59.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Charles Augustus Vansittart Conybeare|Charles Conybeare]], barrister and Liberal MP 1885–95.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Edward Tyas Cook]], journalist, biographer and newspaper editor.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Cory]], ship owner and coal owner.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Leonard Costello]], barrister, soldier, judge and Liberal MP 1923–4.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Henry John Stedman Cotton]], Indian civil servant, [[Chief Commissioner of Assam]] 1896–1902, Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Dugald Cowan]], Liberal MP 1918–34.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Horace Crawfurd]], Liberal MP 1924–9.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Eliot Crawshay-Williams]], Liberal MP 1910–13.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Creasey]], crime and science fiction writer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Creelman]], sensationalist reporter.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Randal Cremer|Sir Randal Cremer]], pacifist and Liberal MP 1885–95 & 1900–08.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Frank Crisp]], solicitor and microscopist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe]], Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland 1892–95, Leader of the House of Lords 1908–16, Colonial Secretary 1908–10, Secretary of State for India 1910–15, Secretary of State for War 1931.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir William Crossley, 1st Baronet|Sir William Crossley]], Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Bobby Cummines]], Chief Executive of [[UNLOCK, The National Association of Reformed Offenders|UNLOCK]], former bank robber, contract killer & racketeer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Curran (South Sligo MP)|Thomas Curran]], Irish Nationalist MP 1892–1900.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Aaron Curry (politician)|Aaron Curry]], Liberal MP 1931–35.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Curtice|Prof. John Curtice]], psephologist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Hugh Dalton]], Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer 1945–47, Labour MP 1924–31 & 1935–59<ref>''The National Liberal Club – Club rules, standing orders, and a list of members, 1912''.</ref>
*[[Sunanda K. Datta-Ray]], journalist and Editor of ''The Statesman'' of Calcutta and New Delhi
*[[Clement Davies]], Leader of the Liberal Party 1945–56, Liberal MP 1929–62; Vice-president of the Club<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Joseph Devlin]], Irish Nationalist MP 1902–22.
*[[Campbell Douglas]], architect.<ref>Dictionary of Scottish Architects, "Campbell Douglas".</ref>
*[[Maurice Arnold de Forest|Baron de Forest]], Liberal MP 1911–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby]], Conservative MP 1848–69, Conservative Foreign Secretary 1866–68 & 1874–78, Liberal Colonial Secretary 1882–85; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Joseph Devlin]], Irish Nationalist MP 1902–22 & 1929–34<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Charles Dilke, 2nd Baronet|Sir Charles Dilke]], President of the Local Government Board 1882–85, Liberal MP 1868–86 & 1892–1911<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Richard Dimbleby]], journalist and broadcaster<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Oscar Eckenstein]], mountaineer<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Hugh Emlyn-Jones]], judge and Liberal candidate<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Abraham England]], businessman, soldier and Liberal MP 1922–31<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Walter Essex|Sir Walter Essex]], businessman and Liberal MP 1906–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George Esslemont]], Liberal MP 1907–17<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Stuart Etherington]], Chief Executive of the [[National Council for Voluntary Organisations]] 1994–present<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Gruffydd Evans, Baron Evans of Claughton]], solicitor, and President of the Liberal Party 1977–78<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Owen Evans (politician)|Owen Evans]], Liberal MP 1932–45<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Emlyn Garner Evans]], National Liberal MP 1950–59<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Richard Thomas Evans]], Liberal MP 1931–35<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sydney Evershed (brewer)|Sydney Evershed]], brewer and Liberal MP 1886–1900<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Baron Eversley]], Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade 1868–71, Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty 1871–74 & 1880, First Commissioner of Works 1881–4 & 1892–4, Postmaster-General 1884–5, President of the Local Government Board, 1894–95, Liberal MP 1863–85 & 1886–95<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Derek Ezra, Baron Ezra|Lord Ezra]], Chairman of the National Coal Board 1971–81, Liberal/Lib Dem peer<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[George Henry Faber]], insurance underwriter and Liberal MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer]], civil servant, statistician and Liberal peer<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Farrer, 2nd Baron Farrer]], Liberal peer<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Charles Ryle Fay]], economic historian and advocate of co-operativism and women's rights<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Ronnie Fearn|Lord Fearn]], Lib Dem MP 1987–92 & 1997–2001<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[John Manger Fells]], accountant and developer of [[cost accounting]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Ferens]], industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal MP 1906–16<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Marcus Fernando|Sir Marcus Fernando]], pre-independence Ceylonese statesmen, physician and banker<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Peter Ffrench]], Irish Nationalist MP, 1893–1918<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Victor Harold Finney]], senior [[Rank Organisation]] executive, and Liberal MP 1923–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Joseph Firth Bottomley Firth]], barrister and Liberal MP 1880–85 & 1888–89; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Hedley Fitton]], engraver and printmaker<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Banister Fletcher (senior)|Banister Fletcher]], architect, surveyor and Liberal MP 1885–86<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Isaac Foot]], Liberal MP 1922–24 & 1929–35<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Carey Foster|Prof Carey Foster]], chemist and physicist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Philip Fothergill]], woollen manufacturer, President of the Liberal Party 1950–52, Chairman of the Liberal Party 1946–49 & 1952–54, Treasurer of the Liberal Party 1955–59<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Matthew Fowler]], Liberal MP 1892–98<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Leonard Benjamin Franklin|Sir Leonard Benjamin Franklin]], barrister, banker and Liberal MP 1923–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Edward Fraser|Sir Edward Fraser]], Mayor of Nottingham 1896–99<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Harold Frederic]], American journalist and novelist<ref name="autogenerated1925" /><ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Jonathan Fryer]], writer, broadcaster and Liberal/Lib Dem politician<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[George Fuller (British politician)|George Fuller]], Liberal MP 1885–95<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Hugh Fullerton (politician)|Hugh Fullerton]], merchant and Liberal MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Timothy Garden, Baron Garden|Air Marshal Lord Garden]], Lib Dem peer, RAF officer and academic; Vice-chairman of the Club at the time of his death<ref>''The National Liberal Club – List of Members October 2006'' (National Liberal Club, 2006 – distributed to all members).</ref>
*[[Timothy Garden, Baron Garden|Tim Garden, Air Marshal Baron Prof Garden]], RAF officer and Lib Dem peer; former vice-chairman of the NLC<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Susan Garden, Baroness Garden of Frognal|Baroness Garden]], Lib Dem peer<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[James Gardiner (Scottish politician)|James Gardiner]], farmer and Liberal MP 1918–23<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[David Lloyd George]], Prime Minister 1916–22, Leader of the Liberal Party 1926–31, President of the Board of Trade 1905–08, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1908–15, Minister of Munitions 1915–16, Secretary of State for War 1916, Liberal MP 1890–1945<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Henry George]], politician, writer and political economist; elected as a Temporary Member of the NLC in 1888–89<ref name="autogenerated1951">Elwood P. Lawrence, "Henry George's British Mission", ''American Quarterly'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, Autumn 1951) Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 240–241.</ref>
*[[James Gibb (British politician)|James Gibb]], Liberal MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir James Gibson, 1st Baronet|Sir James Gibson]], Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1906–09, Liberal MP 1909–12<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[James Daniel Gilbert]], banker, merchant and Liberal MP 1916–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Harry Gilpin]], businessman, Liberal candidate and Chairman of the Liberal Party 1943–46<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Christian David Ginsburg]], Polish-born Biblical scholar<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Padamji Ginwala]], Indian barrister and economist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Henry Gladstone, 1st Baron Gladstone of Hawarden]], businessman and President of the Club 1932–35<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Herbert Gladstone]], Liberal MP 1880–1910, Home Secretary 1905–10, Governor-General of South Africa 1910–14; founder member<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Ewart Gladstone]], Prime Minister 1868–74, 1880–85, 1886 & 1892–94, Leader of the Liberal Party 1866–75 & 1880–94, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1852–55, 1859–66, 1873–74 & 1880–82, Tory (later Peelite, later Liberal) MP 1832–45, 1847–95; founder member and first President of the Club<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Jones Jenkins, 1st Baron Glantawe]], tin-plate manufacturer and Liberal MP 1882–86 & 1895–1900<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Harold Glanville (junior)|Harold Glanville]], President of the Liberal Party, 1959–60<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Alec Ewart Glassey]], Liberal MP 1929–31<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Thomas Glen-Coats, 1st Baronet|Sir Thomas Glen-Coats]], businessman and Liberal MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Robert Glendinning]], Liberal ([[Russellite Unionist]]) MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Samuel Glyn-Jones|Sir William Samuel Glyn-Jones]], pharmacist and Liberal MP 1910–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Daniel Ford Goddard|Sir Daniel Ford Goddard]], civil engineer, businessman and Liberal MP 1895–1918<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Eric Porter Goff]], Provost of Portsmouth 1939–72<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]], founder of the [[Indian Independence Movement]], who invited [[Mahatma Gandhi]] to the club as a guest in 1914<ref>Sankar Ghose, ''Mahatma Gandhi'' (South Asia Books, 1991), p. 66.</ref>
*[[Douglas Goldring]], writer and journalist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke|Sir Oliver Goonetilleke]], Governor-General of Ceylon 1954–62, first Ceylonese individual to hold the post, and a key figure in Sri Lankan independence<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Neville Gorton]], Bishop of Coventry 1943–52<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Francis Carruthers Gould]], cartoonist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Edward Temperley Gourley]], coal fitter, ship owner and Liberal MP 1868–1900<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville]], Leader of Liberal Party 1875–80, Foreign Secretary 1851–52, 1870–74, 1880–85; presided over the club's inaugural dinner in 1882
*[[Sir David Graaff, 1st Baronet|Sir David Graaff]], South African cold storage magnate and politician; Finance Minister of South Africa, 1915–16<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref name=":Graaff">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U210269/GRAAFF_Sir_David_Pieter_de_Villiers?index=2&results=QuicksearchResults&query=0|title=GRAAFF, Sir David Pieter de Villiers|last=Who's Who|website=www.ukwhoswho.com|language=en|access-date=2017-04-26}}</ref>
*[[Corrie Grant]], journalist, barrister and Liberal MP 1900–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John George Graves]], entrepreneur and philanthropist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Hamar Greenwood]], last ever Chief Secretary for Ireland 1920–22, Liberal (later Conservative) MP 1906–22 & 1924–29<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Milner Gray (politician)|Milner Gray]], Liberal MP 1929–31, Chairman of the National Liberal Federation 1934–36, Chairman of the Liberal party 1936–46<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Charles Wilton Wood Greenidge]], anti-slavery campaigner<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Greenwood (publisher)|Thomas Greenwood]], publisher and advocate of public libraries<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon]], Foreign Secretary 1905–16, Liberal MP 1885–1916<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George Charles Grey]], Liberal MP 1941–44<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Ellis Ellis-Griffith, 1st Baronet|Sir Ellis Ellis-Griffith]], barrister, Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department 1912–15, and Liberal MP 1895–1918 & 1923-4<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frank Kingsley Griffith]], barrister, judge and Liberal MP 1928–40<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Jo Grimond]], Leader of the Liberal Party 1956–67 & 1976, Liberal MP 1950–83; served on the club's General Committee in the early 1950s<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frederick Edward Guest]], Chief Whip of the Coalition Liberal party 1917–21, Secretary of State for Air 1921–22, Liberal (later Conservative) MP 1910–22, 1923–29 & 1931–37<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Gulland]], Liberal Chief Whip 1915–19, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1915–19, Liberal MP 1906–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Krishna Govinda Gupta|Sir Krishna Govinda Gupta]], Indian statesman, barrister, Bengali social reformer and leading figure in the Brahmo Samaj movement<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Winthrop Hackett]], Australian newspaper proprietor, politician, and Chancellor of the University of Western Australia, 1912–16<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane]], Secretary of State for War 1905–12, Lord Chancellor 1912–15 & (as Labour) 1924, Labour Leader of the House of Lords 1924, Liberal MP 1885–1911<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frederic M. Halford]], angler and fly-fishing author who published under the pseudonym "Detached Badger"<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Ronald Acott Hall]], diplomat, writer and Liberal candidate<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Hammond (Irish politician)|John Hammond]], Irish Nationalist MP, 1891–1908<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Hanbury|Sir Thomas Hanbury]], businessman, botanist and philanthropist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Arthur Harbord|Sir Arthur Harbord]], Liberal (later Liberal National) MP 1922–24 & 1929–41<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Henry Harcourt]], British barrister, Indian civil servant and Liberal candidate<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Lewis Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt|Lewis Harcourt]], Secretary of State for the Colonies 1910–15, Liberal MP 1904–16<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Vernon Harcourt (politician)|Sir William Harcourt]], Home Secretary 1880–85, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1886 & 1892–95, Leader of the Liberal Party 1896–98, Liberal MP 1868–1904. Just days before his death, Harcourt dined at the club and declared "This is my last public appearance", which it proved to be.<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[George Hardy (Liberal politician)|George Hardy]], businessman and Liberal MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Hobbis Harris|Sir John Hobbis Harris]], missionary, anti-slavery campaigner and Liberal MP 1923–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Charles Harrison (Plymouth MP)|Charles Harrison]], Liberal MP 1895–97<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frederic Harrison]], Radical jurist and historian<ref name="autogenerated1925" /><ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Ernest Hart (medical journalist)|Ernest Hart]], medical journalist, Editor of the ''[[British Medical Journal]]'' 1866–69 & 1871–98<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Israel Hart|Sir Israel Hart]], merchant and Liberal candidate<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Edmund Harvey (social reformer)|Edmund Harvey]], social reformer, museum curator, and Liberal (later Independent Progressive) MP 1910–18, 1923–24 & 1937–45<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[W. E. Harvey]], coal miner, trade unionist and Lib-Lab MP 1907–14<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Lewis Haslam]], Liberal MP 1906–22<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Arthur Hayter, 1st Baron Haversham]], Financial Secretary to the War Office 1882–85, and Liberal MP 1865–68, 1873–85, 1893–95 & 1900–06<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[F. R. G. Heaf|Prof F. R. G. Heaf]], physician<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Arthur Haworth, 1st Baronet|Sir Arthur Haworth]], Liberal MP 1906–12<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Charles Hemphill, 1st Baron Hemphill]], barrister, Solicitor General for Ireland 1892–95, and Liberal MP 1895–1906<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Baron Hemphill|Stanhope Hemphill, 2nd Baron Hemphill]], Liberal MP<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Jean Henderson]], barrister and Liberal candidate
*[[William Henderson (philanthropist)|Sir William Henderson]], merchant and philanthropist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Charles Solomon Henry]], Australian businessman and British Liberal MP 1906–19<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Arnold Herbert]], barrister and Liberal MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Farrer Herschell, 1st Baron Herschell]], Liberal MP 1874–1885, Lord Chancellor 1886 & 1892–95; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" /><ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Sharp Higham]], cotton manufacturer and Liberal MP 1904–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir James Hill, 1st Baronet|Sir James Hill]], Liberal MP 1916–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Levi Hill (trade unionist)|Levi Hill]], trade unionist, first General Secretary of the [[National Association of Local Government Officers]], 1909–43<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Albert Ernest Hillary]], chocolate manufacturer and Liberal MP 1922–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Hinds (politician)|John Hinds]], businessman, Liberal MP 1910–18, and Chairman of the Welsh Liberal Federation 1925–28<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Francis Wrigley Hirst]], journalist, writer and Editor of ''[[The Economist]]'' 1907–16<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Robert Hobart, 1st Baronet|Sir Robert Hobart]], Liberal MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Leonard Hobhouse]], political theorist, sociologist, early proponent of [[social liberalism]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[David Cleghorn Hogg]], businessman and Liberal MP 1913–14<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Angus Holden, 1st Baron Holden]], Liberal MP 1885–86 & 1892–1900<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Edward Holden, 1st Baronet|Sir Edward Holden]], banker, Chairman of the City Bank (and from 1908 its successor, the [[Midland Bank]]) 1898–1919, and Liberal MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Herbert Holdsworth|Sir Herbert Holdsworth]], businessman and Liberal MP 1931–45<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George Holyoake]], secularist and supporter of workers' co-operatives; made an Honorary Member of the club in 1893<ref name="National Liberal Club 2011 p.33" /><ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Mary Honeyball]], Labour MEP 2000–present<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Arthur George Hooper]], Liberal MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Anthony Hope]], author, best known for ''The Prisoner of Zenda''<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[R. J. Hopper|Prof R. J. Hopper]], archaeologist and historian of Ancient Greece<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[1903 Ludlow by-election|Frederic Horne]], farmer and Liberal candidate<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frederick John Horniman]], tea trader, Liberal MP 1895–1906 and founder of the [[Horniman Museum]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Horsfall baronets|Sir John Cousin Horsfall]], worsted spinner, banker and Chairman of the West Riding of Yorkshire County Council<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Victor Horsley|Prof Sir Victor Horsley]], surgeon, scientist and suffragist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Lynn H. Hough|Rev Lynn H. Hough]], American Methodist clergyman<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Ebenezer Howard|Sir Ebenezer Howard]], founder of the [[garden city movement]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Spencer Leigh Hughes]], engineer, journalist and Liberal MP 1910–20<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Chris Huhne]], Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 2010–12, Lib Dem MEP 1999–2005, Lib Dem MP 2005–2013<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Arthur Humphreys-Owen]], barrister, landowner and Liberal MP 1894–1906<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Joseph Hunter (British politician)|Joseph Hunter]], Liberal MP 1929–35<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Arthur Wollaston Hutton]], clergyman and author; former Librarian of the Club<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Howell Williams Idris]] chemical manufacturer and Liberal MP, 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Walter Foster, 1st Baron Ilkeston]], physician, Liberal MP 1885-6 & 1887–1910, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board, 1892–1895<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading|Rufus Isaacs]], Lord Chief Justice 1913–21, Viceroy of India 1921–25, Foreign Secretary 1931, Liberal MP 1904–13<ref name=autogenerated1973 />
*[[Daphne Jackson|Prof Daphne Jackson]], nuclear physicist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Owen Jacobsen]], businessman and Liberal MP<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[James Alfred Jacoby|Sir James Alfred Jacoby]], lace manufacturer and Liberal MP, 1885–1909<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford]], Liberal (later Liberal Unionist) MP 1869–95, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1895–1902; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[M. R. Jayakar]], first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Poona<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Alexander Jeans|Sir Alexander Jeans]], founder and managing Editor, ''[[Liverpool Daily Post|Liverpool Post and Mercury]]''<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Roy Jenkins]], Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer 1967–70, Labour Home Secretary 1965–67 & 1974–76, founder and Leader of the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Jerome K. Jerome]], author and humourist<ref>''National Liberal Club, List of Members, 1912'' (NLC, London, 1903).</ref>
*[[Penelope Jessel|Dame Penelope Jessel]], President of the Women's Liberal Federation, 1970–72<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Muhammed Ali Jinnah]], founder of [[Pakistan]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/mohammed-ali-jinnah|title=Mohammed Ali Jinnah &#124; Making Britain|website=www.open.ac.uk}}</ref>
*[[William Johnson (Liberal-Labour politician)|William Johnson]], coal miner, trade unionist and Lib-Lab MP, 1906–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Joseph Johnstone]], Liberal MP, 1918–22<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[James Joicey, 1st Baron Joicey]], coal mining magnate and Liberal MP, 1885–1906<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Evan Rowland Jones]], Liberal MP, 1892–95<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Daniel Jones]], Welsh Congregational minister<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Josiah Towyn Jones|Rev Josiah Towyn Jones]], Welsh clergyman and Liberal MP, 1912–22<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Lewis Jones (politician)|Sir Lewis Jones]], Liberal National MP, 1931–45<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Nigel Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham|Lord Jones of Cheltenham]] Lib Dem MP 1992–2005<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Lakshman Kadirgamar]], Sri Lankan lawyer and statesman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, 1994–2001 & 2004–05<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Seymour Keay]], businessman and Liberal MP, 1889–95<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Keens|Sir Thomas Keens]], Liberal MP, 1923–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Paul Keetch]] Lib Dem MP 1997–2010<ref name="autogenerated3" /><ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Bryan Keith-Lucas|Prof Bryan Keith-Lucas]], political scientist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George William Kekewich|Sir George William Kekewich]], civil servant and Liberal MP 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Right Reverend|The Rt Rev]] [[Eric Kemp]], [[Bishop of Chichester]] 1974–2001; President of the Club<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Charles Kennedy]], Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1999–2006, SDP/Lib Dem MP 1983–2015<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Vincent Kennedy]], Liberal MP, 1904–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[J. E. Kenny]], Irish Nationalist MP, 1885–96<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Edwardes, 4th Baron Kensington]], Liberal Whip 1880–85 & 1892–95; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Benjamin Kidd]], sociologist.<ref>D.P. Crook, ''Benjamin Kidd: portrait of a social Darwinist'' (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009), p. 210. Kidd joined in 1902.</ref>
*[[James Kiley]], Liberal MP, 1916–22<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley]], Colonial Secretary 1880–82, Secretary of State for India 1882–85, 1886 & 1892–94, Foreign Secretary 1894–95; a vice-president of the club<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Charles William Kimmins]], educational psychologist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Balfour, 1st Baron Kinross]], Lord Justice General of Scotland 1899–1905; Lord Advocate 1881–85, 1886 & 1892–95; Solicitor General for Scotland 1880–1; Liberal MP 1880–99<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Herbert, 1st Earl Kitchener]], Field Marshal and Secretary of State for War 1914–16
*[[Archie Kirkwood|Lord Kirkwood]], Lib Dem MP 1983–2005<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Susan Kramer|Baroness Kramer]], Lib Dem MP 2005–10<ref name="autogenerated3" /><ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[V. T. Krishnamachari|Sir V. T. Krishnamachari]], Indian civil servant and administrator, [[Diwan (title)|Dian (title)]] of Baroda 1927–44; Prime Minister of Jaipur State 1946–49; member of the Rajya Sabha 1961–64<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Henry Labouchère]], Radical Liberal MP 1865–66, 1867–68, 1880–1906<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Robert Laidlaw (politician)|Robert Laidlaw]], Liberal MP, 1906–10<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Enid Lakeman]], Director of the [[Electoral Reform Society]], 1960–74<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[J. Batty Langley]], trade union official and Liberal MP, 1894–1909<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frederick Joseph Laverack]], Liberal MP, 1923–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Wallace Lawler]], Liberal MP, 1969–70<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 2nd Baronet, of Brayton]], Liberal MP, 1859–65, 1868–85, 1886–1900, 1903–06; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Walter Layton, 1st Baron Layton]], economist, and Editor of ''[[The Economist]]'', 1922–38<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Joseph Leckie]], Liberal/Liberal National MP, 1931–38<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Rodolphe Lemieux]], Member of the Canadian Parliament, 1896–1930; Speaker of the Canadian Parliament, 1922–1930; Canadian Senator, 1930–37<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Leighton Seager, 1st Baron Leighton of St Mellons]], shipowner and Liberal peer<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Leng (politician)|Sir John Leng]], Liberal MP 1889–1906; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Edward Lessing]], Liberal MP, 1923–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme]], industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal MP 1906–09<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Joseph Hiam Levy]], author and economist<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Arthur Lewis]], Liberal MP, 1918–23<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire]], President of the Board of Agriculture 1905–11; Chairman of the Club 1895–1921, President of the Club 1903–28<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frederick Linfield]], Liberal MP, 1922–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Gordon Lishman]], Director of [[Age Concern]] 2000–09, Liberal/Lib Dem activist<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Robert Ashton Lister|Sir Robert Ashton Lister]], Liberal MP, 1918–22<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Alexander Livingstone (Scottish politician)|Sir Alexander Livingstone]], Liberal MP, 1923–29<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir David Llewellyn, 1st Baronet]], Welsh industrialist and financier<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Rhys Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Kilgerran]], Liberal peer, President of the Liberal Party, 1973–74<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Stephen Lloyd]], Lib Dem MP, 2010–15 & 2017–2019<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[David Lloyd George]], Prime Minister, 1916–22; Liberal MP, 1890–1945; Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1908–15; Leader of the Liberal Party, 1926–31<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Robert Reid, 1st Earl Loreburn]], Liberal MP, 1880–85 & 1886–1905, Lord Chancellor 1905–12<ref name=autogenerated1973 /><ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William John Locke]], novelist and playwright<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Thomas Lough]], Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education 1905–08, Liberal MP 1892–1918<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Frederick Loverseed]], Liberal MP, 1923–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Richard Lovett (writer)|Richard Lovet]], English Methodist minister and author<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[David Low (cartoonist)|David Low]], cartoonist<ref>[[Michael Meadowcroft]], ''A Guide to the Works of Art of the National Liberal Club, London'' (National Liberal Club, London, 2011), p. 21.</ref><ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Henry Lucy]], journalist, humourist, and parliamentary sketchwriter.
*[[Arnold Lupton]], Liberal MP, 1906–1910
*[[Malcolm MacColl]], clergyman and publicist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Ramsay MacDonald]], Labour Prime Minister 1924 & 1929–35, Labour MP 1906–18, 1922–35 & 1936–37; joined when he was private secretary to Liberal MP Thomas Lough (see above)<ref>[[David Marquand]], '' [[Ramsay MacDonald]]: A Biography'' (Jonathan Cape, 1977).</ref>
*[[Dugald Macfadyen]], clergyman and Liberal parliamentary candidate.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Donald Horne Macfarlane|Sir Donald Horne Macfarlane]], Home Rule, Liberal and Crofters Party MP 1880–86 & 1892–95.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Alasdair Mackenzie]], farmer and Liberal MP 1964–70.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Robert Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart|Lord MacLennan]], Leader of the SDP 1987–88, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1988, Labour (later SDP, later Lib Dem) MP 1966–2001
*[[J. G. Swift MacNeill]], Irish Nationalist MP 1887–1918.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas James Macnamara]], Liberal MP 1900–24.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Alexander MacRobert]], businessman.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Diana Maddock|Baroness Maddock]], Lib Dem MP 1993–97, Lib Dem peer<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[John Maden|Sir John Maden]], Liberal MP 1892–1900 & 1917–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Dalrymple Maitland]], Member of the Isle of Man House of Keys 1890–1919 and Speaker of the House 1909–19.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frederick Mallalieu]], Liberal MP 1916–22.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frederick Mander]], General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, 1931–47.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Harry Manfield]], Liberal MP 1906–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Horace Rendall Mansfield]], Liberal MP 1900–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Frederick Mappin, 1st Baronet]], factory owner and Liberal MP 1900–10.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Francis John Marnham]], businessman and Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Paul Marshall (financier)|Paul Marshall]], financier and philanthropist<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[David Marshall Mason]], banker, businessman and Liberal MP 1910–18 & 1931–35.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Robert Mason (Liberal politician)|Robert Mason]], National Liberal MP 1918–22.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Massie]], Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Henry William Massingham]], journalist, Editor of ''The Star'' 1890–91, Editor of ''The Nation'' 1907–23<ref>Alfred F. Havighurst, ''Radical journalist: H. W. Massingham (1860–1924)'' (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1974), p. 53.</ref>
*[[Charles Masterman]], head of the British War Propaganda Bureau 1914–18, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1914–15, Liberal MP 1906–14 & 1923–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Alexander Matheson, 3rd Baronet]], Senator for Western Australia, 1901–06.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Aylmer and Louise Maude|Aylmer Maude]], translator of Tolstoy.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Hayton Mawson]], landscape architect and town planner.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John McAnally|Vice-Admiral John McAnally]], Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies, 1998–2001.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[R. B. McCallum]], historian and inventor of psephology.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Patrick McDermott (Irish politician)|Patrick McDermott]], Irish Nationalist MP 1891–1902.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Edward McHugh (politician)|Edward McHugh]], Irish Nationalist MP 1892–1900.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[P. A. McHugh]], Irish Narionalist MP 1892–1909.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William McKillop]], Irish Nationalist MP 1900–09.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Walter McLaren]], Liberal MP 1886–95 & 1910–12.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Arnold McNair]], judge of the [[International Court of Justice]] and first President of the [[European Court of Human Rights]]<ref name="National Liberal Club 1910">''National Liberal Club: List of Members, July 1910'' (National Liberal Club, London, 1910).</ref>
*[[Tom McNally, Baron McNally|Lord McNally]], Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords 2004–13, Minister of State for Justice 2010–3, Labour (later SDP) MP 1979–83<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Michael Meadowcroft]], Liberal MP 1983–87<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Thomas Meech]], journalist and author.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Homi Maneck Mehta|Sir Homi Maneck Mehta]], Indian industrialist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Joseph William Mellor]], chemist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Melville]], Head of the Secret Intelligence Service and first Director-General of MI5, 1903–09.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[M. G. K. Menon]], Indian physicist and policy maker.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Edward Merewether|Sir Edward Merewether]], Lieutenant Governor and Chief Secretary of Malta 1902–11, Governor of Sierra Leone 1911–16, Governor of the Leeward Islands 1916–21.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[James Meston, 1st Baron Meston]], civil servant and businessman; Chairman of the Club<ref name="National Liberal Club 2011 p.32">[[Michael Meadowcroft]], ''A Guide to the Works of Art of the National Liberal Club, London'' (National Liberal Club, London, 2011), p. 32.</ref>
*[[Algernon Methuen|Sir Algernon Methuen, 1st Baronet]], founder of [[Methuen Publishing|Methuen & Co.]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Hugh Meyler]], solicitor, soldier and Liberal MP 1923–24.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Ray Michie, Baroness Michie of Gallanach]], Liberal and Lib Dem MP 1987–2001 and peer.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Nathaniel Micklem (politician)|Nathaniel Micklem]], barrister and Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Molony]], Solicitor-General for Ireland 1912–3, Attorney-General for Ireland 1913, last Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, 1918–24.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Percy Molteno]], barrister, businessman, philanthropist and Liberal MP 1906–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Ludwig Mond]], chemist and industrialist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Robert Collier, 2nd Baron Monkswell]], cricketer and Liberal peer.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Rajendra Nath Mookerjee|Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee]], Indian industrialist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Arnold Morley]], Postmaster General 1892–95, Liberal MP 1880–95; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Charles Morley (Liberal politician)|Charles Morley]], musician and Liberal MP 1895–1906.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn]], historian, biographer, Chief Secretary for Ireland 1886 & 1892–95, Secretary of State for India 1905–10 & 1911, Liberal MP 1883–95 & 1896–1908<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Ian Morrow]], "company doctor" and Liberal parliamentary candidate.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Levi Lapper Morse]], grocer, draper and Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Ewart Morse]], businessman and Liberal MP 1923–24.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Alpheus Morton]], architect and Liberal MP 1889–95 & 1906–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[E. J. C. Morton]], barrister and Liberal MP 1892–1902.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Felix Moscheles]], painter, pacifist and early advocate of [[Esperanto]].<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Patrick Seely]], 3rd Baron Mottistone, Liberal parliamentary candidate and peer.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar|Sir Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar]], Indian politician and statesman.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Ramsay Muir]], historian, philosopher, writer, and Liberal MP 1923–24.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Basanta Mullick|Sir Basanta Mullick]], Indian civil servant and judge.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Donald Murray (Scottish politician)|Donald Murray]], Liberal MP 1918–22.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Gilbert Murray]], classicist and humanist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frank Murrell]], businessman and Liberal MP 1923–24.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[M. A. Muthiah Chettiar]], Indian banker, educationalist, philanthropist and politician.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Horatio Myer]], Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[T. M. Nair]], Indian politician and founder of the [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]]
*[[Arthur Neal]], Liberal MP 1918–22.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Neill (insurance executive)|Sir Thomas Neill]], insurance executive and health campaigner.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Henry Nevinson]], war correspondent, a campaigning journalist exposing slavery in western Africa, and suffragist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Ernest Newman]], ''Sunday Times'' music critic.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George Newnes]], Liberal MP 1885–95 & 1900–10, publisher, founding Editor of ''[[The Strand Magazine]]''<ref>Kate Jackson, ''George Newnes and the new journalism in Britain, 1880–1910: culture and profit'' (Ashgate, Sussex, 2001), pp. 21, 102, 122.</ref>
*[[Dadabhai Naoroji]], Liberal MP 1892–95, intellectual and educator.
*[[David Nicholls (writer)|David Nicholls]], novelist and screenwriter.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George Nicholls (British politician)|George Nicholls]], Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Patteson Nickalls (stockbroker)|Sir Patteson Nickalls]], stockbroker and Liberal parliamentary candidate.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Nixon baronets|Sir Christopher John Nixon, 1st Baronet]], physician.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton]], Liberal MP 1885–86 & 1889–97.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Cecil Norton, 1st Baron Rathcreedan|Cecil Norton]], Liberal MP 1892–1916.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook]], First Lord of the Admiralty 1880–85; founder member and first chairman of the club.<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Charles Wilson, 2nd Baron Nunburnholme]], shipping magnate and Liberal MP 1906–07.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Pat O'Brien (Irish politician)|Pat O'Brien]], Irish Nationalist MP 1886–92 & 1895–1917, and Chief Whip of the Irish Nationalists 1907–17.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John O'Connor (North Kildare MP)|John O'Connor]], Irish Nationalist MP 1885–92 & 1905–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[T. P. O'Connor]], Irish Nationalist MP 1880–1929 and "Father of the House"<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[North Donegal (UK Parliament constituency)|William O'Doherty]], Irish Nationalist MP 1900–05.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frederick Ogden (politician)|Frederick Ogden]], Liberal MP 1910–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan]], Lord Chancellor 1870–74 & 1880–82, founder member
*[[Edward Peter O'Kelly]], Irish Nationalist MP 1895 & 1910–4.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[South Armagh (UK Parliament constituency)|Charles O'Neill]], Irish Nationalist MP 1909–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Lembit Öpik]], Lib Dem MP 1997–2010
*[[John White, 1st Baron Overtoun]], chemical manufacturer and philanthropist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Launceston (UK Parliament constituency)|Thomas Owen]], Liberal MP 1892–98.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Monson, 1st Viscount Oxenbridge]], Liberal Chief Whip in the House of Lords 1880–92.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Monroe Palmer, Baron Palmer of Childs Hill]], Liberal Party Treasurer 1977–83; Liberal parliamentary candidate; Lib Dem peer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George William Palmer (British politician)|George William Palmer]], Liberal MP 1892–95 & 1898–1904.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Kate Parminter, Baroness Parminter]], Chief Executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, 1998–2004, and Lib Dem peer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Edward Parrott]], writer and Liberal MP 1917–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Hubert Parry|Sir Hubert Parry, 1st Baronet]], composer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Henry Parry]], solicitor, soldier and Liberal MP, 1913–24.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Brown Paton]], author and educationalist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Robert Pattinson (British politician)|Sir Robert Pattinson]], businessman and Liberal MP, 1922–23.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Samuel Pattinson]], businessman and Liberal MP, 1922–24.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Arthur Peake]], Biblical scholar.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Robert Pearce (MP)|Robert Pearce]], Liberal MP 1906–10, 1910–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Peiris|Sir James Peiris]], Sri Lankan independence politician, and first elected vice-president of the Legislative Council of Ceylon, 1924–30.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Henry Pelling]], historian.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[David Penhaligon]], Liberal MP 1974–86.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Robert Perks|Sir Robert Perks, 1st Baronet]], Liberal MP, 1892–1910.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George Herbert Perris]], creator and editor of the [[Home University Library of Modern Knowledge]].<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Budd Phear|Sir John Budd Phear]], Chief Justice of Ceylon, 1877–79.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Benjamin Pickard|Ben Pickard]], coal miner, trade union general secretary, and Lib-Lab MP, 1885–1904.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George Augustus Pilkington|Sir George Augustus Pilkington]], doctor and Liberal MP, 1885–86 & 1899–1900.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Roger Pincham]], Chairman of the Liberal Party, 1979–83.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair]], scientist, Liberal MP 1868–92, and Postmaster-General 1873–74.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George Pollard (politician)|Sir George Pollard]], physician, barrister and Liberal MP 1906–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron Pontypridd]], Liberal MP 1885–1910.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Bayley Potter]], Liberal MP 1865–95.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John O'Connor Power]], Fenian leader and Home Rule MP for County Mayo 1874–85. In 1884 he moved to the Liberal party to strengthen the Irish Liberal Alliance and was involved in the training of Liberal politicians. Inspiration for Conan Doyle's Professor Moriarty.
*[[Prem Prakash]], Indian actor and producer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[David Pratt (South Africa)|David Pratt]], South African farmer & socialite, who attempted to assassinate Prime Minister [[Hendrik Verwoerd]] in 1960 over the latter's role as the founder of [[South African apartheid]]<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1A1QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=c1UDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6865,1535659&dq=national-liberal-club&hl=en Anthony White, "Would-Be Africa Assassin Stuns London Club Friends", ''The Evening Independent'', 11 April 1960, p.1] The article noted that Pratt, a wealthy farmer, often stayed at the club when in London, was an active supporter of the British Liberal Party, and a bitter opponent of apartheid.</ref>
*[[Robert John Price]], surgeon, barrister and Liberal MP.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Pringle (Liberal politician)|William Pringle]], Liberal MP 1922–24.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Urban Pritchard]], otologist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Robert Pullar|Sir Robert Pullar]], Liberal MP 1907–10.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Henry George Purchase]], barrister and Liberal MP, 1918–22.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George Haven Putnam]], American author, soldier and publisher; elected a Temporary Member of the NLC in 1888–89.<ref name="autogenerated1951" />
*[[Lionel Edward Pyke]], barrister.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George Heynes Radford|Sir George Heynes Radford]], Liberal MP 1906–17, and Chairman of National Liberal Club Buildings Ltd, which constructed the club.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Peter Wilson Raffan]], Liberal MP 1910–22 & 1923–24.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frank Walter Raffety]], barrister and Liberal parliamentary candidate.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*Sir [[C. P. Ramaswami Iyer]], Diwan (Prime Minister) of [[Travancore]], 1936–1947, who died "suddenly and peacefully, sitting in an armchair" in the club in 1966<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cprfoundation.org/otherpages/01-cprmain.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705050015/http://cprfoundation.org/otherpages/01-cprmain.htm|url-status=dead|title=C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, chronology of Ramaswami Aiyar's life (note the alternative transliteration of his surname)|archive-date=5 July 2008}}</ref>
*[[Adam Rolland Rainy]], Liberal MP 1906–11.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Cecil Norton, 1st Baron Rathcreedan]], Liberal MP, 1892–1916.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[B. N. Rau|Sir Benegal Narsing Rau]], Indian civil servant and diplomat, best known for co-drafting the [[Constitution of India]].<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Edmund Charles Rawlings]], solicitor and Liberal parliamentary candidate<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Tim Razzall, Baron Razzall|Lord Razzall]], Liberal parliamentary candidate and Lib Dem peer.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Walter Rea, 1st Baron Rea]], Liberal MP 1906–18, 1923–24 & 1931–35; Liberal Chief Whip 1931–35.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Philip Rea, 2nd Baron Rea]], Chairman of the Liberal Party, 1950–52; President of the Liberal Party, 1955, Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords, 1955–67.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Russell Rea]], ship-owner and Liberal MP 1900–16.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Harold Reckitt|H. J. Reckitt]], Liberal MP 1893, 1895–1907<ref name=autogenerated1973 />
*[[James Reckitt|Sir James Reckitt]], founder of household products company [[Reckitt and Sons]].<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Wemyss Reid]], Editor of the [[Leeds Mercury]] 1870–87, Manager of [[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell & Co.]] 1887–1905, novelist and writer.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Leifchild Jones, 1st Baron Rhayader]], Liberal MP 1905–10, 1910–18, 1923–24 & 1929–31<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda]], Liberal MP, 1888–1910; Minister of Food Control, 1917–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Rigby (politician)|Sir John Rigby]], Liberal MP 1885–86 & 1892–94; Solicitor General 1892–94; Attorney General 1894.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Karin Riis-Jørgensen]] Danish MEP.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Oliver Robbins]], Permanent Secretary of the Department for Exiting the European Union, 2016–present<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Charles Henry Roberts]], Liberal MP 1906–18 & 1922–23<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George Scott Robertson|Sir George Scott Robertson]], soldier, author, colonial administrator, and Liberal MP 1906–16<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[J. M. Robertson]], journalist, secularist and Liberal MP 1906–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sydney Walter Robinson]], farmer, building contractor and Liberal MP 1923–24.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Robinson (Gloucester MP)|Sir Thomas Robinson]], corn merchant and Liberal MP 1880–81 & 1885–95.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Atholl Robertson]], fine arts printer, publisher, Liberal MP 1923–24; and Chairman of the NLC political committee<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Inga-Stina Robson]], Anglo-Swedish political activist, Liberal/Lib Dem peer<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*Sir [[Lawrence Robson]], accountant and President of the Liberal Party, 1953–54.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Ernest Lamb, 1st Baron Rochester]], Liberal MP 1910–18; Paymaster-General, 1931–35.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Baron Rochester|Foster Charles Lowry Lamb, 2nd Baron Rochester]], Lib Dem peer<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Thorold Rogers]], economist, historian and Liberal MP 1880–86; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Henry Enfield Roscoe]], chemist and Liberal MP 1885–95<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[David Rocyn-Jones|Rev Sir David Rocyn-Jones]], health officer.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Thomas Roe, 1st Baron Roe]], businessman and Liberal MP, 1883–95 & 1900–16.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[James Guinness Rogers]], nonconformist clergyman.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Edward Rose]], playwright.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Paul Rowen]], Lib Dem MP 2005–10<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[James Rowlands (politician)|James Rowlands]], Liberal MP, 1886–95 & 1906–20.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Arnold Stephenson Rowntree]], Liberal MP 1910–18.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Philip Foale Rowsell]], pharmacist, insurer and Liberal parliamentary candidate.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Walter Runciman, 1st Baron Runciman]], Liberal MP 1914–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen]], Liberal MP 1880–94; Attorney General, 1886 & 1892–94; Lord Chief Justice of England, 1894–1900.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Edward Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Liverpool]], journalist and Liberal MP, 1885–87.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George W. E. Russell|G. W. E. Russell]], Liberal MP 1880–85, 1892–95; founder member.<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Richard John Russell]], Liberal and Liberal National MP, 1929–43.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sir Thomas Wallace Russell, 1st Baronet|Thomas Wallace Russell]], Unionist MP 1886–1910 & 1911–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[James Rankin Rutherford]], Scottish landowner and Liberal parliamentary candidate.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Richard D. Ryder]], psychologist and animal rights activist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids]], Liberal MP 1888–95 and peer<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Shapurji Saklatvala]], Communist MP 1922–23, 1924–9.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/shapurji-saklatvala|title=Shapurji Saklatvala &#124; Making Britain|website=www.open.ac.uk}}</ref>
*[[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel|Herbert Samuel]], Home Secretary 1916 & 1931–32, High Commissioner of Palestine 1920–25, Leader of the Liberal Party 1931–35, Leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords 1944–55, Liberal MP 1902–18 & 1929–35.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Jonathan Samuel]], manufacturer and Liberal MP 1895–1900 & 1910–17<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[C. Sankaran Nair|Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair]], President of the [[Indian National Congress]] in 1897.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Christopher Sapara Williams]], first Nigerian lawyer to practice at the English bar, in 1879.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sarila|His Highness Maharaja Mahipal Singh Sarila]], Raja of Sarila, [[Uttar Pradesh]], 1919–83.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*Sir [[P. S. Sivaswami Iyer]], Advocate-General of the Madras Presidency 1907–11, Member of the Council of State of India, 1922–23, elected a temporary member in 1922.<ref>K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, ''A Great Liberal: Speeches and Writings of Sir P. S. Sivaswami Iyer'' (Allied Publishers, Calcutta, 1965), p. xxxvi.</ref>
*[[R. Srinivasa Sarma|Sir Ramaswami Srinivasa Sarma]], Indian politician and journalist.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Stewart Schneider|Sir Stewart Schneider]], Solicitor-General of Ceylon, 1917.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[C. P. Scott]], editor of the ''Manchester Guardian'' 1872–1929, Liberal MP 1895–1906<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Bill Scott (priest)|Rev. Bill Scott]], Ecclesiastical Chaplain to Elizabeth II, 2007–15.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Charles Scribner II|Charles Scribner]], American publisher; elected as a Temporary Member of the NLC in 1888–89<ref name="autogenerated1951" />
*[[Brian Sedgemore]], Labour MP 1974–79 & 1983–2005, Lib Dem defector<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Richard Seddon]], Prime Minister of New Zealand 1893–1906, and longest ever holder of that post.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Beatrice Seear, Baroness Seear|Nancy Seear, Baroness Seear]], academic and Liberal/Lib Dem peer<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Lewis Sergeant]], writer, journalist and biographer.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[William Kean Seymour]], writer, novelist and banker.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Muhammad Shafi (politician)|Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi]], co-founder of the [[All-India Muslim League]] in 1906.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Ignatius O'Brien, 1st Baron Shandon]], Lord Chancellor of Ireland 1913–18<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sharp baronets|Sir Edward Sharp, 1st Baronet]], manufacturer.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[George Bernard Shaw]], writer, journalist, playwright and socialist<ref name="autogenerated1979" />
*[[Elizabeth Shields]], Liberal MP, 1986–87.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Shipley, Baron Shipley|Lord Shipley]], Lib Dem peer, Leader of Newscastle City Council 2006–10
*[[Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso|Sir Archibald Sinclair]], Leader of the Liberal Party 1935–45, Secretary of State for Air 1940–45, Liberal MP 1922–45.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Clive Sinclair|Sir Clive Sinclair]], inventor and entrepreneur.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Sunny Singh (writer)|Sunny Singh]], author and novelist.
*[[Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha]], Indian nationalist politician.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Granville Slack]], judge and Liberal parliamentary candidate.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Edward Smallwood]], coal merchant and Liberal MP 1917–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Cyril Smith]], Liberal MP 1972–92<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Rodney "Gipsy" Smith]], evangelist and supporter of the [[Salvation Army]].
*[[Reginald Arthur Smith]], journalist and author.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Adrian Solomons]], Australian politician; Leader of the Country Party, 1974–78.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[William Somervell]], businessman, philanthropist, and Liberal MP in 1918.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Richard Causton, 1st Baron Southwark]], Paymaster-General 1905–10, Liberal MP 1880–85 & 1888–1910; founder member.<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Harold Spender]], author, journalist, and Liberal parliamentary candidate.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Stephen Spender]], poet and novelist<ref>John Sutherland, ''Stephen Spender: a literary life''(Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005), pp. 14, 43.</ref>
*[[Albert Spicer|Sir Albert Spicer, 1st Baroney]], Liberal MP 1892–1900 & 1906–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baron Stalbridge]], Liberal MP 1861–86, Liberal whip 1880–85; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[James Stansfeld]], President of the Local Government Board 1871–74 & 1886, Liberal MP 1859–95.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Edward Stanley, 4th Baron Stanley of Alderley]], Liberal MP 1880–85 and peer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Weardale]], Liberal MP 1886–92, 1893–1900 & 1904–06<ref name=autogenerated1973 />
*[[Charles Walter Starmer]], newspaper proprietor and Liberal MP, 1923–24.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Michael Steed]], psephologist and Liberal/Lib Dem politician.
*[[David Steel|Lord Steel]], Leader of the Liberal Party 1976–88, Liberal/Lib Dem MP 1965–97, Presiding Officer (Speaker) of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003, Lib Dem peer; Vice-president of the Club<ref name="autogenerated3" /><ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Steel baronets|Sir James Steel]], Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1900–03.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Ernest Stenning]], Archdeacon of Man, 1958–64<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Henry Kenyon Stephenson|Sir Henry Kenyon Stephenson, 1st Baronet]], businessman and Liberal/National Liberal MP 1918–23.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Daniel Macaulay Stevenson|Sir Daniel Macaulay Stevenson, 1st Baronet]], businessman, philanthropist and Chancellor of Glasgow University 1934–44.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Halley Stewart|Sir Halley Stewart]], businessman, philanthropist, and Liberal MP 1887–95 & 1906–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Bram Stoker]], theatre manager and author of ''[[Dracula]]''.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Peter Stollery]], Canadian Liberal MP 1972–81, Senator 1981–2010.
*[[Bertram Stuart Straus]], businessmen and Liberal MP, 1906–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Edward Anthony Strauss]], businessman, Liberal MP 1906–23, Independent Constitutionalist MP 1927–29, and Liberal National MP 1931–39.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Stuart (scientist)|James Stuart]], scientist and Liberal MP 1884–1900 & 1906–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Charles Stubbs]], Bishop of Truro, 1906–12.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Donal Sullivan]], Irish Nationalist MP, 1883–1907.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[James Woolley Summers]], Liberal MP 1910–13.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Charles Summersby]], draper and Liberal National MP 1935–39.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Sutherland (Liberal politician)|John Sutherland]], Liberal MP 1905–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling]], banker and Liberal MP 1885–1900.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[J. G. Swift MacNeill]], Professor of constitutional law and Irish Nationalist MP 1887–1918.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Shapland Hugh Swinny]], economist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Lawson Tait]], surgeon.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Richard Tangye]], engineer and philanthropist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Chief Justice of Grenada|Sir Charles James Tarring]], Chief Justice of Grenada, 1897–1905.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Matthew Taylor, Baron Taylor of Goss Moor|Lord Taylor of Goss Moor]], Liberal & Lib Dem MP 1987–2010
*[[Theodore Cooke Taylor]], Liberal MP 1900–18, and the longest-lived British MP.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[William Tebb]], social reformer.
*[[Joy Tetley]], Archdeacon of Worcester, 1999–2008.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Robin Teverson, Baron Teverson|Lord Teverson]], Lib Dem MEP 1994–99
*[[Abel Thomas]], Liberal MP, 1890–1912.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Dylan Thomas]], Welsh poet and writer<ref>[[Jonathan Fryer]], ''Dylan: The Nine Lives of Dylan Thomas'' (Kyle Cathie, 1993), p. 51.</ref>
*[[Maldwyn Thomas|Sir Maldwyn Thomas]], President of the Welsh Liberal Party, 1985–86.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[William Moy Thomas]], novelist and journalist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Pennington Thomasson]], Liberal MP, 1880–85.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Trevelyan Thomson]], Liberal MP, 1918–28.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Jeremy Thorpe]], Leader of the Liberal Party 1967–76, Liberal MP 1959–79<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[Charles John Tibbits]], newspaper editor<ref name="WW 1904">{{cite book | section=Tibbits, Charles John | title=Who's Who 1904 | publisher=A. & C. Black | publication-place=London | section-url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.07152/page/n1574 | page=1522 }}</ref>
*[[Grigori Tokaty]], rocket scientist and Soviet dissident writer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Robert Parkinson Tomlinson]], corn market and Liberal MP, 1928–29.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Andrew Mitchell Torrance]], Liberal MP, 1906–09.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Geoff Tordoff|Lord Tordoff]], Lib Dem peer<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[George Toulmin|Sir George Toulmin]], newspaper editor and Liberal MP, 1902–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent]], founder of Boots chemists, Liberal peer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet|Sir Charles Trevelyan]], Liberal MP 1899–1918, Labour MP 1922–31, President of the Board of Education 1924 & 1929–31<ref name="National Liberal Club 1910" />
*[[G. M. Trevelyan]], Whig historian<ref name="National Liberal Club 1910" />
*[[Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet|Sir George Otto Trevelyan]], Liberal MP 1865–97, Chief Secretary for Ireland 1882–84, Secretary for Scotland 1886 & 1892–95<ref name="National Liberal Club 1910" />
*[[Joseph Herbert Tritton]], banker.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Adolph Tuck|Sir Adolph Tuck]], fine art publisher.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Frederic Tweed]], novelist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Paul Tyler, Baron Tyler|Lord Tyler]], Liberal/Lib Dem MP 1974 & 1992–2005
*[[Thomas Fisher Unwin]], publisher.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Francis Vane]], supporter of the Boy Scout movement<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Frederick Verney]], clergyman, barrister, diplomat and Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[William Vestey, 1st Baron Vestey]], shipping magnate and Liberal peer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Henry Harvey Vivian]], trade unionist, campaigner for profit-sharing & co-ownership, and Liberal MP 1906–10 & 1923–24.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Donald Wade]], Liberal MP 1950–64 and Liberal peer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Laurence Ambrose Waldron]], businessman and Irish Nationalist MP, 1904–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Ronald Walker (UK politician)|Ronald Walker]], President of the Liberal Party, 1952–53.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Sir Samuel Walker, 1st Baronet|Sir Samuel Walker]], Liberal MP 1884–85, barrister, judge, and Lord Chancellor of Ireland 1892–95 & 1905–11.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Edgar Wallace]], crime writer, journalist, novelist and playwright
*[[William Wallace, Baron Wallace of Saltaire|Lord Wallace of Saltaire]], academic and Lib Dem government whip 2010–present
*[[Diana Wallis]] Lib Dem MEP 1999–present<ref name="autogenerated3" />
*[[David Sydney Waterlow]], Liberal MP 1906–10.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Philip Watkins]], accountant and Liberal parliamentary candidate.
*[[Alan Watson, Baron Watson of Richmond|Lord Watson]], Lib Dem peer
*[[Robert Spence Watson]], reformer and political activist; [[President of the National Liberal Federation]], 1890–1902; founder member of the club, later its Vice-president<ref>[[Michael Meadowcroft]], ''A Guide to the Works of Art of the National Liberal Club, London'' (National Liberal Club, London, 2011), p. 18.</ref>
*[[Henry Anderson Watt]], Liberal MP 1906–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Wayman]], Liberal MP 1885–99.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Sir Henry Webb, 1st Baronet|Henry Webb]], Liberal MP 1911–18 & 1923–24<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Sidney Webb, 1st Baron Passfield|Sidney Webb]], socialist writer, economist, co-founder of the London School of Economics.
*[[William Wedderburn|Sir William Wedderburn]], Liberal MP 1893–1900, British civil servant and reformer in India<ref name="open.ac.uk" />
*[[James Galloway Weir]], Liberal MP 1892–1911.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[H. G. Wells]], writer, journalist, novelist, pacifist and socialist<ref name="autogenerated1979" />
*[[John Westlake (law scholar)|John Westlake]], legal scholar.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George White (Liberal politician)]], Liberal MP 1900–12.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Graham White (politician)|Graham White]], Liberal MP 1922–24 & 1929–45, and President of the Liberal Party 1954–55.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Luke White (English politician)|Sir Luke White]], Liberal MP 1910–18<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Howard Whitehouse]], headmaster, and Liberal MP 1900–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Edward Wickham (priest)|Edward Wickham]], Headmaster of [[Wellington College, Berkshire|Wellington College]] 1873–1893, and Dean of Lincoln Cathedral 1894–1910.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Basil Wigoder]], Baron Wigoder, barrister, Liberal parliamentary candidate and Liberal peer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Gerard Wijeyekoon|Sir Gerard Wijeyekoon]], Ceylonese lawyer, politician, and first President of the [[Senate of Ceylon]].<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Harry Willcock]], anti-ID card campaigner in the 1950s<ref>Plaque inside the NLC smoking room.</ref>
*[[Michael Willcocks]], British Army General and "[[Black Rod]]" 2001–09<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Aneurin Williams]], Liberal MP 1910 & 1914–22.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Arthur John Williams]], Liberal MP 1885–95; founder member<ref name="autogenerated1925" />
*[[Henry Sylvester Williams]], Trinidadian lawyer and [[Pan-African]] politician<ref name="open.ac.uk">{{Cite web|url=http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/national-liberal-club|title=National Liberal Club &#124; Making Britain|website=www.open.ac.uk}}</ref>
*[[Christmas Price Williams]], Liberal MP 1924–29.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[George Clark Williams|Sir George Clark Williams]], barrister.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Carvell Williams]], Liberal MP 1885–86 & 1892–1900.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[W. Llewelyn Williams]], journalist and Liberal MP 1906–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Henry Williamson]], soldier, writer, farmer, ruralist, and author of ''[[Tarka the Otter]]''.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Herbert Willison]], solicitor and Liberal MP 1923–24.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Havelock Wilson]], trade unionist and Liberal MP 1892–1900, 1906–10 & 1918–22.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John Wilson (Mid Durham MP)|John Wilson]], Lib-Lab MP 1885–86 & 1890–1915, and General Secretary of Durham Miners' Association, 1896–1915.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[John William Wilson]], Liberal Unionist/Liberal MP, 1895–1922.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Philip Whitwell Wilson]], Liberal MP 1906–10 and journalist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Fleming Wilson|Sir Thomas Fleming Wilson]], Liberal MP 1910–11.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Richard Winfrey]], Liberal MP 1906–24, junior Agriculture Minister 1916–18, newspaper publisher, and agricultural rights campaigner.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas Edward Wing]], Liberal MP, 1910 & 1913–18.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Michael Winstanley, Baron Winstanley]], television/radio doctor, Liberal MP 1966–70 & 1974, and Liberal peer.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Murdoch McKenzie Wood]], Liberal MP 1919–24, 1929–35.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Thomas McKinnon Wood]], Secretary for Scotland 1912–16, Liberal MP 1906–18, Chairman of London County Council 1898–99<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*[[Corbet Woodall (gas engineer)|Sir Corbet Woodall]], Governor of the [[Gas Light and Coke Company]] 1906–16.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[William Woodall]], Liberal MP 1880–1900 and women's suffragist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[German Sims Woodhead|Sir German Woodhead]], pathologist.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Leonard Woolf]], author, publisher, political theorist and husband of [[Virginia Woolf]]<ref>''National Liberal Club, List of Members, 1912'' (NLC, London, 1912).</ref>
*[[Alfred William Yeo|Sir Alfred William Yeo]], businessman and Liberal MP 1914–22.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Samuel Young (Irish politician)|Samuel Young]], brewer, Irish Nationalist MP 1892–1918, and oldest-ever British MP.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Richard Younger-Ross]] Lib Dem MP 2001–10<ref name="autogenerated3" />
{{Div col end}}
Besides the members, famous guests who have signed the Visitors' Book over the years have included [[Tony Benn]], [[Mahatma Gandhi]], [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Field Marshal Montgomery]], and [[Harold Wilson]].<ref>Charles Graves, "National Liberal Club", ''Leather Armchairs: The Chivas Regal Book of London Clubs'' (Cassell, London, 1963), pp. 115–117.</ref>

===Notable expulsions/resignations from the club===
[[File:National Liberal Club Winston Churchill portrait.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The young [[Winston Churchill]] was a member of the club for over 18 years; his 1915 portrait by [[Ernest Townsend]], damaged in the 1941 bombing of the club, still hangs today.]]
*[[Jabez Balfour]], property developer and Liberal MP 1880–85 & 1889–93, convicted of property fraud involving a [[pyramid scheme]] when constructing [[Whitehall Court|the building next door to the club]]; a founder member, expelled from the club.<ref name="autogenerated1925" /><ref>David Mckie, ''Jabez: The Rise and Fall of a Victorian Scoundrel'' (Atlantic Books, London, 2004).</ref><ref>David McKie, "A Sincere, Thorough & Hearty Liberal", ''Journal of Liberal History'', Issue 52, Autumn 2006.</ref>
*[[Sir Edward Carson]], Leader of the Irish Unionist party 1910–21, Unionist MP 1892–1921, did not resign from the club until 1887, even though he joined the Liberal Unionists almost immediately upon their split in 1886 – something about which he was periodically teased for decades afterwards by political rivals including Winston Churchill.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1912/oct/10/allocation-of-time#S5CV0042P0-01765 |title=ALLOCATION OF TIME.   |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=10 October 1912 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref>
*[[Joseph Chamberlain]], Liberal (later Liberal Unionist) MP 1876–1914, President of the Board of Trade 1880–85, President of the Local Government Board 1886, Colonial Secretary 1895–1903, Leader of the Liberal Unionists after the 1886 split, resigning from the NLC shortly thereafter<ref name="autogenerated1" />
*[[Winston Churchill]], Conservative prime minister 1940–45 and 1951–55, MP 1900–22 & 1924–64, sitting as a Liberal MP 1904–22. A banquet was held at the NLC (in what is now the Lloyd George Room) on 20 January 1905 to mark his defection to the Liberals several months earlier. He joined the club on 6 January 1906 (having been sponsored by Lloyd George and the club's then-President and chairman [[Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire|Lord Carrington]]), and resigned from it on 26 November 1924, one month after joining the Conservative government of [[Stanley Baldwin]]. He gave ten speeches at the club between 1905 and 1943, and continued to lunch there as a guest during the [[Second World War]].<ref name="autogenerated133">Seth Thévoz, 'Winston Churchill and the NLC', ''NLC Club News'', No. 55 (November 2008), pp. 8–9.</ref>
*[[Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire|Marquess of Hartington]], Leader of the Liberal Party 1875–80, Secretary of State for War 1866 & 1882–85, Chief Secretary for Ireland 1871–74, Secretary of State for India 1880–82, Liberal (later Liberal Unionist) MP 1857–68 & 1869–1891; resigned from the club in 1887 over Home Rule<ref name="autogenerated1891" />
*[[Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery]], Liberal prime minister 1894–95, resigned from the club in September 1909, denouncing it as "a hotbed of socialism."<ref name="autogenerated1979" />
*[[John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon]], Home Secretary 1915–16 & 1935–37, Foreign Secretary 1931–35, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1937–40, Lord Chancellor 1940–45, Liberal (later National Liberal) MP 1906–18 & 1922–40, Leader of the National Liberal Party 1931–40; forced to resign from the NLC after speaking in support of the Conservative candidate in the [[1948 Croydon North by-election]]<ref name="National Liberal Club 2011 p.32" />

[[File:National Liberal Club Charles Bradlaugh portrait.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The club's portrait of [[Charles Bradlaugh]], painted by [[Walter Sickert]].]]

===Notable rejections of applications for membership===
*[[Charles Bradlaugh]], secularist and radical Liberal MP 1880–91, was invited to join the club at its launch in 1882 (along with all other Liberal MPs), but then suffered the ignominity of being rejected when he submitted his application. However, he eventually joined the club in 1890.<ref>Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner and John Mackinnon Robertson, ''Charles Bradlaugh: a record of his life and work'' (2 vols.) (T.F. Unwin, London, 1908) Vol. 1, p. 93.</ref> [[Walter Sickert]]'s portrait of Bradlaugh now hangs in the club.

===Notable staff===
*George Awdry (1916–94), younger brother of ''[[Thomas the Tank Engine]]'' creator [[Wilbert Awdry|the Rev. W. Awdry]], was the Club Librarian from the 1950s until 1977, and often assisted in writing and illustrating his brother's books. An active member of the [[Richard III Society]], for many years he ensured that they were able to hold their meetings at the club.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/georgeawdry.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010101349/http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/georgeawdry.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-10-10|title=George Awdry}}</ref><ref>Belinda Copson, ‘Awdry, Wilbert Vere (1911–1997)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2007 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/65705, accessed 17 Aug 2010]</ref>
*[[William Digby (writer)|William Digby]], author, journalist and humanitarian was the NLC's first Club Secretary from 1882 to 1887.<ref name=Digby>{{Cite web|url=http://www.liberalhistory.org.uk/uploads/58_Matikkala_William_Digby_and_Indian_Question.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222034741/http://www.liberalhistory.org.uk/uploads/58_Matikkala_William_Digby_and_Indian_Question.pdf|url-status=dead|title=William Digby and the Indian Question by Mira Matikkala|archive-date=22 February 2012}}</ref>
*[[Arthur Wollaston Hutton]], writer and theologian, was Club Librarian from 1889 to 1899.<ref>"Arthur Wollaston Hutton", ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1922).</ref>
*The left-wing playwright [[Harold Pinter]] worked as a waiter at the club in the 1950s, and was fired for daring to interrupt the conversation of several diners, disagreeing with what he thought to be a particularly ignorant conversation.<ref>Obituary: Harold Pinter, by Mel Gussow and Ben Brantley, ''New York Times'', 25 December 2008.</ref>
*The novelist [[Deborah Moggach]] worked as a waitress in the Club in the 1970s, recalling, "My nicest job was as a waitress doing breakfasts at the National Liberal Club. I'd get up early, put on my quite fetching waitress outfit, serve breakfast for four hours, get cash in a brown envelope every day and spend it. Then go back the next day, get another envelope and spend that."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/fame-fortune/deborah-moggach-harvey-weinstein-saved-film-metoo-scandal-broke/|title=Deborah Moggach: 'Harvey Weinstein saved my film and then #MeToo scandal broke'|first=John|last=Wright|newspaper=The Telegraph |date=4 October 2020|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref>

==Reciprocal arrangements==

The club is open to members from Mondays to Fridays, 8:00am–11:30 pm. During the weekend members may use either the [[Oxford and Cambridge Club]] in [[Pall Mall, London|Pall Mall]], or the [[Naval and Military Club]] in [[St. James's Square]]. There are also reciprocal arrangements with over 250 other clubs worldwide, granting members a comfortable place to stay and to entertain when abroad. The club does not affiliate with the NULC (National Union of Liberal Clubs), which represents the interests of Liberal Working Men's Clubs in the country nationwide.

===List of reciprocal clubs worldwide===
As of 2020, the NLC's reciprocal clubs around the world are as follows (club foundation dates are provided in brackets):<ref>[http://www.nlc.org.uk/menu/reciplist.pdf NLC list of reciprocal clubs worldwide], accessed 25 August 2014.</ref>
[[File:00000-Rand Club-Johannesburg-s.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Rand Club of Johannesburg]].]] 
*'''Africa''':
::*'''Botswana''': The Princeton Lounge, Gaborone (2015).
::*'''Egypt''': Cairo Capital Club, Cairo (1997).
::*'''Ghana''': Front/Back, Accra (2019).
::*'''Nigeria''': Capital Club, Lagos (2013).
::*'''South Africa''': 
::::*'''''Gauteng''''': Country Club, Johannesburg (1906); [[Rand Club of Johannesburg|Rand Club]], Johannesburg (1887); Wanderers Club, Johannesburg (1888).
::::*'''''KwaZulu-Natal''''': Durban Club, Durban (1854).
::::*'''''Northern Cape''''': Kimberley Club, Kimberley (1881).
::::*'''''Eastern Cape''''': Port Elizabeth St George's Club, Port Elizabeth (1866).
::::*'''''Western Cape''''': Cape Town Club, Cape Town (1858).
[[File:ROYAL BERMUDA YACHT CLUB, HAMILTON, BERMUDA.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Royal Bermuda Yacht Club]] of Hamilton.]] 
[[File:National Club Exterior.jpg|thumb|right|The [[The National Club|National Club]] of Toronto.]] 
[[File:DenverAthleticClub.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Denver Athletic Club]].]] 
[[File:NYAC NYC jeh.JPG|thumb|right|The [[New York Athletic Club]].]] 
[[File:WTP2 Thewinners IMG 1952.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Racquet Club of Philadelphia]].]] 
[[File:Rainier Club 01.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Rainier Club]] of Seattle.]] 
*'''America, North and Central''':
::*'''Barbados''': Barbados Yacht Club, Bridgetown (1924).
::*'''Bermuda''': [[Royal Bermuda Yacht Club]], Hamilton (1844).
::*'''Canada''': 
::::*'''''Alberta''''': Cypress Club, Medicine Hat (1903); Ranchmen's Club of Calgary, Calgary (1891).
::::*'''''British Columbia''''': Terminal City Club, Vancouver (1899); Union Club of British Columbia, Victoria (1879); Vancouver Club, Vancouver (1889).
::::*'''''Manitoba''''': [[Manitoba Club]], Winnipeg (1874).
::::*'''''Nova Scotia''''': [[The Halifax Club|Halifax Club]], Halifax (1862).
::::*'''''Ontario''''': London Club, London (1880); [[The National Club|National Club]], Toronto (1874); [[Rideau Club]], Ottawa (1865); Windsor Club, Windsor (1903).
::::*'''''Quebec''''': Forest & Stream Club, Montreal (1884); University Club of Montreal, Montreal (1907).
::::*'''''Saskatchewan''''': Saskatoon Club, Saskatoon (1907). 
::*'''Costa Rica''': Costa Rica Country Club, San José (1940).
::*'''Guatemala''': Club Guatemala, Guatemala City (1897).
::*'''Mexico''': Club de Banqueros de México, Mexico City (1990); University Club of Mexico, Mexico City (1905).
::*'''Nicaragua''': Club Terraza, Managua (1931).
::*'''Puerto Rico''': Club Nautico de San Juan, San Juan (1930).
::*'''Sint Maarten''': Sint Maarten Yacht Club, Simpson Bay (1980).
::*'''United States of America''': 
::::*'''''Arizona''''': University Club of Phoenix, Phoenix (1965).
::::*'''''Arkansas''''': 1836 Club, Little Rock (2016).
::::*'''''California''''': The Athenaeum at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (1930); California Yacht Club, Marina del Rey (1922); [[Los Angeles Athletic Club]], Los Angeles (1880); Marina City Club, Marina del Ray (2013); Petroleum Club of Bakersfield, Bakersfield (1952); Presidio Golf and Concordia Club, San Francisco (1905); [[Riviera Country Club]], Pacific Palisades (1926); Topa Tower Club, Oxnard (2010).
::::*'''''Colorado''''': [[Denver Athletic Club]], Denver (1884).
::::*'''''Connecticut''''': Elm City Club, New Haven (1892); Thames Club, New London (1869).
::::*'''''Delaware''''': University and Whist Club, Wilmington (1891).
::::*'''''District of Columbia''''': Army and Navy Club, Washington D.C. (1891); [[Arts Club of Washington]], Washington D.C. (1916); [[Ringgold–Carroll House|DACOR Bacon House]], Washington D.C. (1952); [[Sulgrave Club]], Washington D.C. (1932).
::::*'''''Florida''''': Governors Club, Tallahassee (1982); University Club of Tampa, Tampa (1946).
::::*'''''Georgia''''': Chatham Club, Savannah (1968); Indian Hills Country Club, Marietta (1969); Pinnacle Club, Augusta (1965).
::::*'''''Hawaii''''': [[The Pacific Club|Pacific Club]], Honolulu (1851).
::::*'''''Idaho''''': Arid Club, Boise (1890).
::::*'''''Illinois''''': Standard Club, Chicago (1869); [[Union League Club of Chicago]], Chicago (1879).
::::*'''''Indiana''''': [[Columbia Club]], Indianapolis (1889).
::::*'''''Iowa''''': Des Moines Embassy Club, Des Moines (1909); Embassy Club West, Des Moines (2010).
::::*'''''Kentucky''''': Metropolitan Club, Covington (1991).
::::*'''''Maryland''''': Center Club, Baltimore (1962).
::::*'''''Maine''''': Cumberland Club, Portland (1877).
::::*'''''Minnesota''''': University Club of St. Paul, St. Paul (1912).
::::*'''''New Hampshire''''': One Hundred Club, Portsmouth (2003).
::::*'''''New York''''': Genesee Valley Club, Rochester (1885); [[Montauk Club]], New York City (1889); [[New York Athletic Club]], New York City (1868); [[Penn Club of New York City|Penn Club]], New York City (1901); [[The Players (New York City)|The Players]], New York City (1888); [[Princeton Club of New York|Princeton Club]], New York City (1866).
::::*'''''North Carolina''''': Charlotte City Club, Charlotte (1947).
::::*'''''Ohio''''': [[Cincinnati Athletic Club]], Cincinnati (1853); Toledo Club, Toledo (1889).
::::*'''''Oregon''''': University Club of Portland, Portland (1898).
::::*'''''Pennsylvania''''': [[Allegheny HYP Club|Allegheny Harvard-Yale-Princeton Club]], Pittsburgh (1930); [[Racquet Club of Philadelphia]], Philadelphia (1889).
::::*'''''Tennessee''''': Walden Club, Chattanooga (1975).
::::*'''''Texas''''': Fort Worth Club, Fort Worth (1885); Headliners' Club, Austin (1945).
::::*'''''Washington''''': [[Rainier Club]], Seattle (1888); [[Spokane Club Building-Legion Building|Spokane Club]], Spokane (1890).
[[File:Club de la union.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Club de la Unión (Chile)|Club de la Unión]] of Santiago.]] 
*'''America, South''':
::*'''Argentina''': Círculo Militar, Buenos Aires (1881).
::*'''Bolivia''': Círculo de la Unión, La Paz (1932).
::*'''Chile''': 
::::*'''''Magallanes y Antártica Chilena''''': Club de la Unión, Punta Arenas (1890).
::::*'''''Santiago''''': [[Club de la Unión (Chile)|Club de la Unión]], Santiago (1868).
::::*'''''Valparaíso''''': Club Naval, Valparaíso (1885).
::*'''Ecuador''': Club de la Unión, Guayaquil (1869).
::*'''Guyana''': Georgetown Club, Georgetown (1858).
::*'''Uruguay''': Club Uruguay, Montevideo (1885).
[[File:OldDairyFarmDepot NorthBlock.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Foreign Correspondents' Club (Hong Kong)|Foreign Correspondents' Club]] of Hong Kong.]] 
[[File:Kowloon Cricket Club No. 10 Cox's Road.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Kowloon Cricket Club]] of Hong Kong.]] 
[[File:Yeshwant Club, Indore.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Yeshwant Club]] of Indore.]] 
[[File:RBYC.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Royal Bombay Yacht Club]] of Mumbai, as seen from the [[Gateway of India]].]] 
[[File:Calcutta Club.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Calcutta Club]] of Kolkata.]] 
[[File:Gymkhana Club, Lahore.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Lahore Gymkhana Club]].]] 
[[File:Singapore Cricket Club 3, Jan 06.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Singapore Cricket Club]].]] 
*'''Asia''':
::*'''Bahrain''': British Club, Manama (1835).
::*'''Bangladesh''': [[Chittagong Club]], Chittagong (1878).
::*'''Cambodia''': Vault Club, Phnom Penh (2012).
::*'''China''': 
::::*'''''Beijing''''': Beijing Riviera Country Club, Beijing (2010); Capital Club, Beijing (1994).
::::*'''''Hong Kong''''': [[Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong|Foreign Correspondents' Club]], Hong Kong (1943); Helena May Club, Hong Kong (1916); [[Kowloon Cricket Club]], Kowloon (1904).
::::*'''''Shanghai''''': Roosevelt Club, Shanghai (2010); Shanghai Racquet Club, Shanghai (2000); Shanghai Town & Country Club, Shanghai (2013).
::*'''India''': 
::::*'''''Bihar''''': Bankipore Club, Patna (1865).
::::*'''''Delhi National Capital Territory''''': [[Delhi Gymkhana|Delhi Gymkhana Club]], New Delhi (1913).
::::*'''''Goa''''': Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias, Panaji (1926).
::::*'''''Gujarat''''': Piyush Palace Club, Ahmedabad (2013).
::::*'''''Kerala''''': High Range Club, Munnar (1905); Lotus Club, Kochi (1931).
::::*'''''Karnataka''''': Bamboo Club, Mekur Hosakeri (1884); [[Bangalore Club]], Bangalore (1868); Century Club, Bangalore (1917); Mangalore Club, Mangalore (1876).
::::*'''''Madhya Pradesh''''': [[Yeshwant Club]], Indore (1934). 
::::*'''''Maharashtra''''': Central Provinces Club, Nagpur (1901); Poona Club, Pune (1886); PYC Hindu Gymkhana, Pune (1906); [[Royal Bombay Yacht Club]], Mumbai (1846); Royal Connaught Boat Club, Pune (1868); [[Willingdon Sports Club]], Mumbai (1918).
::::*'''''Meghalaya''''': Shillong Club, Shillong (1878).
::::*'''''Punjab''''': Lodhi Club, Ludhiana (1995). 
::::*'''''Rajasthan''''': Emerald Garden Club (2004); Golden Days Club, Jaipur (1996); Jaisal Club, Jaisalmer (2000); Jodhpur Presidency Club, Jodhpur (2017); Umed Club, Jodhpur (1922).
::::*'''''Tamil Nadu''''': Coonoor Club, Coonoor (1885); [[Cosmopolitan Club (Chennai)|Cosmopolitan Club]], Chennai (1873); [[Madras Boat Club]], Chennai (1867); Presidency Club, Chennai (1929); Wellington Gymkhana Club, Wellington (1875).
::::*'''''Telangana''''': [[Secunderabad Club]], Secunderabad (1878).
::::*'''''Uttar Pradesh''''': Oudh Gymkhana Club, Lucknow (1933); Stellar Gymkhana, Greater Noida (2005).
::::*'''''West Bengal''''': [[Bengal Club]], Kolkata (1827); [[Calcutta Club]], Kolkata (1907); [[Calcutta Rowing Club]], Kolkata (1858); [[Saturday Club (Kolkata)|Saturday Club]], Kolkata (1875); [[Tollygunge Club]], Kolkata (1895).
::*'''Indonesia''': Mercantile Athletic Club, Jakarta (1992).
::*'''Japan''': 
::::*''''' Hyōgo''''': Kobe Club, Kobe (1868).
::::*'''''Kanagawa''''': [[Yokohama Country & Athletic Club]], Yokohama (1868).
::::*'''''Tokyo''''': International House, Tokyo (1952); Tokyo American Club, Tokyo (1928).
::*'''Jordan''': King Hussein Club, Amman (1959).
::*'''Malaysia''': 
::::*'''''Federal Territory''''': Royal Lake Club, Kuala Lumpur (1890).
::::*'''''George Town''''': Penang Club, George Town (1876).
::::*'''''Sarawak''''': Sarawak Club, Kuching (1868).
::::*'''''Selangor''''': Royal Klang Club, Klang (1901).
::::*'''''Seremban''''': Royal Sungei Ujong Club, Seremban (1887).
::*'''Pakistan''': 
::::*'''''Balochistan''''': Quetta Club, Quetta (1891). 
::::*'''''Punjab''''': Chenab Club, Faisalabad (1910); [[Lahore Gymkhana Club]], Lahore (1878).
::::*'''''Islamabad Capital Territory''''': Islamabad Club, Islamabad (1967).
::::*'''''Sindh''''': [[Karachi Gymkhana]], Karachi (1886).
::*'''Philippines''': Manila Club, Manila (1832).
::*'''Singapore''': British Club, Singapore (1983); Raffles Marina Club, Singapore (1994); [[Singapore Cricket Club]], Singapore (1852); Tower Club, Singapore (1997).
::*'''South Korea''': Seoul Club, Seoul (1904).
::*'''Sri Lanka''': 
::::*'''''Western Province''''': [[Colombo Club]], Colombo (1871); [[Colombo Swimming Club]], Colombo (1938). 
::::*'''''Central Province''''': [[Hill Club]], Nuwara Eliya (1876).
::*'''Thailand''': Bangkok Club, Bangkok (1995); [[British Club, Bangkok]] (1903).
::*'''Turkey''': Büyük Kulüp, Istanbul (1882).
::*'''United Arab Emirates''': 
::::*'''''Emirate of Abu Dhabi''''': The Club, Abu Dhabi (1962).
::::*'''''Dubai''''': World Trade Club, Dubai (1989).
[[File:Cercle Interallié (façade).JPG|thumb|right|The [[Cercle de l'Union interalliée]] of Paris.]] 
[[File:RDS Dublin 2008 - main entrance.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Royal Dublin Society]].]] 
[[File:Casino Maltese - Knights Treasury - Valletta Malta.jpeg|thumb|right|The [[Casa del Commun Tesoro|Casino Maltese]] of Valletta.]] 
[[File:Casino de Madrid (España) 05.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Casino de Madrid]].]] 
[[File:Liverpool Athenaeum 1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Liverpool Athenaeum|The Athenaeum]] of Liverpool.]] 
[[File:Clifton Club 3.jpg|thumb|right|The [[The Clifton Club|Clifton Club]] of Bristol.]] 
[[File:FrontRoyalScotsClubEdinburgh.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Royal Scots Club Edinburgh|Royal Scots Club]] of Edinburgh.]] 
*'''Europe''':
::*'''Austria''': Kitzbühel Country Club, Kitzbühel (2013).
::*'''Belgium''': 
::::*'''''Brussels-Capital Region''''': [[De Warande (club)|De Warande]], Brussels (1988).
::::*'''''East Flanders''''': International Club of Flanders, Ghent (1967).
::::*'''''Walloon''''': [[Société littéraire de Liège|Société Littéraire de Liège]], Liège (1779).
::*'''Bulgaria''': The Residence Club, Sofia (2011).
::*'''France''': [[Cercle de l'Union interalliée]], Paris (1917); Cercle Suédois, Paris (1891).
::*'''Germany''': 
::::*'''''Bavaria''''': Drivers & Business Club, Munich (2019).
::::*'''''Berlin''''': International Club, Berlin (1994).
::::*'''''Hamburg''''': Business Club, Hamburg (2009).
::::*'''''Hesse''''': Airport Club, Frankfurt (2017); Union International Club, Frankfurt (1956).
::::*'''''North Rhine-Westphalia''''': Rotonda Business Club, Cologne (2010); Wirtschaftsclub Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf (2003).
::::*'''''Saxony''''': Industrieclub Sachsen, Dresden (1990).
::*'''Greece''': Piraeus Marine Club, Piraeus (1966).
::*'''Hungary''': Brody House, Budapest (2009).
::*'''Ireland''': [[Royal Dublin Society]], Dublin (1731); Royal Irish Automobile Club, Dublin (1901); Stephen's Green Hibernian Club, Dublin (1840).
::*'''Italy''': 
::::*'''''Campania''''': Circolo Bononia, Bologna (1929).
::::*'''''Lombardy''''': D07 Eco Club House, Milan (2018).
::::*'''''Umbria''''': Circolo il Drago, Terni (1928).
::*'''Luxembourg''': Cercle Munster, Luxembourg City (1984); House 17, Luxembourg City (2014).
::*'''Malta''': 
::::*'''''Central region''''': Malta Union Club, Sliema (1826).
::::*'''''South-eastern region''''': [[Casino Maltese]], Valletta (1852); Marsa Sports Club, Marsa (1888).
::*'''Montenegro''': Porto Montenegro Club, Tivat (2007).
::*'''Netherlands''': 
::::*'''''North Holland''''': Koninklijke Groote Industrieele Club, Amsterdam (1788).
::::*'''''South Holland''''': Societëit de Witte, the Hague (1802).
::*'''Norway''': Shippingklubben, Oslo (1957).
::*'''Portugal''': 
::::*'''''Lisbon Coast''''': Círculo Eça de Queiroz, Lisbon (1940); [[Grémio Literário (Lisbon)|Grémio Literário, Lisbon]] (1846).
::::*'''''Costa Verde''''': Clube Fenianos Portuenses, Porto (1904); Club Portuense, Porto (1857).
::*'''Spain''': 
::::*'''''Andalusia''''': Círculo Mercantil e Industrial de Sevilla, Seville (1868); Club Camára Antares, Seville (1986); Real Círculo de la Amistad, Córdoba (1854); Real Círculo de Labradores, Seville (1859).
::::*'''''Aragon''''': Círculo de Recreo Turolense, Teruel (1866).
::::*'''''Balearic Islands''''': Círculo Mallorquín, Palma, Majorca (1851).
::::*'''''Basque Country''''': Círculo Vitoriano de Vitoria, Vitoria-Gasteiz (1864); Sociedad Bilbaina, Bilbao (1839).
::::*'''''Canary Islands''''': British Club, Las Palmas (1889); Gabinete Literario, Las Palmas (1844); Real Casino de Tenerife (1840).
::::*'''''Castile and León''''': Casino Club Nautico La Tertulia, Ponferrada (1970); Casino de Salamanca, Salamanca (1801); Casino de la Union, Segovia (1880); Círculo de la Union de Burgos, Burgos (1881).
::::*'''''Catalonia''''': Círculo Ecuestre, Barcelona (1856); Círculo del Liceo, Barcelona (1847).
::::*'''''Extremadura''''': Sociedad Casino de Badajoz, Badajoz (1841).
::::*'''''Galicia''''': Liceo Casino de Pontevedra, Pontevedra (1855); Sporting Club Casino, A Coruña (1890).
::::*'''''Madrid''''': [[Casino de Madrid]], Madrid (1836); Centro Cultural de los Ejércitos, Madrid (1871).
::::*'''''Murcia''''': Real Casino de Murcia, Murcia (1847).
::::*'''''Navarre''''': Nuevo Casino Eslava, Pamplona (1856).
::::*'''''Valencia''''': Casino de Agricultura, Valencia (1859); Círculo Industrial de Alcoy, Alcoy (1868); Real Casino Antiguo de Castellón, Castellón de la Plana (1923).
::*'''Sweden''': [[Military Society|Militärsällskapet]], Stockholm (1852).
::*'''Switzerland''': Haute Club, Zurich (2006).
::*'''United Kingdom''': 
::::*'''''England''''': 
::::::*'''''Eastern''''': Bury St Edmunds Farmers Club, Bury St Edmunds (1947); [[Cambridge Union|Cambridge Union Society]], Cambridge (1815); [[Hawks' Club]], Cambridge (1872); Ipswich and Suffolk Club, Ipswich (1885); Norfolk Club, Norwich (1770); [[Pitt Club|University Pitt Club]], Cambridge (1835).
::::::*'''''East Midlands''''': Northampton & County Club, Northampton (1873); Nottingham Club, Nottingham (1920).
::::::*'''''London''''': [[City University Club]], London (1895); [[East India Club]], London (1849); [[Naval and Military Club]], London (1862); [[Oxford and Cambridge Club]], London (1821); [[Walbrook Club]], London (2000).
::::::*'''''North East''''': Northern Counties Club, Newcastle (1829).
::::::*'''''North West''''': [[Liverpool Athenaeum|The Athenaeum]], Liverpool (1797); [[Chester City Club]], Chester (1807); St. James's Club, Manchester (1825).
::::::*'''''South East''''': The County Club, Guildford (1882); Hove Club, Hove (1882); Kent and Canterbury Club, Canterbury (1873); [[Phyllis Court|Phyllis Court Club]], Henley (1906); [[Vincent's Club]], [[Oxford Union]] (1863).
::::::*'''''South West''''': Bath and County Club, Bath (1790); [[The Clifton Club|Clifton Club]], Bristol (1818); New Club, Cheltenham (1874). 
::::::*'''''West Midlands''''': Potters' Club, Stoke-on-Trent (1951); St. Paul's Club, Birmingham (1859). 
::::::*'''''Yorkshire and Humberside''''': Bradford Club, Bradford (1857); Harrogate Club, Harrogate (1857). 
::::*'''''Northern Ireland''''': 
::::::*'''''County Antrim''''': [[Ulster Reform Club]], Belfast (1885).
::::::*'''''County Armagh''''': Armagh County Club, Armagh (1869).
::::*'''''Scotland''''': 
::::::*'''''Central''''': [[Glasgow Art Club]], Glasgow (1867); [[New Club, Edinburgh|New Club]], Edinburgh (1787); [[Royal Scots Club Edinburgh|Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh]] (1921); Western Club, Glasgow (1825). 
::::::*'''''North-East''''': Royal Northern and University Club, Aberdeen (1854); [[Royal Perth Golfing Society|Royal Perth Golfing Society and County and City Club]], Perth (1824). 
::::*'''''Wales''''': Cardiff and County Club, Cardiff (1866).
[[File:United Service Club Premises, Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, Brisbane, 2015 01.JPG|thumb|right|The [[United Service Club Premises|United Service Club]] of Brisbane.]] 
[[File:Adelaide Club.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Adelaide Club]].]] 
*'''Oceania''':
::*'''Australia''': 
::::*'''''Australian Capital Territory''''': [[University House, Australian National University|University House]], Canberra (1954).
::::*'''''New South Wales''''': [[City Tattersalls Club]], Sydney (1895); Newcastle Club, Newcastle (1885); Riverine Club, Wagga Wagga (1881); [[Royal Automobile Club of Australia]], Sydney (1903); Tattersalls Club, Sydney (1858).
::::*'''''Queensland''''': Brisbane Club, Brisbane (1903); [[United Service Club Premises|United Services Club]], Brisbane (1892).
::::*'''''South Australia''''': [[Adelaide Club]], Adelaide (1863).
::::*'''''Tasmania''''': Athenaeum Club, Hobart (1889); Launceston Club, Launceston (1882).
::::*'''''Victoria''''': Kelvin Club, Melbourne (1865); [[Royal Automobile Club of Victoria]], Melbourne (1903).
::*'''New Zealand''': 
::::*'''''Auckland''''': [[The Northern Club (Auckland)|Northern Club]], Auckland (1869).
::::*'''''Canterbury''''': Canterbury Club, Christchurch (1872).
::::*'''''Hawke's Bay''''': Hawke's Bay Club, Napier (1863).
::::*'''''Invercargill''''': Invercargill Club, Invercargill (1879).
::::*'''''Otago''''': Dundedin Club, Dunedin (1858).
::::*'''''Wellington''''': Wellington Club, Wellington (1841).

==Presidents ==
[[File:Alan Beith MP Liverpool.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Long-standing Liberal and Lib Dem MP [[Alan Beith|Sir Alan Beith]] has been the club's president since 2008.]]
{| border=1 style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor=cccccc
! Name<ref>Plaque of NLC presidents in the front hall.</ref>!! Tenure
|-
| colspan=3 |
|-
| [[William Ewart Gladstone|The Rt Hon William Ewart Gladstone MP, FRS, FSS]]† || 1882–1898
|-
| [[Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire|The Rt Hon The Earl Carrington (later The Most Hon The Marquess of Lincolnshire) KG, GCMG, DL, JP]]† || 1903–1928
|-
| [[William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp|The Rt Hon The Earl Beauchamp KG, KCMG]] || 1929–1932
|-
| [[Henry Gladstone, 1st Baron Gladstone of Hawarden|The Rt Hon The Lord Gladstone of Hawarden]]† || 1932–1935
|-
| [[Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe|The Most Hon The Marquess of Crewe KG]]† || 1935–1945
|-
| [[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel|The Rt Hon The Viscount Samuel GCB, OM, GBE]]† || 1946–1963
|-
| [[Harold Glanville (junior)|Harold Glanville]] JP† || 1963–1966
|-
| [[Philip Rea, 2nd Baron Rea|The Rt Hon The Lord Rea OBE, DL, JP]]† || 1966–1981
|-
| [[Desmond Banks, Baron Banks|The Rt Hon The Lord Banks CBE]] || 1982–1993
|-
| [[Eric Kemp|The Rt Revd Eric Kemp, Lord Bishop of Chichester FRHistS]] || 1994–2008
|-
| [[Alan Beith|The Rt Hon Sir Alan Beith MP (later The Rt Hon The Lord Beith)]] || 2008–present
|}
†=died in office

==Other groups and clubs absorbed or integrated into the NLC==
*The short-lived Century Club was absorbed into the NLC on its launch in November 1882.
*The NLC regularly hosted meetings of the pro-Free Trade [[Cobden Club]] between the 1880s and 1930s resulting in the NLC and the Cobden Club sharing a very large number of memberships. The NLC absorbed most of the Cobden Club's membership after the Cobden Club's demise.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cobden Club|title=The Cobden Club – Report and List of Members, 1909|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112124922/http://dds.crl.edu/loadStream.asp?iid=8904|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 January 2014|url=http://dds.crl.edu/loadStream.asp?iid=8904|publisher=Cassell and Co. Ltd, London 1909|access-date=14 January 2012}}</ref> 
*Between 1963 and 1965, the [[Savage Club]] (named after actor and poet [[Richard Savage (poet)|Richard Savage]]) lodged in some rooms at the NLC, and did so again from 1990 to 2021, lodging in a ground-floor room of the club. In 2020, the Savage Club was served with a year's notice to re-locate by the NLC in 2021, reportedly over NLC members' disapproval of hosting a men-only club within the NLC.<ref>"Atticus" (Roland White), 'Men-only club too savage for Liberals', ''[[Sunday Times]]'', 25 October 2020.</ref>
*The [http://gladstoneclub.org/ Gladstone Club], a Liberal discussion group founded in 1973, continues to meet at the club.
*As noted above, the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] leased the upper floors of the club as its national headquarters from 1977 to 1988.
*Since 1977, [[Liberal International]] has had its international headquarters on the ground floor of the club.
*The [https://web.archive.org/web/20120117070948/http://jsmillinstitute.org.uk/ John Stuart Mill Institute] is a liberal [[think tank]] founded in 1992 by several NLC members, which is based at the club and holds occasional lectures there.
*The [[Liberal Democrat History Group]] founded in 1994 holds four meetings a year – two at the Lib Dem Spring and Autumn party conferences, and two at the NLC - and while independent, it is embedded as a Circle of the club.
*The monthly Kettner Lunch was originally founded in 1974 by NLC member [[Peter Boizot|Sir Peter Boizot]] and named after the Soho restaurant he owned, which hosted the group; but since Boizot sold Kettner's in 2002, the Kettner Lunch has been meeting at the NLC.
*In 2014, the [[Authors' Club]] (which had been founded in the neighbouring Whitehall Court building in 1891, and had previously lodged in the NLC in 1966–76), returned to the club and is now housed there.

==See also==
*[[List of London's gentlemen's clubs]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Anonymous, ''The National Liberal Club'' (London: National Liberal Club, 1933).
*Coss Bilson (ed.), ''The National Liberal Club, 1882-1982'' (London: National Liberal Club, 1982).
*Joseph Hatton, ''Club-Land, London and Provincial'' (London: J. S. Virtue, 1890).
*Veronica Herrington, ''Works of Art, National Liberal Club'' (London: National Liberal Club, 1997).
*Michael Meadowcroft, ''A Guide to the Works of Art of the National Liberal Club, London'' (London: National Liberal Club, 2011).
*Gerhart Raichle (ed.), ''National Liberal Club, London – Ausstellung Galerie im Margarethenhof der Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung Königswinter-Ittenbach, 6. September-28. Oktober 1984'' (Königswinter: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, 1984).
*Robert Steven, ''The National Liberal Club: Politics and Persons'' (London: Robert Houghton, 1925).
*Seth Alexander Thévoz, ''Behind Closed Doors: The Secret Life of London Private Members' Clubs'' (London: Robinson/Little, Brown, 2022).
*Seth Alexander Thévoz, ''London Clubland: A Companion for the Curious'' (London: Robinson/Little, Brown, 2025).

==External links==
{{commons category|National Liberal Club London}}
*[http://www.nlc.org.uk Official National Liberal Club website]
*[https://www.facebook.com/National.Liberal.Club Official NLC page on Facebook]
*[http://www.bris.ac.uk/is/library/collections/specialcollections/rare/nlcp.html National Liberal Club Pamphlets Collection] University of Bristol Library Special Collections
*[https://www.kettnersociety.co.uk/ Website of the Kettner Society, a monthly speaker's lunch hosted by the club]

{{Liberal Party (UK)}}
{{UK Liberal Democrats}}
{{Liberal-aligned gentlemen's clubs of London}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1882 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Alfred Waterhouse buildings]]
[[Category:Gentlemen's clubs in London]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Liberal Democrat (UK) facilities]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK)]]
[[Category:Liberal organisations in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Liberal organizations]]
[[Category:Organisations associated with the Liberal Democrats (UK)]]