Athelstan Rendall

[1] After first working as a journalist, Rendall trained as a solicitor, passing the Law Society final examinations in January 1894 [2] and practising at Yeovil.

However, by 1920 he had fallen out with the Coalition, writing to his local Liberal Association to explain that he was dissatisfied by what he described as the government's tremendous and unjustified commitment of British money and lives in Mesopotamia at the same time as their inability to end waste and extravagance at home.

[8][9] In Parliament, Rendall interested himself particularly in divorce reform [10] and was responsible for introducing legislation under which a widow could marry her deceased husband's brother.

[11] He was also a committed supporter of Electoral reform and introduced a Proportional representation bill during the term of the first Labour government.

The aim of the group was to formulate the best course to be adopted by those calling themselves ‘advanced radicals’ against the background of the formation of the Labour Party.