Willison seems to have been ambivalent about his position within the liberal family and its support for the National Government . He retained his initial connection with the Liberal National faction led by Sir John Simon . He became a member of the Liberal National Council , the body set up to support Simon ’s Liberal National group in Parliament and to form the core of the new party ’s organisation in the country . By 1932 however he seems to have been having doubts about the Simonites ’ abandonment of the traditional Liberal policy of Free Trade . In September 1932 the official Liberal group , led by Sir Herbert Samuel were drifting away from supporting the National Government over the Ottawa Agreements . Willison attended the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Liberal Federation held on 21 September 1932 as a representative of the official Midlands Liberals . The meeting passed a resolution attacking the government over Ottawa and this led to the formal distancing of the official Liberal group from the government , although they did not move across to the opposition side of the House of Commons until the autumn of 1933 . In February 1933 he was still attending the meetings of the National Liberal Federation but by 1938 he was again attending the annual conference of the Liberal National Party and was that year the Chairman of the West Midlands Branch of the Liberal National Party
Ottawa Agreements
British Empire Economic Conference
Herbert Willison