The Other Club is officially a non-partisan gathering of engaged citizens, who recognize that politics is social, that we are all united in society, and depend on one another in a shared community and that getting together, meeting one another, sharing ideas and respectfully discussing the issues of the day can promote social cohesion, consensus, and through spirited citizenship we enhance the gre
ater good. The original Other Club was founded in 1911 by Winston Churchill and F. Smith - later Lord Birkenhead. In 1911, Churchill was the Home Secretary in the Liberal government and F. Smith was the rising star of the opposition Conservative Party, and they were, perhaps surprisingly, the best of friends. At the time, both were considered altogether too young, too brash, and too controversial and, as such, were blackballed from joining the venerable political dining club simply known as The Club. Refusing to take this snub lying down, naturally they created The Other Club - hence the name. Over the years, membership in The Other Club read like a who’s who of contemporary British history with membership not limited to political figures - for example, H.G. Wells and John Maynard Keynes were members. The ethos of The Other Club was such that political differences were expected, respected, and that healthy debate was required in a functioning democracy and that political disagreements should never be allowed to degenerate into the puerile arrogance of hatred. It is in that spirit that, as citizens, we come together in The Other Club.
