Ramsay MacDonald addressed 1926 Labour garden party in Passfield, historic gathering recalled

In July 1926 the village of Passfield in East Hampshire hosted a major Labour Party gathering organized by Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Around 2,000 members travelled to the event, arriving in about 80 charabancs. Future Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, then Leader of the Opposition, delivered the keynote speech. Other speakers included Margaret Bondfield, Arthur Ponsonby, Bertrand Russell and the Earl De La Warr.

The Webbs, founders of the London School of Economics, had acquired a house at Passfield Corner in 1910 as a weekend retreat and used it as the venue for the meeting. Both Sidney and Beatrice Webb were later interred in Westminster Abbey after their deaths.