The Land (song)

The Land is a protest song, traditionally sung by the Georgist movement in Britain in pursuit and promotion of land value taxation. Until the late 1970s it was sung at the end of each year's Liberal Assembly and was the party anthem of the Liberal Party until that party merged with the SDP to form the Liberal Democrats. To this day it remains the de facto anthem of the Liberal Democrats, is sung as the first song of the Liberal Democrats Glee Club and is the party anthem of the continuity Liberal Party. During the chorus, the phrase 'ballot in our hand' is accompanied by the collective waving of any paper to hand (usually a Liberator song book) by the audience.

'The Land Song' is widely regarded as among the most rousing of political anthems. The former leader of the British Labour Party, Michael Foot, recalled to the BBC World Service how he heard – and learned – the song while growing up in a Liberal household in the west of England. Foot said it was the best political song he had come across, imbued with the democratic spirit, and designed to put fear in the hearts of the landlords.

The song became a Liberal radical anthem in the aftermath of David Lloyd George's "people's budget" of 1909 which proposed a tax on land. During the two general elections of the following year, 'The Land Song' became the governing Liberals' campaign song. Sheet music was published, and a 78rpm disc released of the song – the audio [1] of which is now available on the internet. A recording made at a Glee Club around 1990 has been deposited at the Centre for Political Song at Glasgow Caledonian University. Michael Foot's comments [2] about the song, and snatches of the song itself, featured in a series on political song broadcast on The World Today on the BBC World Service – the entire series is now held by the British Library Sound Archive.

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