The North-West had a pivotal role in the two-party politics of the 1890s. The vast majority of the area's innumerable working-class seats returned Conservatives. This made a very substantial difference to a party whose principal support came from the middle class and farmers. The Liberal party's reversal of this position in 1906, and its ability to hold much of the captured terrain in 1910, ensured that the national electoral balance tilted sharply in its favour. The Progressive Alliance had been formed in part to facilitate this change. The North-West was the foundation-stone of the Liberals' new ideological/strategic stance, and the platform for its success. Alliance with Labour was meant – by the Liberals – to reinforce their position. However, if Labour expanded beyond the position of a useful ally, and the agreement broke down, it could return the Liberal party to its late Victorian depression.

In discussing the impact and significance of the electoral changes in this area, it is important to note that the North-West was not a single geographical and political unit, but a series of partially over-lapping sub-regions with quite distinct political traditions and economic structures. Liverpool had its economic and political hinterland extending northwards to the Ribble (West Lancashire) as did Manchester (the textile belt).