:) Flashcards
What were the problems facing Peels rule?
- party was divided. Some more progressive Tories who had followed Canning joined the whigs. Ultra tories furies about catholic emancipation
- divided about parliamentary reform
- mood of the country was for change but the bulk of the tories opposed it
- the reform proposals would have ended a lot of Tory control of rotten boroughs
- the Tories did not do well in the 1832 general election and had fallen to 170 seats
Peel and parliamentary reform
If Peel had opposed parliamentary reform he would have been going against considerable support for change in the country. If he had supported it he would have put a barrier between himself and Wellington and many others in the party. Worse- he could have been accused of helping the Whigs
-Peel ended up opposing reform in the debates of 1830-2 but did not block it entirely.
Wellington summed it up: ‘Peel is for parliamentary reform provided it is not carried by us’- which was why in May 1832 he refused to take office when the Lords rejected reform. He kept a balance between opposing the whigs yet not completely rejecting reform
Peels party reforms
Peel realised that the larger electorate of 1832 meant that the party needed to be reorganised to appeal to more people:
- 1832: Carlton clubs - run by Sir Francis Bonham. Sent out info about policies to MPs and candidates
- Conservative associations set up in the constituencies Often run by local solicitors that ensured that Conservative party supporters were registered to vote under the new regulations of the 1832 act
- Peel also made his policies clear to his own voters- the famous Tamworth manifesto which Peel issued in 1834 appealed directly to the voters in his Staffordshire constituency of Tamworth
The idea of party organisation and a distinct manifesto was new for the time and they played a big role in the party electoral success in 1841.
Peels relationship with others in the party
Different reactions to Peel changing the Tories into the conservatives
- not everyone was happy: saw Peel as leaving the constitution (old way of doing things before the reform act)
- Disraeli: Peel led his party to victory in the general election of 1941 but his strong conviction that his policies were right led to only a very limited consultation within the party
- Peels measure to repeal the corn laws was deeply unpopular and he did not do much to gain the support of his cabinet
What problems did Peel face in 1841?
- there was a budget deficit of 1.8m
- the economic downturn had hit trade which in turn affected gov. income as nearly 80% came from customs and excise duties
- the downturn was also of considerable importance in creating social and political unrest . Bad harvests caused high bread price. This encouraged support for chartism
- economic problems also led to middle class agitation for the end of the corn laws. A large pressure group, the anti-corn law league was calling for reform
How was Peels ministry notable for some major changes?
Further moves towards free trade cultivated in the repeal of corn laws in 1816. The ministry introduced measures to modernise banking and was seen to represent the interests of the growing middle classes. BUT the repeal of the corn laws seemed to go against the interests of the landowners and farmers who supported the conservatives. Peel had decided on a strategy:
- introduce measures for freer trade to encourage prosperity, raise income and therefore bring in more taxes
- pay for the short term loss of income from taxes on trade by introducing Pitts idea of an income tax, abolished in 1816
Peels tax changes and their impact
Gov budget of 1842: income tax of 7 pence in the pound would be levied on incomes over £150 (as a working man worked on £50 or less this would not affect most of the population) - this would raise over £3m over 3 years
Success- income tax did not fall on the poorest in society and lowering duties helped boost their spending power.
-his own party however were less happy about the reduction in the sliding scale of the corn laws. This allowed imported corn to come into the country when prices were at a lower level than had been fixed in 1828
Peels tax changes and their impact: situation by 1844
Britain was experiencing an economic upturn, better harvests and more general prosperity as a result of a boom in railway building by private companies.
-peel maintained the income tax to fund more cuts in indirect taxes and export duties. Coal and raw cotton were just 2 of the 430 items that were now free of duty
In February 1845 what had the deficit been turned into?
In 1841 there was a deficit of £1.8m- in feb 1845 this had been turned into a surplus of £3.4m
Changes in banking
An industrial society needs stable banking and currency- the bank charter act maintained this by preventing the circulation of excessive paper money: it restricted bank notes to those issued by the bank of England (this maintained the value of money)- the bank could only issue bank notes to the value of the gold reserves which it held.
Impact of the railways
Biggest sign of Britains economic development. Massive railway boom in the years 1844-46
How was Peel dealing with a ‘new type of economy’
Industry played a much larger part:
- reducing manufacturing costs
- encouraging exports
- ensuring that businessmen could take confidence from the fact that they were dealing in soundly based paper money
- reduced indirect taxes so that ordinary people had more to spend
When were the corn laws introduced?
1815
Who were the corn laws unpopular with?
Urban workers and employers as they prevented the possibility of cheaper bread.
What did the anti-corn law league argue?
- corn laws went against the ideals of free trade (one of the greatest ideals of the time
- workers needed cheaper bread to improve living standards
- stopping foreign countries selling British wheat meant that these countries did not have the money or incentive to buy British goods.
- the corn laws benefitted only landlords and aristocrats and were a symbol of their power but Britain had moved on and the laws should reflect not the old landed classes but those of the new middle classes
- the high cost of bread made the high cost of manufactures high which resulted in depressions such as those of the late 1830s and so harmed manufacturers workers and cities of the north
