Political developments under Gladstone and Disraeli 1851-86; (complete) Flashcards
What was the composition of the Liberal Party and what were the 4 groups + aims?
-Dominated the political scene under the leadership of Gladstone (1866-1886)
Whigs, Liberals, Radicals and Peelites:
-Whigs; powerful old aristocratic landowning families, passed 1st Parliamentary Reform Act, 1832. Favour of extending franchise and Nonconformists. Leading- House of Lords. Junior- House of Commons.
-Peelites; left Conservative Party after Corn Laws split, grad voted w/ Whigs. Most from wealthy industrial & commercial backgrounds. Gladstone- one of leading Peelites
-Most liberals; from middle-class business & commercial backgrounds/lawyers; into Parliament after 1832. Believed in free trade, religious/press freedom and individualism. Many were dissenters/Noncomf.
-Radicals; Free thinking middle-class individuals, wanted change in social order. Opposed political & economic dominance of landowning classes & privileged position of CofE. Wanted extension of franchise, free trade, etc. John Bright- most influential in party.
What was ‘Gladstonian LIberalism’ and its main principles/aims?
-Gladstone led the Liberals after Lord Russel resigned in 1866. His personal principles centred on his religious devotion & admiration of Sir Peel.
-Believed if peace was maintained w/ other nations, trade and industry could develop unhindered by war. -Taxations could also be kept under control easier. Gladstone wanted to ‘live to see the day when income tax was abolished’
-Taxation was seen as denying people from spending money freely; Liberals wanted to change laws reducing free will.
-Laissez-faire, self-help, individual freedom was big. Libs influenced by philosophers like John Stuart Mill
What was the catchphrase of Gladstone and the Liberal Party?
‘Peace, retrenchment (cutting gov spending) and reform’
Were did most of support for the Liberal Party come from? (Areas, people and developments causing it)
-Most support from towns & boroughs. Urban centres of population rising + full of prosperous middle-class men of industry who saw their values reflected in Lib party
-Skilled craftsmen- similar ambitions to middle class but reduced. After 1867 Reform Act gave them the vote, helped keep Liberals in power for nearly 20 years.
-Historian John Vincent argues deport for them grew from development of: Provincial Press, Model Unions, and appearance of political dimension to Nonconformist movement
How did the Provincial press rise and why did this benefit the Liberal Party?
Until this time London press denominated newspaper industry
Coming of railways, invention of telegraph and removal of stamp duties- provincial press saw dramatic rise in newspaper titles & circulation
Most of new press was Liberal in ownership, employees and readers. Newspapers like the Newcastle Chronicle helped influence voters across industrial towns of NE England, benefitted Liberal Party
How did the growth of the Model (craft) Unions benefit the Liberal Party?
Developed in 1850s as part of Trade Union movement expansion. Gave support to Liberal party & represented interests of skilled workers like engineers. They benefitted from the Franchise extending in 1867. Saw themselves as elite of working class and wanted to improve condition through self-help and self-education
How did Nonconformist support benefit the Liberal Party?
Wanted to achieve equal treatment w/ CofE & end their privilege as the Established Church. Campaign led by Liberation Society- political wing of Nonconformists, helped steady backing of Liberal Party over the years. Their support was crucial. Almost 50% of Church goers were Nonconformists, were geographically spread but wealthiest & most influential—> industrial areas where Liberals were strongest
Why did the Conservatives need to regain political power?
They lost a lot of it over the Corn Law repeal 1846.
Why was Disraeli a good candidate for leading the party & why was he disliked?
Few Conservatives in the House of Commons had the qualities to lead the party except Disraeli. Historian T.A Jenkins says ‘Disraeli’s leadership was an unavoidable necessity in the absence of any viable alternative candidate.’ However, he didn’t come from a traditional aristocratic family and, even though he was baptised into the CofE, his family were Jewish which created a lot of prejudice against him. He was clever and worked hard to be accepted. He proved himself a good debater in the House of Commons and made himself as indispensable as possible for the Tory elite. He was still despised & distrusted by many.
Why did Disraeli develop new party policies and what ideas did he propose?
-When Derby resigned in 1868, Disraeli became PM briefly. He appeared to be the only person with clear ideas about developing party policy. He knew to win the support of the electorate, he had to present them with new policies. It was necessary to hold public meetings and find good speakers as this was an era where many people didn’t read/write.
-Persuaded Conservatives there was no use in following a policy of trade protection when the Whigs’ free trade policy resulted in rise in living standards. To update the party’s image with the electorate, he prompted them to accept parliamentary reform. He outlined the need for social reform. After their 1868 defeat, Disraeli set about reorganising party machinery- bringing a victory in 1874.
Why was there changing attitudes towards parliamentary reform within the parties?
-1860s: change in attitude within political parties & change of make up of them; helped bring parliamentary reform to the forefront.
-Whig party ,of landed aristocrats, transformed into the Liberal Party- where commercial & industrial members had more influence. These business men, who lived majority in under-represented towns/cities, sought to extended their political power, even if only with seat redistribution.
-Gladstone became convinced of reform necessity, moved Libs in this direction.
-Encouragement for radical reform groups
-Radicals like John Bright becoming more effective in Lib Party
-Conservatives accept need for change, although had degree of opportunism to win support of ^ electorate
How did the increasing population/standard of living increase the demand for reform in parliamentary seats?
-Improvement in standard of living among working classes + improved education= Libs more prone to idea of extending franchise to this group.
-Skilled workers saved their wages in Friendly Societies/Post Office Savings Bank—> shown themselves responsible to leading Liberals.
-Size of constituencies= uneven due to growing population growth & urbanisation. No new ones formed—> largely under-represented areas.
-Middle-class Lib MPs wanted more political influence by increasing # of seats in these areas^
-This all forced the issue of reform on whatever party coming into power
How did radical pressure increase demands for the extension of the franchise?
Radicals kept up pressure for reform both inside and outside of parliament
John Bright toured country encouraging ordinary men to demand democratic rights. He put up a convincing argument on behalf of skilled workers in favour of extending the franchise
Writings of political philosophers like John Stuart Mill (MP in 1865) were influential in raising interest in political debates surrounding extending the franchise
Which events + key figure created a surge of interest in reform?
The American Civil War (1861-65) and the movement for Italian unification (1859-61) were seen as, by many British people, a struggle for freedom and democracy. They were instrumental in creating a surge of interest in reform.
Giuseppe Garibaldi’s (the hero of the Italian unification) visit to London in 1864 excited crowds & spurred on leading Radicals to revive and interest in British politics & reform. Thousands of people came to watch his speech and when authorities stopped the public meetings, angry protests ensued. This led to the setting up of a new political organisation: the Reform League in 1865
How did the Reform League, the Reform Union and trade unions create pressure for reform?
The Reform League was a mainly working-class alliance w/ strong trade union & small wealthy middle-class support. heir aim was to work towards democracy though male suffrage & radical reform. Local branches formed in manufacturing towns and made their presence felt through a mobilised trade union force.
Leading Trade Union men in the Trade Union Council met in 1866 to organise a campaign for reform.
The Reform Union was less active and successful than its counterpart, and was formed months earlier in 1864. It was a largely middle-class organisation, calling for a secret ballot & a redistribution of seats to correct imbalances caused by population change. John Bright encouraged that the RL & RU work together but the class divide created tensions between them.
What were the consequences of a Reform Bill being proposed in 1866 by the Liberals?
In 1866 Lord Russell & Gladstone presented a well-reasoned, moderate Reform Bill which would give the vote to skilled workers, many in large industrial towns and small tenant farmers in the country.
Instead of the expected opposition from Derby and Disraeli of the conservatives, the opposition came from their own party. They claimed this would give the vote to the ‘ignorant’. The bill was defeated and Russel resigned, being replaced by a minority Conservative gov with Lord derby as PM & Disraeli as Leader of Commons.
Why and how was the Conservatives Reform Act successfully introduced/passed?
-Deteriorating economic conditions and growing working-class frustration encouraged them to act quickly and introduce another reform bill
-Historian Asa Briggs argues the ‘break in economic prosperity’ 1866/7 was the main reason the bill successfully passed through parliament
-The WC felt the effect of the bad harvest the year prior, there was another cholera outbreak causing panic and a stock market tumble threatening high unemployment
-After a Reform League demonstration took place, the pressure caused Disraeli to seize the moment and introduce a new bill to take credit from the Liberals
-Derby secured its passage through the Lords by convincing them this would ensure a future Cons. victory
What were the provisions of the Second Reform Act of 1867?
Vote extension in boroughs to:
-All male householders over 21 at the same address for a year
-Lodgers who paid £10 rent a year and lived at same address for a year
Extended to:
-40 shilling freeholders, as in 1832 Act
-£5 copyholders & £12 tenants-at-well
There was a redistribution of seats, seats taken from boroughs under 10k- now 1 not 2 MPs. Seats given to larger counties, heavily populated industrial towns & to Scotland
Why did Disraeli want to change the perspective that the Conservatives were an anti-reform party?
He was an opportunist
Wanted to win over skilled workers about to be enfranchised through parliamentary reform, so Conservatives could break the record of poor election results dating back to the 1846 split
Disraeli knew if he didn’t take the opportunity to bring in reform, Gladstone would do it as soon as he got back into power
Why did the Conservatives lose the 1868 general election?
The new largely urban electorate rewarded Gladstone for is consistent support of the Reform Act and he became PM. An unfavourable economic climate & raising of income tax reduced the Conservatives popularity at the polls.
What were the effects of the 1867 Reform Act?
-Skilled working-class men got the vote for the first time, causing anxiety among the political elite
-Derby called it a ‘leap in the dark’ as the impact of it on the political system & who the new electorate would vote for was uncertain
-The # of voters increased from 1m to 2.5m (1/3 of male population) greatest in boroughs/towns
-Elitist perception persisted amongst political classes that fitness or vote was based on use of income not just income itself
-The nature of seat redistribution was limited; only huge population cities given 1 more seat, places like industrial Midlands still under-represented
-Increase in electorate led to party reorganisation in order to attract new voters
-Led directly to 1870 Education Act; thought new voters should be educated
