The Peelites were a breakaway
dissident political faction
A political faction is a group of individuals that share a common political purpose but differs in some respect to the rest of the entity. A faction within a group or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, "parties within a party," ...
of the British
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
from 1846 to 1859. Initially led by
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Excheque ...
, the former
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
and Conservative Party leader in 1846, the Peelites supported
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...
whilst the bulk of the Conservative Party remained
protectionist. The Peelites later merged with the
Whigs and
Radicals
Radical may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change
*Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
to form the
Liberal Party in 1859.
Overview
The Peelites were characterised by commitment to
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...
and a managerial, almost technocratic, approach to government. Though they sought to maintain the principles of the Conservative Party, Peelites disagreed with the major wing of that party (the landed interest) on issues of trade, in particular the issue of whether agricultural prices should be artificially kept high by tariffs. The Peelites were often called the Liberal Conservatives in contrast to Protectionist Conservatives led by
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation ...
and
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby.
Facing a
serious famine in Ireland in 1845, the Peelites sought to lower
food prices
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food.
Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing ...
by repealing the
Corn Laws. Peel was able to carry the repeal vote in the
House of Commons, but only at the price of splitting the Conservative Party, a split which led to the fall of Peel's government in June 1846 and its replacement by a Whig government led by
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell.
The leading members of the Peelite faction that developed after the 1846 split of the Conservative Party were the following:
File:Robert Richard Scanlan02.jpg, Sir Robert Peel
File:Jamesgrantham.png, Sir James Graham
File:George Hamilton-Gordon cph.3b31157 (cropped).jpg, The Earl of Aberdeen
File:William Gladstone by Mayall, 1861.jpg, William Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
File:1st Baron Herbert.jpg, Sidney Herbert
File:1stViscountCardwell.jpg, Edward Cardwell
File:5thDukeOfNewcastle.jpg, Lord Lincoln
(later Duke of Newcastle)
File:DENT(1881) 1.276 JOHN YOUNG.jpg, Sir John Young
The Peelites numbered about a third of the old Conservative party following the
1847 general election. Their main political positions at that time were closer to the Protectionist Conservatives than to the Whigs and Radicals in parliament, except on the issue of free trade. The split had been so bitter on a personal level, with attacks on Peel by Protectionist Conservatives such as
Lord George Bentinck and
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation ...
, that the Conservative Party was unable to reconcile the Peelites even after the Conservatives officially abandoned
protection in 1852. The Peelites also had their own newspaper ''
The Morning Chronicle'' to highlight their political position.
After Peel's death in 1850, the Peelite faction was led by Sir James Graham and Lord Aberdeen. In the
1852 general election, the number of Peelites was estimated at 40. In that same year,
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist ...
was invited by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
to form a coalition government with the Whigs and the Radicals. This government fell in 1855 as a result of the unpopularity of its hesitant attitude during the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
.
After the fall of the Aberdeen government, the Peelite faction took most of the blame for their management of the war in the Crimea. The party further lost cohesion with some members including
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...
,
Sir James Graham, 2nd Baronet and
Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea accepting cabinet posts in the new government led by
Viscount Palmerston only to resign a few weeks later when the government agreed to hold a commission on the conduct of the recent war. Others stayed, including
George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll and
Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe after which the Peelites with now no agreed overall leader appeared to be a band of
independents rather than a political faction. In the
1857 general election, their numbers further decreased to around 26, or maybe less than 20 as identifying who was and who was not a Peelite became increasingly difficult.
The Peelites finally disappeared as a distinctive political force after the
1859 general election. In June 1859 a meeting was held at the Willis's Rooms, St James Street with most of the remaining Peelites agreed to combine with the Whigs, the Radicals and the
Independent Irish Party Members of the United Kingdom Parliament
Following is a (currently incomplete) list of past Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), United Kingdom MPs in alphabetical order.
__NOTOC__
A
''See List of United Kingdom MPs: A''
B
''See List of United Kingdom MPs: B''
C
''See List of Un ...
to bring down the Conservative government of
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby in a vote of no confidence. The vote was won by the opposition by 323 votes to 310 on 10 June.
[William Gladstone voted with the Conservative administration.]
The subsequent creation of
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston's ministry out of this combination was the birth of the British Liberal Party. Several leading Peelites (including Gladstone, Herbert, Cardwell, and Newcastle, but notably not Graham, who was one of the driving forces behind the coalition) accepted cabinet posts in this ministry, though some Peelites became independents or returned to the Conservatives.
See also
*
Contributions to liberal theory
Contribution or Contribute may refer to:
* ''Contribution'' (album), by Mica Paris (1990)
** "Contribution" (song), title song from the album
*Contribution (law), an agreement between defendants in a suit to apportion liability
*Contributions, a ...
*
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
*
Liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...
*
Liberalism in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the word liberalism can have any of several meanings. Scholars use the term to refer to '' classical liberalism''; the term can also mean '' economic liberalism'', '' social liberalism'' or '' political liberalism''; it ...
*
List of liberal parties
*
Thatcherism
References
* Jones, Wilbur Devereux; and Arvel B. Erickson (1972). ''The Peelites 1846-1857''. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University.
{{Liberal Party (UK)
Political party factions in the United Kingdom
Centrist political parties in the United Kingdom
Conservative Party (UK) breakaway groups
Liberal parties in the United Kingdom
Liberal conservative parties