1859-1886
The Age of Russell and Palmerston, 1846-1868
The collapse of Sir Robert Peel's Conservative government, following the 1846 repeal of the Corn Laws, began a complex re-arrangement of British political parties; one that took more than a decade to complete. Paradoxically, by rejecting Peel, the remaining Tories held the advantage of unity in their desire to protect agricultural interests and the established…
John Stuart Mill as politician
Mill’s brief career as a Member of Parliament.
Dizzy and the Grand Old Man
Review of Richard Aldous, The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs Disraeli (Hutchinson, 2006).
‘He would not stoop, he did not conquer’
Review of Robert Rhodes James, Rosebery (Phoenix, 1995).
The legacy of Gladstone
The Grand Old Man’s record.
Religion and politics
Religion and politics. The impact of the Bradlaugh case on the Berwick-upon-Tweed by-elections of 1880 and 1881.
The Hawarden Kite
In November 1885 the Irish Nationalist leader, Charles Stewart Parnell proposed an independent constitution for Ireland and although the Liberal leader, William Gladstone, believed in the necessity of Home Rule by this time, he was also convinced that he needed further time to persuade his Party of this.
Chamberlain on the Radical Programme
First speech on the Unauthorised Programme by Joseph Chamberlain – Warrington, September 8 1885.