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Peelite
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{{Politics of the United Kingdom}}
The '''Peelites''' were a breakaway faction of the British
Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party, and existed from
1846 to
1859. They were called "Peelites" because they were initially led by
Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, who was the British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader in
1846.
The Peelites were characterised by commitment to
Free Trade 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 Tory 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", while the major wing was called the "Protectionist Conservatives".
In
1845, facing a
Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849) serious famine in Ireland, Peel sought to lower food prices by repealing the
Corn Laws. He 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 Lord John Russell.
The leading members of the Peelite faction that developed after the
1846 split of the Conservative Party were:
*
Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel
*
Sir James Graham, 2nd Baronet Sir James Graham
*
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen The Earl of Aberdeen
*
William Ewart Gladstone William Gladstone
*
Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea Sidney Herbert
*
Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell Edward Cardwell
*
Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle Lord Lincoln (later Duke of Newcastle)
*
John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar 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 (UK) Radicals in parliament, except on the issue of
Free Trade. The split had been so bitter on a personal level, though, with attacks on Peel by protectionist conservatives such as
Lord George Bentinck and
Benjamin Disraeli, that the Conservative Party was unable to reconcile the Peelites, even after the Conservatives officially abandoned protection in
1852.
After Peel's death in
1850, the Peelite faction was led by Sir James Graham and Lord Aberdeen, the latter of whom became prime minister in 1852 by forming a government in coalition with the Whigs. This government fell in
1855 as a result of the unpopularity of the
Crimean War.
After the fall of the Aberdeen government, the Peelite faction slowly disintegrated. By the 1857 election, their numbers in the House of Commons had shrunk to 18 (from about 40 seats held in 1852). The Peelites finally disappeared as a party when they agreed to combine with the Whigs, Radicals and Irish Brigade MPs to bring down the Conservative government of
Earl of Derby in 1859. The subsequent creation of
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston Lord 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.
References
* Jones, Wilbur Devereux and Arvel B. Erickson. ''The Peelites 1846-1857''. Columbus, OH : Ohio State University, 1972.
See also
*
Liberalism
*
Contributions to liberal theory
*
Liberalism worldwide
*
List of liberal parties
*
Liberal democracy
*
Liberalism in the United Kingdom
Category:Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom
category:Historical liberal parties United Kingdom 1846
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