Peel to Rosebery

Abstract

The break between Sir Robert Peel and his party, which cast him out of office in 1846, had been coming for a long time. Peel had been a dominant figure as prime minister 1841–46 (having earlier had a brief four-month spell as PM in 1835–36) but he was a quintessential man of government and an executive politician, and was neglectful of the political and personal arts of party management. A cold, remote and high-handed leader, he rather took his backbenchers for granted. His centrist/liberal conservatism put him at ideological odds with many of his followers representing other groups and tendencies in the Tory party. Divisions, discontent and dissension built up across a range of issues (economic, Irish and social policy) after 1841, with Peel forcing his party into line and sometimes threatening to resign if they refused to support him. With party morale and unity cracking Peel’s determination to repeal the Corn Laws was the final straw. He pushed his party too far, two-thirds of Tory MPs voting against him, and repeal was carried only with the votes of Liberals and Radicals. When vengeful rebels then voted with the Liberals to defeat him on an Irish bill, Peel resigned and Lord John Russell and the Whigs took office.