topic 11 - Peel and the birth of the conservatives

who was Peel?

a tory politician who is widely accepted as leading the change from tories to conservatives

how many times was he PM?

2

when was his first minsitry?

1834-35

when was his second ministry?

1841-46

what did peel do that set him apart from other politicians?

he put the needs of the country before the needs of his party

what is an example of this?

catholic emancipation which went against the tory agenda of maintaining the status quo but ultimately prevented civil war in Ireland

what did he write during his first ministry?

the tamworth manifesto

what did the tamworth manifesto do?

it stated that the tories would support reform

what did he allow to continue during his first ministry?

the royal commission on municipal corporations

why was this unusal?

because this commission was set up by the whigs and most prime ministers usually destroyed any trace of the previous party which held office

what did he set up during his first ministry?

the ecclesiastical commission

the tamworth manifesto is usually regarded as…

the birth of the conservatives

what marked the beginning of the conservatives as a prominent political party?

the 1835 parliamentary elections

why did this election happen?

peel called this election in the hopes of gaining more MPs who would support him and allow him to pass legislation

how many seats did the conservatives gain in this election?

over 100

in spite of this, the whigs still held a majority which…

prompted peels resignation

what factors contributed to increased support for the conservatives in 1835?

the tamworth manifesto, the royal commission, peels leadership

how did the tamworth manifesto improve the appeal of the conservatives?

it showed they were willing to support reform which made them seem less oppressive

how did the royal commission improve the appeal of the conservatives?

they were keeping the laws from previous parties in place

how did peels leadership improve the appeal of the conservatives?

he put the needs of the people above party politics and as a result was seen as reliable and respectable

what did other politicians do which also contributed to peels victory?

they ' jumped ship' - this means they abandoned the ultras/far right tories in favour of the conservatives