PTP - Peel and Conservative Party

what were the tory problems 1830-34?

1830s the whigs had majority in gov

party was divided about labour and parliamentary reform

tories did not do well in 1832 election and has fallen to 170 seats

what was peels position 1830-32?

he opposed reform but did not block it

he refused to condemn reform but was not eager to support it

may 1832 he refused to take office when the lords rejected the reform bill and grey resigned

he kept a balance between opposing the whigs and not completely rejecting reform

what were peels reforms to the conservative party 1832-34?

carlton club was created 1832 which was a central HQ in london for the party - ran by sir francis bonham, sent out info about policies to MPs and candidates

conservative associations set up in the constituencies ran by local solicitors ensured conservative supporters were registered to vote

peel made policies clear to the voters and wider public so they knew his position during the tamworth manifesto 1834

what was the irish issue and its impact for peel?

grey had resigned due to some of the whigs negotiating with daniel oconnell to relax the coersion laws

the chancellor of the exchequer - lord althorp, resigned when he inherited his fathers title and moved to the house of lords which meant whigs were too weak to carry on

peel therefore had to take a minority government

what does peel say about moderate reform in tamworth manifesto?

he is willing to accept it while also preserving british traditions

what does peel introduced to do with non conformists?

an act that allowed non conformists to marry in their own churches

what was the lichfield house compact? when? impact?

1835

irish repeal MPs joined the whigs against peel

bad as MC still saw catholics as a threat

many worried it would lead to a repeal of the act of union

damaging to their reputation and meant peel was a valid credible alternative

what did the use of the term conservative mean?

suggested a real change

what year did peel get the chance to be PM again? what scandal does he turn this down over? what was this scandal?

1839, ladies of the bedchamber crisis, involved queen victoria and all 26 of her ladies were whig, the crisis was triggered by the introduction of a bill by melbourne - jamaica bill and he was forced to resign

peel was then asked to form government by victoria, he said he wanted 6 of her ladies to be conservative, she wrongly mistook this as him asking for all to be conservative and she refused

peel then refused to be PM

when were the corn laws introduced? what were they? what was the price corn had to reach?

1815, protected british wheat growers from low prices

the government tried to not be too expensive that poorer people could not afford it yet also not be too cheap so farmers didnt grow

it was set at 80 shillings

what year are the corn laws amended? to what price? and when again?

1828, 52 shillings and duty on imported corn set at 34 shillings

1842, 20 shillings duty when price reached 51 shillings or less

when are the corn laws repealed?

1846

why were the corn laws so disliked?

went against ideas of free trade

workers needed cheaper bread

high cost of bread made costs of manufactorers high which resulted in depressions

only benefitted landlords and aristocrats

seen as maintaining the rich lifestyle

fear of high bread prices caused wages to be high and threaten trade

put a burden on urban areas

symbol of class domination

made britain uncompetative

what is evidence the corn laws didnt do much harm?

had been amended twice

basic premise was flawed as huge amounts of foreign corn were not being accumulated

if britain had a bad yield so would europe

many reforms passed after 1832 had not been in the interests of landowners

corn from further afar was more expensive to import

when was the ACLL set up? by who? where? tactics? aims? supporters?

march 1839 as a national organisation by cobden and bright

in machester and leeds

tried to get MP t support

register voters

buy property

meetings and communication

supporters were mc industrialists and free traders and northern MPs

their success is limited as the corn laws were repealed 1846 but they never convinced WC or UC

where was cobden an mp for and when? what about bright?

cobden mp for stockport 1841

bright mp for durham 1843

why was the ACLL not effective?

made no effective appeal to politically powerful interests

seen as suspicious by wc

peels enthusiasm for free trade meant the ACLL was swimming with the strong tide as many wanted the corn laws repealed

what economic problems did peel have to deal with in 1841?

there was a budget deficit of £1.8m - concerned to grow to 2.5m by 1843

economic downturn had hit trade and affected gov income as 80% of their income came from customs and duty

the downturn caused social and political unrest and chartism emerged

economic problems led to mc agitation for the end to corn laws

what tax changes did peel make in 1842?

income tax - put on incomes over £150 - raised 3m over 3 years and payed for reduction on duties

reduction put on duties on timber and foodstuff like coffee - put on over 750 things

what did peels tax changes in 1842 do?

no noticeable effects immediately but helped boost spending on imported raw materials and didnt stir discontent

what happened to the economy in 1845? what did peel keep? why? what other duties were cut or reduced?

the deficit turned to a surplus of 3.4m

peel keeps income tax as it funds more cuts in indirect tax and export duties

duty cut on sugar

how did peel change banking?

he made the bank charter act which tried to prevent the circulation of excessive paper money

this ensured money kept its value

additional forms of payment like cheques or bills of exchange were used

what does peel do to railways?

expanded by 1852 there was 3000 miles of track layed

the railways regulation act 1844 gave parliament power to limit rail profits, inspect the accounts and purchase railways

it benefitted poorer people by providing cheap travel

it limited the borrowing excessively on the security of railway construction

how did peel shift away from agriculture to industrial?

reduced manufactoring costs

encouraged british exports

ensured businessmen could take confidence from the fact they were dealing in soundly based paper money

reduced indirect taxes

balanced government books like a prudent financer