Tag Archives: Sir Robert Peel

Sir Robert Peel’s smile rehabilitated

Posted on August 17, 2022 by sball1832

It’s not unusual for quotations in politics to assume a life of their own. The late Simon Hoggart amusingly recorded how one particular phrase attributed to him about Lord Mandelson, of which he had no memory, appeared first in one … Continue reading →

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MP of the Month: William Nugent Macnamara (1776-1856)

Posted on February 27, 2020 by sball1832

By the time he retired from the House of Commons in 1852 William Nugent Macnamara, the long-serving MP for County Clare, was in his late seventies and had taken no practical part in parliamentary business for the previous three years. … Continue reading →

Posted in Biographies, Ireland, MP of the Month | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Sir Robert Peel and the modern Conservative party

Posted on February 5, 2020 by salmonphilip

Today (5 Feb) marks the birthday of Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850), the 19th century prime minister traditionally credited with founding the modern Conservative party. Peel is also subject of a new BBC ‘Prime Properties’ episode – click here to view … Continue reading →

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The Disruption, Parliament and Conservative division: Alexander Campbell (1811-1869)

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Martin Spychal

In May 1843 a schism in the Church of Scotland, better known as the Disruption, led to the creation of the evangelical Free Church of Scotland. It was the culmination of a decade-long conflict over the ability of parishioners to appoint their minister, and wider concerns over state interference with the Scottish Church. April’s MP of the Month is the Conservative MP for Argyllshire, Alexander Campbell, who was one of the founding elders of the Free Church. His ruthless electioneering in Argyllshire from 1836, eventual election in 1841, and failed legislative attempts to prevent the breakup of the Church placed the looming controversy at the centre of parliamentary politics. It also revealed irreconcilable differences between the Conservative Prime Minister Robert Peel and one of his few Scottish backbenchers. Continue reading →

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Conscience versus constituency: the dilemma facing Henry Sturt MP

Posted on March 29, 2019 by salmonphilip

The Victorian Commons, as some of our recent blogs have shown, was an important testing ground for many of the practices and parliamentary procedures that remain in place today. It also provides early examples of MPs having to grapple with … Continue reading →

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Minority governments and major change: a Victorian view

Posted on June 12, 2017 by salmonphilip

For most modern commentators the prospects for minority governments, based on the experience of the last half century or so, don’t look particularly good. Nearly all the recent examples currently being revisited by analysts, such as those of the 1970s, … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Parliamentary life | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Local polls and general elections: a Victorian perspective

Posted on May 4, 2017 by salmonphilip

As barometers of political opinion, local elections have long had a special place in British politics, offering useful (though not necessarily accurate) guides to national trends. The link between local and national polls, however, has always been complicated. As the … Continue reading →

Posted in Constituencies, Elections, Local government | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

MP of the Month: Edward Lucas and the administration of Ireland, 1841-5

Posted on August 23, 2016 by sball1832

Edward Lucas was already an experienced parliamentarian when in September 1841 he was appointed under-secretary for Ireland, a post which for at least three-quarters of the year made the holder ‘the executive of Ireland’. In practice the political head of … Continue reading →

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MP of the month: Rowland Alston (1782-1865)

Posted on January 25, 2016 by salmonphilip

Rowland Alston’s career provides a useful illustration of just how diverse (and to a modern eye incongruous) the political outlook of MPs in the same party could be before the development of more formal modern political allegiances. It also serves … Continue reading →

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Wiping the slate: some laws recently repealed

Posted on February 3, 2013 by salmonphilip

Last week (31 Jan. 2013) saw the enactment of the Statute Laws Repeal Act, a legislative initiative aimed at tidying up the UK’s statute book by repealing a host of obsolete and defunct laws, ranging from the 1500s to the present … Continue reading →

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‘Register, register, register!’: political activity in October

Posted on October 12, 2012 by salmonphilip

In modern politics the month of October is usually dominated by coverage of the major party conferences. In Victorian times, it was the stand-off between the political parties in the voter registration courts, famously immortalised by Peel’s call to ‘register, … Continue reading →

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