Peel, Sir Robert

Peel, Sir Robert (1788-1850), British statesman, prime minister of Great Britain and Ireland (1834-1835; 1841-1846), and founder of the modern Conservative Party.

Peel was born near Bury in Lancashire, and educated at Harrow School and at Christ Church, Oxford. He entered the House of Commons in 1809 as member for the Irish seat of Cashel City, and in 1810 he became under-secretary for war and for the colonies. From 1812, when Peel became MP for Chippenham, to 1818 he served as chief secretary for Ireland, where he demonstrated his tremendous administrative capacity and suppressed agitation for increased freedom for Roman Catholics. Having established his “Protestant” credentials in a speech against Catholic emancipation he was elected MP for Oxford University in 1817. In 1819, Peel chaired the parliamentary inquiry into the state of the public finances, which brought about a return to the gold standard.

In 1822 Peel entered the Cabinet as home secretary in the government of Lord Liverpool. He distinguished himself in this post through a series of penal reforms, including the reform of criminal laws and the reduction of the number of crimes that carried the death penalty. In 1829, convinced of the need for improved methods of crime prevention, Peel reorganized the Bow Street Runners into the London metropolitan police force, thereafter called “bobbies”, after his first name. It was the first modern police force in the world.

On the death of Liverpool in 1827 and the appointment of George Canning, Peel resigned his office over the issue of Catholic emancipation. However, he returned to office the following year under the Duke of Wellington. Faced with increased agitation over Catholic rights, culminating in the election of Daniel O’Connell to Parliament, Peel and Wellington recognized the need to carry through the Catholic Emancipation Act, granting Roman Catholics political equality, a move that split the Tory Party. As a result, Peel was forced to resign his seat for Oxford University, and Wellington’s increasingly unpopular government finally collapsed over the issue of parliamentary reform.

Peel was elected to the family seat of Tamworth in 1830. His position over parliamentary reform became ambiguous: although he was shocked at the extent of the reforms proposed by Earl Grey, he did nothing to unite Tory opposition against reform. However, his support for Whig moderation in the first reformed Parliament restored his standing. In 1834 William IV dismissed the ministry of Lord Melbourne and Peel was appointed prime minister in a minority Tory government. In his “Tamworth Manifesto” of December 1834 Peel outlined his reasons for accepting the post despite it acting against the intentions of a reformed Parliament. Although losing the election in 1835 Peel had established the themes of Conservative philosophy. During the next six years, he established the modern Conservative Party as a major political force by attracting such men as the later prime ministers Benjamin Disraeli and William Ewart Gladstone.

In the general elections of 1841, the Conservatives gained a majority, and Peel formed the first Conservative ministry. Peel's ministry was notable for placing the country’s finances on a sound footing, reintroducing income tax and so guaranteeing revenue and passing the Bank Charter Act of 1844 that connected note issue with gold reserves. Most importantly, he reversed his earlier opposition to free trade in order to reduce the cost of living for the working classes. One of his first measures was to reduce protective tariffs and the Irish Famine in 1845 convinced him of the need to repeal the Corn Laws to ensure a cheap supply of food. His stance split the Conservative Party and following the passage of the repeal in 1846, with the support of the opposition, Peel was forced to resign. He continued to serve in Parliament until his death in London following a riding accident.