II.

Palmerston’s Era

The Whigs and the growing forces of Liberalism held office under the premierships of Earl Charles Grey (1830-1834), Viscount Melbourne (1834, 1835-1841), Lord John Russell, (later Earl Russell 1846-1852 and 1865-1866), and Viscount Palmerston (1855-1858 and 1859-1865), and in a coalition government under George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (1852-1855), a Peelite. While some historians have argued that there was political polarization in the House of Commons during the 1830s, study of voting lists for 1835-1837 has shown that this had not advanced very far, with many government supporters voting several times against the government. After the collapse of economic protectionism and the division of the Conservative Party in 1846, the Peelites became an important group, while Whigs and Radicals were increasingly prone to call themselves “Liberal”. Peelite administrative ability and belief in public financial probity merged with Liberal trust in free trade, faith in material progress, and nationalism. This coming together took time—and in the case of William Ewart Gladstone took personal distaste for Benjamin Disraeli, the Conservative leader in the House of Commons, to overcome lack of enthusiasm for Palmerston.

Palmerston came to dominate British politics through much of his last decade (1855-1865). Palmerston presented a strong foreign policy, supporting British interests, and warmed to democratic and nationalist movements. He took pains to appeal to Liberal sentiment in the country, both by speeches and by cultivating the press. Opposition to a minority Conservative government under Lord Derby (1858-1859) united Whigs, Radicals, and Peelites, and nearly all who could be part of a Liberal coalition met at Willis’s Rooms in London and agreed to oust Derby’s government. In Palmerston’s second government, the premier did not hasten further parliamentary reform, but Gladstone, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, did add further to his reputation as a financial reformer, making it ever more likely that in due course he would lead the forces of Liberalism.