NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Peelite

The Peelites (or 'Liberal Conservatives' as they were also occasionally known) are those MPs and Peers who remained loyal to British Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel following the break up of the British Conservative Party on the issue of abolishing the Corn Laws in 1846. Their opponents within the party preferred to call themselves Protectionists - though they would later relabel themselves as Conservatives in the next decade. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x800, 6 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... The politics of the United Kingdom are based upon a unitary state and a constitutional monarchy. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... This article describes the British monarchy from the perspective of the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and in former times Chancellor of England, is one of the most senior and important functionaries in the government of the United Kingdom. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the Lower House of Parliament, the House of Commons. ... In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... In the Politics of the United Kingdom, the Cabinet is a formal body comprised of government officials chosen by the Prime Minister. ... The Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Ministries, known in the United Kingdom as Government Departments. ... The Scottish Parliament (PÃ rlamaid na h-Alba in Gaelic, Scots Pairlament in Scots) is the national unicameral legislature of Scotland. ... The term Scottish Executive is used in two distinct but closely related senses. ... The National Assembly for Wales (or NAW) (Welsh: Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) was established in 1998, following the approval by a small majority of Welsh voters in a referendum held in 1997 of the Labour Governments proposals for devolution. ... The Welsh Assembly Government (or WAG) is the executive body of the National Assembly for Wales — it is comprised of the First Minister and his Cabinet. ... The logo of the Northern Ireland Assembly is a six flowered linen or flax plant, chosen for the plants historical economic importance to the region. ... The Northern Ireland Executive as established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 is the (currently suspended) executive body for Northern Ireland, answerable to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... The United Kingdom is divided into four parts, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. ... The Greater London Authority (GLA) administers the 1579 sq. ... The United Kingdom has five distinct types of elections: general, local, regional, European and mayoral. ... The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 and won by the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair. ... The next United Kingdom general election must be held on or before 3 June, 2010. ... Political parties in the United Kingdom lists political parties in the United Kingdom. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The Corn Laws, in force between 1815 and 1846, were import tariffs ostensibly designed to protect British farmers and landowners, against competition from cheap foreign grain imports. ...

The Peelites were characterised by commitment to Free Trade and a managerial, almost technocratic, approach to government. Though they sought to maintain the principles of the Conservative Party, Peelites disagreed with the major wing of that party, the Tory landed interest, on issues of trade; in particular, the issue of whether agricultural prices should be artificially kept high by tariffs. Free trade is an economic concept referring to the selling of products between countries without tariffs or other trade barriers. ...

In 1845, facing a serious famine in Ireland, Peel sought to lower food prices by repealing the Corn Laws. He was able to carry the repeal vote in the House of Commons, but only at the price of splitting the Conservative Party; a split which led to the fall of Peel's government in June 1846, and its replacement by a Whig government led by Lord John Russell. 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Starvation during the famine The Irish Potato Famine, also called The Great Famine or The Great Hunger (Irish: An t-ocras mÃ³r), is the name given to a famine which struck Ireland between 1845 and 1849. ... The Corn Laws, in force between 1815 and 1846, were import tariffs ostensibly designed to protect British farmers and landowners, against competition from cheap foreign grain imports. ... In some bicameral parliaments of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the British Whig party. ... John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (August 18, 1792 â€“ May 28, 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. ...

Numbering about a third of the old Conservative party following the 1847 general election, the Peelites as a parliamentary force continued under the leadership of Peel. Their main political positions remained initially closer to the Protectionist Conservatives rather than the Whig and Radicals in parliament except on the issue of Free Trade . However , personalities also came into play - the split had also been very bitter on a personal level - the attacks on Peel by the protectionist conservatives like Lord George Bentinck and Benjamin Disraeli were not forgotten easily. This explains why Disraeli and the Earl of Derby who was now leading the Conservative Party were unable to bring about a re-union even when they officially abandoned protection after 1852. This article is about the British Whig party. ... Free trade is an economic concept referring to the selling of products between countries without tariffs or other trade barriers. ...

The leading members of the Peelite faction that developed after the 1846 split of the Conservative Party were: 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Following Peel's death in 1850 after a horse riding accident , the Peelite faction was led by Lord Aberdeen, who became the only Peelite prime minister in 1852 by forming a government in coalition with the Whigs. This government fell in 1855 as a result of the unpopularity of the Crimean War. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Sir James Robert George Graham, 2nd Baronet (1 June 1792 - 25 October 1861) was a British statesman. ... George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (January 28, 1784 - December 14, 1860) was a Tory politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855. ... The Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone (29 December 1809â€“19 May 1898) was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister (1868â€“1874, 1880â€“1885, 1886 and 1892â€“1894). ... Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea (16 September 1810 - 2 August 1861) was an English statesman. ... Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell (July 24, 1813–February 15, 1886) was a prominent British politician in the Peelite and Liberal parties during the middle of the 19th century. ... Henry Pelham Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme, 12th Earl of Lincoln (also known as Henry Pelham Clinton-Hope) (22 May 1811 - 18 October 1864) was a British politician, who eventually rose to the position of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. ... John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar (August 31, 1807 - October 6, 1876) was the second Governor General of Canada. ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Crimean War lasted from 28 March 1854 to 1856. ...

After delay while the Conservatives attempted to form a government , the former Canningite Viscount Palmeston became Prime Minister. His goverment initially included several leading Peelites including Gladstone, Cardwell, and Herbert in cabinet posts . However within a month they had resigned on the issue of setting up a parliamentary commission to investigate the events leading up to the Crimean war but other Peelites in cabinet posts like the Duke of Argyll preferred to stay on . The Peelites maintained their group for the next couple of years though by the 1857 election their numbers in the House of Commons had shrunk to 18 from around 40 held at the 1852 election . During this time some of them went back to the Conservatives whilst a few others headed off towards the Whigs. The remainder preferred to remain independent and soon found themselves in opposition to Palmeston's government. Canningites was the name used for those Tories in Great Britain who adhered to the then Foreign Secretary George Canning in the 1820s. ... Arms of the Duke of Argyll since 1406 The title Duke of Argyll was created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. ...

The Peelites finally disappeared as a party when they agreed to join forces with the Whigs , Radicals and Irish Brigade MPs to bring down the Conservative government of Earl of Derby in 1859 . This collaboration after a meeting at the Wills tea rooms also marks the birth of the British Liberal party as well as the end of the Peelites as a separate political entity. All their remaining leaders then took office in the subsequent government of Viscount Palmeston. The Earl of Derby is a title in the peerage of England. ...

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