Peel as leader

• Peel's Background


  Catholic Emancipation, Maynooth Grant
• Peel's Effectiveness as Leader


  • Effective
  • From an industrial background
  • Gave insight into the new industrial society
  • Peel's actions helped prevent a revolution
  • Some compromises were made but the constitution and Act of Union largely remained intact
• Peel's support for the Maynooth Grant and Irish Colleges


  Split moderate Catholics and middle class from O'Connell's Repeal Movement
• Peel's actions


  Helped preserve the Act of Union with Ireland
• Peel's impact on the Conservative Party

  • Revived the party from a deleterious position in 1832
  • Gave the party a new direction with the Tamworth Manifesto
  • Adapted the party to a post-1832 Reform Act world
  • Renamed the party as the Conservative Party
  • Used the Bedchamber Crisis to his advantage
  • Increased support for the Conservative Party in 1835 and 1837 elections
  • Conservative Party won the 1841 election
• Peel's Reforms


  • Helped revive the economy and ushered in a "Golden Age" from 1840-1871
  • Appealed to the new industrial middle class voters
• Peel held traditional Tory principles and supported repression
• There were very few middle class members of Peel's cabinets
• Peel's family had joined the aristocracy
• Peel's support for Catholic Emancipation


  Led to mistrust of Peel throughout his career
• Peel's reforms of Maynooth and Irish Colleges


  Seen by many as another betrayal of the party and the constitution
• The position of the Conservative Party in 1852 was not as bad as it appeared
• Some within the party felt the Tamworth Manifesto was dangerously liberal
• The Bedchamber Crisis was merely a clash of personalities between Peel and Victoria and nothing more
• The 1841 election was won on traditional Tory values and areas rather than the new Conservative principles and industrial areas
• Many in his party opposed Peel's free trade policies, e.g. Canada Corn Bond Duties
• Peel's policies didn't have an immediate effect
• Repeal of the Corn Laws

  • Pinnacle of Peel's free trade policy
  • Benefitted the new industrial middle class
  • Helped secure the aristocracy by removing a piece of class legislation and social conflict
• Peel's Social Reforms


  • Peel's focus was on improving the economy which he saw would ultimately improve social conditions
  • Peel's government did introduce social reforms
• Peel's repeal of the Corn Laws split the party in 1845, with the 'Peelites' leaving and never returning
• Conservatives were largely in opposition after 1846 and would not win a majority at an election until 1874
• It was reforming individuals who introduced reform, not Peel
• Peel opposed reducing the working day to 10 hours and threatened to resign if it wasn't changed to 12 hours
• Peel alienated many within his party over his actions