After defeat by the Liberals at the next election, his position as Conservative leader was at risk. Yet he carried on. The contrast in their physical appearances and their styles was stark, and the hatred was strong. Disraeli became Prime Minister once again in , aged This was a successful premiership, though it has been said that the legislation of this time depended much less upon Dizzy himself than upon his Cabinet colleagues.
The premiership saw the passing of a large amount of social legislation: the Climbing Boys Act reinforced the ban on employing juvenile chimney sweeps; the Artisans Dwelling Act allowed local authorities to destroy slums, though this was voluntary, and provided housing for the poor.
In the same year the Public Health Act provided sanitation such as running water and refuse disposal. Foreign policy became increasingly important, especially the Eastern Question following Turkish atrocities against the Bulgarians.
The election was lost to the Liberals, a narrow loss in terms of votes cast. Disraeli threw himself into the job of Opposition, and was active until a month before his death from bronchitis in April See all Past Prime Ministers. To help us improve GOV. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Cookies on GOV. When Derby retired in , Disraeli 'climbed to the top of a greasy pole' as the new prime minister.
He oversaw a shift towards the emergence of two parties, each with their own, coherent, policies. The polarisation was accentuated by the mutual loathing of Disraeli and Liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone. In , the Conservatives won a huge election victory and Disraeli once more became prime minister, aged Domestically, he concentrated on social reform. He codified the law on public health and passed laws to prevent labour exploitation and recognise trades unions.
Abroad, his acquisition of shares in the Suez Canal was a major success. Search term:. Read more. Disraeli's maiden speech in the House of Commons was poorly received and after enduring a great deal of barracking ended with the words: "though I sit down now, the time will come when you will hear me. He was sympathetic to the demands of the Chartists and in one speech argued that the "rights of labour were as sacred as the rights of property".
In Benjamin Disraeli married the extremely wealthy widow, Mrs. Wyndham Lewis. The marriage was a great success. On one occasion Disraeli remarked that he had married for money, and his wife replied, "Ah! After the Conservative victory in the General Election, Disraeli suggested to Sir Robert Peel, the new Prime Minister, that he would make a good government minister. Peel disagreed and Disraeli had to remain on the backbenches.
Disraeli was hurt by Peel's rejection and over the next few years he became a harsh critic of the Conservative government. In Disraeli helped to form the Young England group. Disraeli and members of his group argued that the middle class now had too much political power and advocated an alliance between the aristocracy and the working class.
Disraeli suggested that the aristocracy should use their power to help protect the poor. This political philosophy was expressed in Disraeli's novels Coningsby , Sybil and Tancred In these books the leading characters show concern about poverty and the injustice of the parliamentary system.
Disraeli favoured a policy of protectionism and strongly opposed Peel's decision to repeal the Corn Laws. This issue split the Conservative Party and Disraeli's attacks on Peel helped to bring about his political downfall. In Lord John Russell, the leader of the Whig government, resigned. This period of power only lasted a few months and Derby was soon replaced by the Earl of Aberdeen. He also became leader of the House of Commons and was responsible for the introduction of measures to reform parliament.
In February, , Disraeli proposed the equalization of the town and county franchise. This would have resulted in some men in towns losing the vote and was opposed by the Liberals.
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