In 1955 when the Peelite government was given a vote of no confidence, Gladstone was left in somewhat of a political wilderness, the Peelites couldn’t form a government, and Gladstone didn’t like many people that meant he could not ally with them e.g. Disraeli and as a man of principal he would not work with them. He agreed to serve under Palmerston in a Whig government as chancellor but resigned days later. He would not join or support the conservatives out of principle, due to his dislike of Disraeli. There was an important meeting of some radicals, Whigs, Peelites, and Liberals in the Willis tea rooms in 1959, this led to the creation of the Liberal party. Palmerston and Russell were the two prominent people in the party. Gladstone did not attend this meeting however he saw joining the Liberals as the option that went against his principles the least and agreed to be Chancellor. The Liberals went on to be a major political party and still in a similar form exist today. Some historians believe Gladstone’s contribution to the Liberals start was large as he held a key role in Government and kept the economy running very smoothly and that he was very successful, and later as a key member of the Liberal party created some important new policies and brought ideas to the mainstream which we still use today. However some argue that he was not in the Willis tearooms when the Liberal party formed, and his predecessor Lewis had the left the country’s economy in a very good state with little or no work to be done, leaving Gladstone in an easy position to be successful. Arguing he was in essence an opportunist despite taking the moral high ground which made him worse than Disraeli.
Gladstone’s budgets between 1959 and 1965 were seen as key pieces of legislation and Gladstone is arguably the most famous 19th Century figure for his budgets. He ran his budgets on his fundamental principles, of tax received by Government being a sacred trust from the people and must not be wasted, tax should be as low as possible and that economy was a virtue in which the Government had to set an example. Gladstone’s first budget in 59 set the standard for the rest of his time as Chancellor. Under Gladstone Britain came as close as it had ever been to Free Trade. These budgets included some controversial policies such as cutting defence spending drastically (Gladstone saw war as a waste of money) and lowered income tax and lessened the people that had to pay it. He had to threaten resignation more than once to get Cabinet accept them.
Gladstone as chancellor also passed more key legislation, he abolished stamp duty, which meant newspapers were cheaper to buy making them more accessible for the poor. He also cut much wasted money in the Civil Service making it more efficient. He also created the first Public Accounts Committee, a select committee that regulates government spending, which exists to this day. He was also the prominent figure in the Cobden treaty, which created a strong cheap trading link between Britain and France which, further pushed towards Free Trade and improved relations between the countries and helped tier economies. He also laid down the foundations of parliamentary reform, such as abolishing House of Lords, and giving more people the vote.
Between Gladstone and Disraeli, Gladstone achieved and contributed much more between 1846 and 1865. This was particularly evident during Gladstone’s time as Chancellor. All polices are deemed very important as Britain and France have maintained strong ties for the most part to this day, and cutting waste is a policy all parties want to do but rarely achieve at present, Free Trade is also a policy much aspired to by many today. The cheap press is important in contemporary society so all people can acquire knowledge and not be in a state of ignorance and develop stronger political opinions. The existence of the House of Lords is under question today, and Gladstone was the first to argue that case which is a prime of his foresight. He wanted to give more people the vote, an idea seen as people’s prerogative today, an example of his views on meritocracy and no discrimination regardless of wealth, gender or religion, which all affected people’s right to vote. Gladstone was one of if not the first to really push all of these important, lasting issues. He also kept the country running very smoothly with his budgets. Disraeli failed to do this during his short-lived time as Chancellor and it was Gladstone who put and end to him as Chancellor.
Disraeli had far fewer opportunities than Gladstone to achieve much as the Tories were in Government for only around 18 months during this period. However it could be argued that Disraeli played a major role in keeping the Conservatives alive, leaving them to be electorally strong before too long, when he could then make an impact. He also played a role in preventing or delaying much of the reforms that Gladstone and the Liberals wanted. Disraeli also modernised the Tory party and knew that for the Conservatives to remain a key party in British politics they would have to appeal to as many people as possible. As Gladstone was giving people of less wealth the vote the Conservatives would have to appeal to them as they were in larger numbers than the rich landowners who they currently appealed to. As the Tories were the main party of the 20th century he can be given credit for laying the foundations for them to be so strong with some leaders such as Thatcher appealing greatly to the working class.
However perhaps the most significant issue of this period was that both men started their huge rivalry and many argue hatred in 1952 which shaped and divided British politics for many years.
