Explain the Formation of the Liberal Party

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Luke Hodgkinson J6 LAK

Explain the Formation of the Liberal Party

The formation of the liberal party was somewhat inevitable in the 19th century. It was the product of many factors; the inadequacy of the Tory party, the demand for a more liberal stance in politics, (which the Whigs needed to take advantage of), and the mutual distaste for Disraeli that all of the members of the forming liberal party shared.. This coalition has been thought by many to be nothing more than a selfish alliance with no goals other than to take power from the Conservatives. This is partly because of Palmerston and Russell’s contrasting political views in areas such as parliamentary reform and the role of the State, it seemed that they had no business going into politics together other than to gain power. They worked together as the only alternative was opposition.

The distaste for the Conservatives throughout the forming liberal party was partly due to their political stances; the Peelites were ex-Conservatives that split from the party over the Corn Laws, and their decision to join the Liberals was rather based upon the fact that the only realistic alternative was to join the Tories, for as a small side party they served no real purpose. The Radicals were opposed to the Conservative’s protectionist and conservative policies, and the Whigs were the rival party to the conservatives so their distaste for the Tories was no real surprise.

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The Tory party had been lagging behind in politics for 20 years: because of the success of the Whigs free trade policies of the time, the Tories seemed outdated. And in many aspects this was the case: the Whigs supported reform in the constitution, the Tories were set firmly against it, whilst the Whigs favoured freedom for Ireland, the Tories were, again, set firmly against it; they were simply backing the wrong policies for a time of change and forward thinking. The economy was booming, with railways springing up all over the country and extremely fast population growth. The ...

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