'Personal and party advantages were the motivating forces for the passing of the 1867 reform bill.' Discuss.

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'Personal and party advantages were the motivating forces for the passing of the 1867 reform bill.' Discuss.

In 1867 a Conservative government passed what was a fairly radical Reform Bill, enfranchising a further 1.2 million adult males. This was only a year after the party had campaigned against a less radical bill put forward by the Liberal government of the time. Obviously there was either a change in the Conservative mindset brought on by either inside or outside pressure, or there were benefits for the Conservatives to pass such a bill themselves. It is certainly true to say that Disraeli and the Conservative party had much to gain from the Reform Bill of 1867, but it is also possible that public pressure compelled them to act quickly and radically.

In 1846, the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, famously repealed the Corn Laws. This caused a split in the Conservative party, as Disraeli accused Peel of betraying the party. The Peelites; Peel, Gladstone and Graham, split off. June 1849 saw the Willis Rooms meeting. This marked the foundation of the modern Liberals, with the Whig-Liberal alliance. It consisted of radical and liberal MPs, and Peelites. In 1852