To what extent were the divisions between the parties 1846-1865 about ideology?

Authors Avatar

Matthew Carman        History        Mr Clarke

To what extent were the divisions between the parties 1846-1865 about ideology?

After the repeal of the Corn Laws and the subsequent split of the Conservative Party, a very interesting passage in British politics ensued in which differences and division were paramount. Indeed this is exemplified by the fact that there were eight ministries in this relatively brief period.

There are two suggestions for this. Firstly it is argued that the fundamental ideological differences namely over the question of free trade manifested themselves in huge divisions between the Conservatives and the broad Liberal coalition throughout this period. It is thus argued that despite internal division within the coalition, politics during this period was essentially the Conservatives fighting against the Whig-Liberal coalition. This argument thus suggests that there were two clearly separate ideologies doing battle.

Join now!

On the other hand one could argue that in the aftermath of repeal, British politics was no longer characterised by a recognisable two party system but by many different groupings, all of which were under the very broad Whig-Liberal Coalition except of course for the Conservatives. As a result of parliament and indeed government becoming fragmented, it is argued that ideologies also became fragmented. Subsequently it is argued that this period was not about two diametrically opposite ideologies doing battle but about opportunism and ever-changing allegiances and divisions between all these groupings including the Conservatives.

 In this essay one will ...

This is a preview of the whole essay