Explain why the Corn Laws were repealed in 1846

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Explain why the Corn Laws were repealed in 1846

The repealing of the Corn Laws occurred for a number of reasons. One major reason as to why the Corn Laws were eventually repealed were due to the strategic retreats implemented by Peel beforehand. Peel appealed to the Conservative party in that if they continued to be stubborn with regards to the Corn Laws, it could alienate potential voters – as well as this, Peel believed there could be a major crisis caused by conflicts of opinion between those who supported abolishment of the laws and those who did not – this worried the conservative government greatly and was significant in reducing their stubbornness. Peel also saw no good economic reason as to why the Corn Laws should not be repealed and it was this strategic thinking that got many on-side and enabled the repealing of the Corn Laws.
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Another significant reason can be traced back to the success of the 1842 budget. This is because, whilst Peel may have agreed in theory that there might be a case for repealing the Corn Laws before 1841, it was only when the tariff reforms of 1842 began to prove successful that Peel decided that repeal should and could actually be implemented. Therefore, the success of free-trade reforms was a huge factor in convincing Peel of the possible success that could arise from the repealing of the Corn Laws and so played a big part. As well as this, ...

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