A-Level History Britain Final Exam Questions and Expert Solutions

What were the Conservatives' policies in the mid-1850s? - Had realised they needed to abandon protectionism and support free trade - Needed to attract industry and commerce to support them over the Liberals What were the Conservatives' party splits in the mid-1850s? - The Conservatives failed to win back the Peelites and remained fractured. - This meant that their election performance was mediocre and any governments formed were minority and tended to be short-lived. - It has been suggested that they could have been more successful if they had co-operated with the other smaller parties (Blake) What was the Conservatives' leadership like in the mid-1850s? - Lord Derby was defeatist in his view that since the Liberal opposition had a popular leader (Lord Palmerston), there was 'little point in pursuing an active policy anymore'. - Disraeli was emerging as a potential reader but was distrusted by many on his side - this was largely down to his difference from the established elites. - He was also regarded as an opportunist and politically ambitious, to his detriment. Was the Liberal Party united in the 1850s? - By 1859, the Whig, Liberal, Radical, and Peelite groups had made a formal agreement to work together and were increasingly pursuing similar aims under the label of the 'Liberals'. - The meeting at the Willis' Rooms marked the establishment of this formal co-operation. What were the aims of the Liberals in the 1850s? - Still some personal differences and differences in political background; cooperation was fuelled by the shared aim of removing the minority Conservative administration. - Unifying as one party meant that a stronger challenge could be mounted against the Conservatives. What was the first true 'Liberal Government'? - Several days after the Willis' Rooms meeting, a vote of no confidence was passed in the Conservatives in the Commons and on 10 June 1859 a Liberal Government took office with Palmerston as PM and Gladstone as Chancellor. - However, it was not until Palmerston's death in 1865 that Liberalism became firmly established as a political creed and people began to talk about the Liberal Party. In the 1850s, what were the two parties' beliefs on who should hold authority? LIBERALS