Gladstone and Victorian Liberalism - Victorians: 'Liberal Century' 1846 - 1874, 1880-6, brief interruptions, but never lost 2 successive elections until 1889. - Why was so popular? Was did it stand for? - Personality - 2 politicians dominated early liberalism - Lord John Russell (PM 1846-1852, 1865) - 1882 - Reform Act Succeeded by Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston - Remembered for foreign policy - British interests overseas, committed womaniser. - 30 year liaison with the wife of his Cabinet colleagues, 3 of 5 children from marriage ac- knowledged by him, married her once her husband died in 1837 - properly accepted by great whig aristocratic families - socio-political network. - Records sexual access and failures in his pocket diaries. Succeeded by William Ewart Gladstone (4 times PM) (1809) - Dominates liberal politics from 60s to retirement in 1894 - Preoccupied, severe character, intellectual, scholar as much as politician - Physical embodiment of Victorian liberalism - Both sides claim to be connected to Gladstone and his political alignment - Thatcher frequently invoked Gladstone, claiming inheritor - Small role for state, morality, low taxation - Economist - Tony Blair, dressed as William Gladstone, committed with a sense of moral- ity and duty in public life as well as international af f airs. - Gave shape to Victorian period. - 1832 - elected to Parliament (22 years), serves until 1895. - Joins parliament when Wellington in government, leaves when Henry Lloyd George (un- der World War) - Dudley T Stedd - 'kind of secular pope' - Older biographies by his temporaries (Morley) - 'a moral force', or more recent (Matthews)-influenceofhisliteracy,ideasuponpoliticsandpoliticalpersona. - Kept diaries for entirety of adult life - gaining access to Gladstone's inner most thoughts. - Decisive f i gure - detested as much as admired - famously attacked him - conservative claimed the cow to be righteous - attacking Gladstone. - Gladstone wants more radical change as he grows older. - Newark - elected as a young, reactionary conservative, opposed 1832 reform act, op- posed slave ownership (grandfather was plantation owner so majority of money from slave ownership), links and bridges gap between the state and Church - President of Board of Trade (1841) 'stern and unbending Tories' - Later disestablishes Irish Church, advocated home rule for Ireland in 1886, man of con- tradictions. - Crosby - two Gladstone's - private an public self, conf I ict between personalities - Contradictions - used to visit prostitutes ('rescue work' - act of charity and philanthropy), persuade them to lead a life of vice and enter a respectable working life. - Return to home and whip himself to purge himself, purify and cleaned himself of his sexual thoughts.
- Brought group of fallen women, reading poems to them. - Turmoilinhismind-heavilyinfluencedbytheEvangelicalmovement-believeinnatural sin, and atonement of sins in the eyes of the lord. - Against temptations and sin, testing and examining himself through God - through whip. - Battle for self-control Gladstonian Liberalism - Religion - wanted to be accountable in the eyes of