Midlothian campaign
Midlothian campaign, 1879–80. Unhappy in his Greenwich constituency, and retired from the Liberal Party's leadership, Gladstone accepted the Midlothian Liberal Association's invitation of May 1878 to contest the constituency of Edinburghshire (as Midlothian, the county around the Scottish capital, was technically known) at the 1880 election against Lord Dalkeith, the Tory candidate and son of the powerful duke of Buccleuch. With less than 3,500 electors the constituency was open to manipulation and both Buccleuch and Lord Rosebery for the Liberals spent heavily. Gladstone made a series of long and highly effective nationally reported speeches—six major speeches in 1879 and fifteen in 1880—attacking what he dubbed ‘Beaconsfieldism’ (the policies of Disraeli's government), especially its foreign, imperial, and financial politics. He denounced ‘a catalogue of expedients’ and ‘a new method government’, exposed the Tories' loss of moral equilibrium, and put forward ‘six principles’ of foreign policy. Political speech-making was by no means new to British politics, but the Midlothian campaign was the apogee of the popular presentation of politics through ‘the platform’ and established Gladstone as the dominant orator of the century. He easily won the seat and the campaign played a part in winning the great Liberal majority in the Commons (though present-day historians accord it a less significant role than contemporaries). It re-established him as the unavoidable leader of the Liberal Party. Lords Granville and Hartington (Devonshire) (the official party leaders) felt unable, despite strong pressure from Queen Victoria, to form a government, and Gladstone began his second administration.
H. C. G. Matthew
More From encyclopedia.com
Spencer Compton Cavendish 8th Duke Of Devonshire , Devonshire, Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th duke of, marquis of Hartington (1833–1908). Heir to the Cavendish family's dukedom and a Palmerstonian Whi… Herbert Henry Asquith , Herbert Henry Asquith
The English statesman Herbert Henry Asquith, Ist Earl of Oxford and Asquith (1852-1928), was prime minister of Great Britain fr… Liberal Party (canada) , Liberal Party. Before 1868 the Liberal Party had been an uneasy coalition of Whigs and radicals. The Whigs, led by some of the richest aristocratic m… Liberal Party (england) , The Liberal Party (Partido Liberal) was one of the two traditional political parties in Paraguay. Arising out of the political confusion of the mid-1… Robert Bourassa , Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa (1933-1996) was Premier of the province of Quebec for two terms, 1970-1976 and 1985-1993. Bourassa's support for both… William Ewart Gladstone , Gladstone, William Ewart (1809–98). Statesman and author. Gladstone was one of the longest serving of British politicians and one of the most controv…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
Midlothian campaign