Robert Peel Robert Peel December 10, 1834 – April 8, 1835 August 30, 1841 – June 29, 1846 Preceded by December 2, 1834 – April 8, 1835 Preceded by Political party Conservative Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet ( 5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from December 10, 1834 to April 8, 1835, and again from August 30, 1841 to June 29, 1846. He helped create the modern concept of the police force while Home Secretary, oversaw the formation of the Conservative Party out of the shattered Tory Party, and repealed the Corn Laws. Biography Peel was born in Bury, Lancashire, England to the industrialist and Member of Parliament Sir Robert Peel. His father was one of the richest textile manufacturers of the early Industrial Revolution .

Peel was educated first at Hipperholme Grammar School, then at Harrow School and finally Christ Church, Oxford, where he took a double first in classics and mathematics. He is also believed to have briefly attended Bury Grammar School. While living in Tamworth, he is credited with the development of the Tamworth Pig by breeding Irish stock with some local Tamworth pigs. He has living relatives even today, as far as Australia, and the Peel family living in Victoria. Early political career The young Peel entered politics at the young age of 21 as MP for the Irish rotten borough of Cashel City, Tipperary. With a scant twenty-four voters on the rolls, he was elected unopposed. More importantly, his sponsor for the election (besides his father) was Sir Arthur Wellesley , the future Duke of Wellington, with whom Peel's political career would be entwined for the next twenty-five years. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Prime Minister 1828-1830 His maiden speech in the Commons was a sensation, and was famously described by the Speaker as "the best first speech since that of William Pitt ".

For the next decade he occupied a series of relatively minor positions in the Tory governments: Undersecretary for War, Chief Secretary for Ireland , and chairman of the Bullion Committee (charged with stabilizing British finances after the end of the Napoleonic Wars ). He also changed seats twice: first picking up another rotten borough, Chippenham, then becoming MP for Oxford University in 1817. He later served as MP for Tamworth from 1830 until his death. His home was Drayton Manor. His home Drayton Manor is no longer standing, but it is home to Drayton Manor Theme Park. Home secretary Peel was considered one of the rising stars of the Tory party, first entering the cabinet in 1822 as Home Secretary. As Home Secretary, he introduced a number of important reforms of British criminal law: most memorably establishing the Metropolitan Police Force (Metropolitan Police Act 1828). He also changed the Penal code reducing the number of crimes punishable by death. He reformed the gaol system, introducing payment for gaolers and education for the inmates.

Sir Robert Peel He resigned as Home Secretary after the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, became incapacitated and was replaced by George Canning. Canning favoured Catholic Emancipation, while Peel had been one of its most outspoken opponents. Canning himself died less than four months later and, after the brief premiership of Lord Goderich, Peel returned to the post of Home Secretary under the premiership of his long-time ally the Duke of Wellington . During this time he was widely perceived as the number-two in the Tory Party, after Wellington himself. However, the pressure on the new ministry from advocates of Catholic Emancipation was too great and an Emancipation Bill was passed the next year. Peel felt compelled to resign his seat as MP representing the graduates of Oxford University (many of whom were Anglican clergymen), as he had stood on a platform of opposition to Catholic Emancipation (in 1815 he had, in fact, challenged to a duel the man most associated with emancipation, Daniel O'Connell). Peel instead moved to a rotten borough, Westbury, retaining his Cabinet position.

Peel's protege Gladstone later emulated Peel by serving as MP for Oxford University from 1847 to 1865, before himself being defeated for his willingness to disestablish the Irish Church. Police Reform It was at this point that he established Metropolitan Police Force for London based at Scotland Yard. The 1,000 constables employed were affectionately nicknamed 'Bobbies' or, somewhat less affectionately, 'Peelers' (both terms are still used today). Although at first unpopular, they proved very successful in cutting crime in London, and by 1835 all cities in the UK were being directed to form their own police forces—see Policing in the United Kingdom. (Actually, the authorities in Stalybridge, Cheshire had set up their own police force some two years earlier and so Peel was aware of this success of "police forces" before he "introduced" them in London . The city of Glasgow , Scotland had also had its own police force since 1800.) Known as the father of modern policing, Robert Peel developed the Peelian Principles which defined the ethical requirements police officers must follow in order to be effective.

His most memorable principle was, "the police are the public, and the public are the police." The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder. The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions. Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public. The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force. Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law. Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient. Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence. Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.

The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it. Whigs in power (1830-1834) Statue in Parliament Square, London The lower classes in England at that time, however, were clamoring for reform, and Catholic Emancipation was only one of the ideas in the air. The Tory ministry refused to bend on other issues and were swept out of office in 1830 in favour of the Whigs. The following few years were extremely turbulent, but eventually enough reforms were passed that King William IV felt confident enough invite the Tories again to form a ministry in succession to those of Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne in 1834. Peel was selected as Prime Minister but was in Italy at the time, so Wellington acted as a caretaker for the three weeks until Peel's return. First term as Prime Minister (1834-1835) This new Tory Ministry was a minority government, however, and depended on Whig goodwill for its continued existence. As his statement of policy at the general election of January 1835, Peel issued the Tamworth Manifesto.

The issuing of this document is often seen as one of the most crucial points at which the Tories became the Conservative Party. In it he pledged that the Conservatives would endorse modest reform, but the Whigs instead formed a compact with Daniel O'Connell's Irish Radical members to repeatedly defeat the government on various bills. Eventually Peel's ministry resigned out of frustration and the Whigs under Lord Melbourne returned to power. The only real achievements of Peel's first administration was a commission to review the governance of the Church of England . This ecclesiastical commission being the forerunner of the Church Commissioners. A further achievement was a rapid gain in seats in the House of Commons which was around 100 seats in the 100 days Peel's Ministry lasted. Leader of the Opposition (1835-1841) In May 1839, he was offered another chance to form a government, this time by the new monarch, Queen Victoria . However, this too would have been a minority government and Peel felt he needed a further sign of confidence from his Queen.

Lord Melbourne had been Victoria's confidant for several years, and many of the higher posts in Victoria's household were held by the wives and female relatives of Whigs; there was some feeling that Victoria had allowed herself to be too closely associated with the Whig party. Peel therefore asked that some of this coterie be dismissed and replaced with their Conservative counterparts, provoking the so-called Bedchamber Crisis. Victoria refused to change her household, and despite pleadings from the Duke of Wellington, relied on assurances of support from Whig leaders. Peel refused to form a government, and the Whigs returned to power. Second term as Prime Minister (1841-1846) Image:Robert-Peel-arms.PNG Arms of Sir Robert Peel Factory Act Peel finally had a chance to head a majority government following the election of July 1841. His promise of modest reform was held to, and the second most famous bill of this ministry, while "reforming" in 21st century eyes, was in fact aimed at the reformers themselves, with their constituency among the new industrial rich.

The Factory Act 1844 acted more against these industrialists than it did against the traditional stronghold of the Conservatives, the landed gentry, by restricting the number of hours that children and women could work in a factory, and setting rudimentary safety standards for machinery. Interestingly, this was a continuation of his own father's work as an MP, as the elder Robert Peel was most noted for reform of working conditions during the first part of the 19th century. In 1843 Peel was the target of a failed assassination attempt; a criminally-insane Scottish woodsman named Daniel M'Naghten stalked him for several days before accidentally killing Peel's personal secretary Edward Drummond instead. Corn Laws and after John Russell, 1st Earl Russell Prime Minister 1846-1852, 1865-1866 The most notable act of Peel's second ministry, however, was the one that would bring it down. This time Peel moved against the landholders by repealing the Corn Laws, which supported agricultural revenues by restricting grain imports. This radical break with Conservative protectionism was triggered by the Irish potato famine.

At first sceptical of the extent of the problem, Peel reacted slowly to the famine. As realisation dawned, however, he hoped that ending the Corn Laws would free up more food for the Irish. Though he knew repealing the laws would mean the end of his ministry, Peel decided to do so. Yet many historians believe that Peel merely used the Irish Famine as an excuse to repeal the Corn Laws, having been an intellectual convert to free trade since the 1820s. Blake points out that if Peel was convinced that total repeal was necessary to stave off the famine, he should have enacted a bill that brought about immediate temporary repeal, not permanent repeal over a three-year period of gradual tapering-off of duties. His own party failed to support the bill, but it passed with Whig and Radical support on 29 June 1846. A following bill was defeated as a direct consequence, however, and Peel resigned.

Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield Prime Minister 1868, 1874-1880 As an aside in reference to the Repeal of the Corn Laws, Peel did make some moves to subsidise the purchase of food for the Irish, but this attempt was small and had little tangible effect. To criticise Peel for acting too late in repealing the Corn Laws, or for not giving enough subsidies to the Irish, shows a misunderstanding of the historical context. In the age of laissez-faire, government and their taxes were small, and subsidies or direct economic interference were almost non-existent. That subsidies were actually given was very much out of character for the political times; Peel's successor, Lord John Russell, has received more criticism than Peel has on Irish policy. The repeal of the Corn Laws was more political than humanitarian. Peel's support for free trade could already be seen in his 1842 and 1845 budgets; it can be argued that the repeal of the Corn Laws was the next logical step towards a free-market economy. Whatever the intentions, in the end the repeal of the Corn Laws had little effect on the situation in Ireland.

The historian Boyd Hilton argues that Peel knew from 1844 that he was going to be deposed as Conservative leader—many of his MPs had taken to voting against him and the rupture within the party between liberals and paternalists which had been so damaging in the 1820s, but masked by the issue of reform in the 1830s was brought to the surface over the Corn Laws. Hilton's hypothesis is that Peel wished to actually be deposed on a liberal issue so that he might later lead a Peelite/Whig/Liberal alliance. Later career and death He did retain a hard core of supporters however, known as Peelites, and at one point in 1849 was actively courted by the Whig/Radical coalition. He continued to stand on his conservative principles, however, and refused. Nevertheless, he was influential on several important issues, including the furtherance of British free trade with the repeal of the Navigation Acts. Peel was a member of the committee which controlled the House of Commons Library, and on 16 April 1850 was responsible for passing the motion that controlled its scope and collection policy for the rest of the century.

Peel was thrown from his horse while riding up Constitution Hill in London on 29 June 1850, the horse stumbled on top of him and he died three days later on July 2 at the age of 62. His Peelite followers, led by Lord Aberdeen and William Gladstone , went on to fuse with the Whigs as the Liberal Party. In Memory of Sir Robert Peel Peel Tower Monument, this tower was built on top of Holcombe Hill in Ramsbottom, Bury. There is also a statue of Sir Robert Peel outside the Robert Peel public house in Bury town centre. A British steamer named SS Sir Robert Peel, based in Canada , was burned by American forces on May 29, 1838, at the height of American-Canadian tensions over the Caroline Affair.

Sir Robert Peel's governments Robert Peel - iSnare Free Encyclopedia Robert Peel 30 August 1841 – 29 June 1846 Monarch 10 December 1834 – 8 April 1835 Monarch 18 April 1835 – 30 August 1841 Monarch 15 December 1834 – 8 April 1835 Prime Minister 26 January 1828 – 22 November 1830 Prime Minister 17 January 1822 – 10 April 1827 Prime Minister Staffordshire Yeomanry Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, FRS , PC (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), a British statesman and member of the Conservative Party , served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) and twice as Home Secretary (1822–1827 and 1828–1830). He is regarded[ by whom?

] as the father of the modern British policing and as one of the founders of the modern Conservative Party. The son of wealthy textile-manufacturer and politician Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet , he was educated at Bury Grammar School , Hipperholme Grammar School and Harrow School , subsequently earning a double first in classics and mathematics from Christ Church, Oxford . He entered the House of Commons in 1809 under the tutelage of his father and of Sir Arthur Wellesley , the future Duke of Wellington. Peel was widely seen as a "rising star" in the Conservative Party[ citation needed ] and served in various junior ministerial offices, becoming (for example) Chief Secretary for Ireland (1812–1818) and Chairman of the Bullion Committee . Peel entered the Cabinet for the first time as Home Secretary (1822–1827), where he reformed and liberalised the criminal law and created the modern police force, leading to a new type of officer known in tribute to him as "bobbies" and "peelers". He cut tariffs to stimulate trade; to replace the lost revenue he pushed through a 3% income tax (1842).

He played a central role in making free trade a reality (1840s) and set up a modern banking system. After the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, the Earl of Liverpool , Peel resigned as Home Secretary, but after a brief period out of office he returned as Home Secretary under his political mentor the Duke of Wellington (1828–1830), also serving as Leader of the House of Commons . Initially a supporter of legal discrimination against Catholics , Peel eventually supported the repeal of the Test Act (1828) and the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 , claiming that "though emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger". In 1830 the Whigs finally returned to power and Peel became a member of the Opposition for the first time. After successive election defeats, leadership of the Conservative Party gradually passed from Wellington to Peel, and when King William IV asked Wellington to become Prime Minister in November 1834, he declined and Peel was selected instead, with Wellington serving as caretaker until Peel took office. Peel then issued the Tamworth Manifesto (December 1834), laying down the principles upon which the modern British Conservative Party is based.

His first ministry was a minority government, dependent on Whig support and with Peel serving as his own Chancellor of the Exchequer . After only four months, his government collapsed and he served as Leader of the Opposition during the second government of the Viscount Melbourne (1835–1841). Peel declined to head another minority government in May 1839, prompting a political crisis . He finally became Prime Minister again after the 1841 general election . His second government ruled for five years - its major legislation included the Mines and Collieries Act 1842 , the Income Tax Act 1842 , the Factories Act 1844 and the Railway Regulation Act 1844 . Peel's government was weakened by anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment following the controversial Maynooth Grant of 1845. After the outbreak of the Great Irish Potato Famine , his decision to join with Whigs and Radicals to repeal the Corn Laws led to his resignation as Prime Minister in 1846. Peel remained an influential backbench MP and leader of the Peelite faction until his death in 1850.

Peel often started from a traditional Tory position in opposition to a measure, then reversed his stance and became the leader in supporting liberal legislation. This happened with the Test Act, Catholic Emancipation, the Reform Act, income tax and, most notably, the repeal of the Corn Laws as the first two years of the Irish famine forced this resolution because of the urgent need for new food supplies.[ citation needed ] Peel, a Conservative, achieved repeal with the support of the Whigs in Parliament, overcoming the opposition of most of his own party. Many critics accordingly saw him as a traitor to the Tory cause, or as "a Liberal wolf in sheep's clothing", because his final position reflected liberal ideas. [2] Historian A.J.P. Taylor says: "Peel was in the first rank of 19th century statesman. He carried Catholic Emancipation ; he repealed the Corn Laws; he created the modern Conservative Party on the ruins of the old Toryism ." [3] Contents 13 External links Early life Peel was born at Chamber Hall, Bury , Lancashire, to the industrialist and parliamentarian Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet and his wife Ellen Yates.

His father was one of the richest textile manufacturers of the early Industrial Revolution . [4] Peel was educated briefly at Bury Grammar School , at Hipperholme Grammar School , then at Harrow School and finally Christ Church, Oxford , where he took a double first in classics and mathematics. [5] He was a law student at Lincoln's Inn in 1809 before entering Parliament. [6] Peel saw part-time military service as a Captain in the Manchester Regiment of Militia in 1808, and later as Lieutenant in the Staffordshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1820. [6] Peel entered politics in 1809 at the age of 21, as MP for the Irish rotten borough of Cashel , Tipperary . [7] With a scant 24 electors on the rolls, he was elected unopposed. His sponsor for the election (besides his father) was the Chief Secretary for Ireland , Sir Arthur Wellesley , the future Duke of Wellington, with whom Peel's political career would be entwined for the next 25 years.

Peel made his maiden speech at the start of the 1810 session, when he was chosen by Prime Minister Spencer Perceval to second the reply to the king's speech . [8] His speech was a sensation, famously described by the Speaker , Charles Abbot , as "the best first speech since that of William Pitt ." [9] As chief secretary in Dublin in 1813, he proposed the setting up of a specialist police force, later called "peelers". [10] In 1814 the Royal Irish Constabulary was founded under Peel. For the next decade he occupied a series of relatively minor positions in the Tory governments: Undersecretary for War, Chief Secretary for Ireland, and chairman of the Bullion Committee (charged with stabilising British finances after the end of the Napoleonic Wars ). [11] He also changed constituency twice: first picking up another constituency, Chippenham , then becoming MP for Oxford University in 1817. [12] He later became an MP for Tamworth from 1830 until his death. His home of Drayton Manor has since been demolished.

[13] Home Secretary The Duke of Wellington, Prime Minister 1828–1830, with Peel This satirical 1829 cartoon by William Heath depicted the Duke of Wellington and Peel in the roles of the body-snatchers Burke and Hare suffocating Mrs Docherty for sale to Dr. Knox; representing the extinguishing by Wellington and Peel of the 141 year old Constitution of 1688 by Catholic Emancipation. Peel was considered one of the rising stars of the Tory party, first entering the cabinet in 1822 as Home Secretary . [14] As Home Secretary, he introduced a number of important reforms of British criminal law: most memorably establishing the Metropolitan Police Force ( Metropolitan Police Act 1829 ) for London. It was the enabling legislation for the first English police force, the "bobbies" (in England) or "peelers" (in Ireland), which served as the model for modern urban police departments throughout England.

[15] [16] He also reformed the criminal law, reducing the number of crimes punishable by death, and simplified it by repealing a large number of criminal statutes and consolidating their provisions into what are known as Peel's Acts . He reformed the gaol system, introducing payment for gaolers and education for the inmates. [17] He resigned as home secretary after the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool became incapacitated and was replaced by George Canning . [18] He helped in the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts in May 1828. They required many officials to be communicants in the Anglican Church and penalised both nonconformists and Catholics. They were no longer enforced but were a matter of humiliation. Peel at first opposed the repeal but reversed himself and led the repeal, after consultation with Anglican Church leaders. In future religious issues he made it a point to consult with church leaders from the major denominations. [19] Canning favoured Catholic Emancipation , while Peel had been one of its most outspoken opponents (earning the nickname "Orange Peel", with Orange the colour of the anti-Catholic Irish Unionists).

[20] George Canning himself died less than four months later and, after the brief premiership of Lord Goderich , Peel returned to the post of Home Secretary under the premiership of his long-time ally the Duke of Wellington . [21] During this time he was widely perceived as the number-two in the Tory Party, after Wellington himself. [22] However, the pressure on the new ministry from advocates of Catholic Emancipation was too great and an Emancipation Bill was passed the next year. The government threatened to resign if the king opposed the bill; he finally relented. Peel reversed himself and took charge of passing Catholic Emancipation. However his action caused many Tories to have doubts about his sincerity; they never fully trusted him again. [23] [24] Peel felt compelled to resign his seat as MP representing the graduates of Oxford University (many of whom were Anglican clergymen), as he had stood on a platform of opposition to Catholic Emancipation. [25] Peel instead moved to a rotten borough , Westbury , retaining his Cabinet position.

[26] Police reform Sir Robert Peel It was in 1829 that Peel established the Metropolitan Police Force for London based at Scotland Yard . The 1,000 constables employed were affectionately nicknamed 'Bobbies' or, somewhat less affectionately, 'Peelers'. Although unpopular at first they proved very successful in cutting crime in London, [27] and by 1857 all cities in the UK were obliged to form their own police forces. [28] Known as the father of modern policing, Peel developed the Peelian Principles which defined the ethical requirements police officers must follow to be effective. In 1829, when setting forth the principles of policing a democracy, Sir Robert Peel declared: "The police are the public and the public are the police." [29] Whigs in power (1830–1834) Lord Grey, Prime Minister 1830–4 The middle and working Classes in England at that time, however, were clamouring for reform, and Catholic Emancipation was only one of the ideas in the air.

[30] The Tory ministry refused to bend on other issues and were swept out of office in 1830 in favour of the Whigs . [31] The following few years were extremely turbulent, but eventually enough reforms were passed that King William IV felt confident enough to invite the Tories to form a ministry again in succession to those of Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne in 1834. [32] Peel was selected as prime minister but was in Italy at the time, so Wellington acted as a caretaker for three weeks until Peel's return. [33] First term as prime minister (1834–1835) Main article: First Peel Ministry The Tory Ministry was a minority government and depended on Whig goodwill for its continued existence. Parliament was dissolved in December 1834 and a general election called. Voting took place in January and February 1835 and Peel's supporters gained around 100 seats, but this was not enough to give them a majority. [34] As his statement of policy at the general election of January 1835, Peel issued the Tamworth Manifesto .

[35] This document is often seen as the basis on which the modern Conservative Party was founded. [36] In it Peel pledged that the Conservatives would endorse modest reform. The Whigs formed a compact with Daniel O'Connell 's Irish Radical members to repeatedly defeat the government on various bills. [37] Eventually after only about 100 days in government Peel's ministry resigned out of frustration and the Whigs under Lord Melbourne returned to power. [38] The only real achievements of Peel's first administration was a commission to review the governance of the Church of England . This ecclesiastical commission was the forerunner of the Church Commissioners . [39] Leader of the Opposition (1835–1841) In May 1839, he was offered another chance to form a government, this time by the new monarch, Queen Victoria . [40] However, this too would have been a minority government and Peel felt he needed a further sign of confidence from his Queen.

Lord Melbourne had been Victoria's confidant since her accession in 1837, and many of the higher posts in Victoria's household were held by the wives and female relatives of Whigs; [41] there was some feeling that Victoria had allowed herself to be too closely associated with the Whig party. Peel therefore asked that some of this entourage be dismissed and replaced with their Conservative counterparts, provoking the so-called Bedchamber Crisis . [42] Victoria refused to change her household, and despite pleadings from the Duke of Wellington, relied on assurances of support from Whig leaders. Peel refused to form a government, and the Whigs returned to power. [43] Second term as prime minister (1841–1846) Main article: Second Peel ministry Economic and financial reforms Peel came to office during an economic recession which had seen a slump in world trade and a budget deficit of £7.5 million run up by the Whigs . Confidence in banks and businesses was low and a trade deficit existed.

To raise revenue Peel's 1842 budget saw the re-introduction of Income Tax , It was also in the 1842 budget that the repeal of the corn laws was first proposed. [46] It was defeated in a Commons vote by a margin of 4:1. Factory Act Peel finally had a chance to head a majority government following the election of July 1841. [47] His promise of modest reform was held to, and the second most famous bill of this ministry, while "reforming" in 21st century eyes, was in fact aimed at the reformers themselves, with their constituency among the new industrial rich. The Factory Act 1844 acted more against these industrialists than it did against the traditional stronghold of the Conservatives, the landed gentry , by restricting the number of hours that children and women could work in a factory, and setting rudimentary safety standards for machinery. [48] Interestingly, this was a continuation of his own father's work as an MP, as the elder Robert Peel was most noted for reform of working conditions during the first part of the 19th century.

Helping him was Lord Shaftesbury , a British MP who also established the coal mines act. Assassination attempt In 1843 Peel was the target of a failed assassination attempt; a criminally-insane Scottish woodsman named Daniel M'Naghten stalked him for several days before accidentally killing Peel's personal secretary Edward Drummond instead. [49] Corn Laws and after Lord Russell, Prime Minister 1846–1852, 1865–1866 The most notable act of Peel's second ministry, however, was the one that would bring it down. [50] Peel moved against the landholders by repealing the Corn Laws , which supported agricultural revenues by restricting grain imports. [51] This radical break with Conservative protectionism was triggered by the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849) . [52] Tory agriculturalists were sceptical of the extent of the problem, [53] and Peel reacted slowly to the famine, famously stating in October 1846 (already in opposition): "There is such a tendency to exaggeration and inaccuracy in Irish reports that delay in acting on them is always desirable".

His own party failed to support the bill, but it passed with Whig and Radical support. On the third reading of Peel's Bill of Repeal (Importation Act 1846) on 15 May, MPs voted 327 votes to 229 (a majority of 98) to repeal the Corn Laws. On 25 June the Duke of Wellington persuaded the House of Lords to pass it. On that same night Peel's Irish Coercion Bill was defeated in the Commons by 292 to 219 by "a combination of Whigs, Radicals , and Tory protectionists". [54] Following this, on 29 June 1846, Peel resigned as prime minister. [55] Though he knew repealing the laws would mean the end of his ministry, Peel decided to do so. [56] It is possible that Peel merely used the Irish Famine as an excuse to repeal the Corn Laws as he had been an intellectual convert to free trade since the 1820s.

Blake points out that if Peel were convinced that total repeal was necessary to stave off the famine, he would have enacted a bill that brought about immediate temporary repeal, not permanent repeal over a three-year period of gradual tapering-off of duties. The historian Boyd Hilton argues Peel knew from 1844 he was going to be deposed as the Conservative leader—many of his MPs had taken to voting against him and the rupture within the party between liberals and paternalists which had been so damaging in the 1820s, but masked by the issue of parliamentary reform in the 1830s, was brought to the surface over the Corn Laws. Hilton's hypothesis is that Peel wished to actually be deposed on a liberal issue so that he might later lead a Peelite/Whig/Liberal alliance. As an aside in reference to the Repeal of the Corn Laws, Peel did make some moves to subsidise the purchase of food for the Irish, but this attempt was small and had little tangible effect. In the age of laissez-faire , [57] government taxes were small, and subsidies or direct economic interference were almost non-existent.

That subsidies were actually given was very much out of character for the political times; Peel's successor, Lord John Russell , received more criticism than Peel on Irish policy. The repeal of the Corn Laws was more political than humanitarian. [58] Peel's support for free trade could already be seen in his 1842 and 1845 budgets; [59] in late 1842 Graham wrote to Peel that "the next change in the Corn Laws must be to an open trade" while arguing that the government should not tackle the issue. [60] Speaking to the cabinet in 1844, Peel argued that the choice was maintenance of the 1842 Corn Law or total repeal. [61] Despite all of Peel's efforts, his reform programs had little effect on the situation in Ireland. [62] Later career and death He did retain a hard core of supporters however, known as Peelites , [63] and at one point in 1849 was actively courted by the Whig/Radical coalition. He continued to stand on his conservative principles, however, and refused.

Nevertheless, he was influential on several important issues, including the furtherance of British free trade with the repeal of the Navigation Acts . [64] Peel was a member of the committee which controlled the House of Commons Library , and on 16 April 1850 was responsible for passing the motion that controlled its scope and collection policy for the rest of the century. Peel was thrown from his horse while riding on Constitution Hill in London on 29 June 1850, the horse stumbled on top of him and he died three days later on 2 July at the age of 62 due to a clavicular fracture rupturing his subclavian vessels. [65] His Peelite followers, led by Lord Aberdeen and William Gladstone , went on to fuse with the Whigs as the Liberal Party . [66] Peel was the first sitting British Prime Minister to have his photograph taken. [67] Family Thomas Lawrence 's portrait of his patron Julia, Lady Peel (1827). Now in the Frick Collection . [68] Peel married Julia, youngest daughter of General Sir John Floyd, 1st Baronet , in 1820.

[69] They had five sons and two daughters. Four of his sons gained distinction in their own right. His eldest son Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet , served as Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1861 to 1865. His second son Sir Frederick Peel was a politician and railway commissioner. His third son Sir William Peel was a naval commander and recipient of the Victoria Cross . His fifth son Arthur Wellesley Peel was Speaker of the House of Commons and created Viscount Peel in 1895. His daughter Julia married the 6th Earl of Jersey . Julia, Lady Peel, died in 1859. Some of his direct descendants now reside in South Africa, the Australian states of New South Wales , Queensland , Victoria and Tasmania , and in various parts of the United States and Canada. Memorials Statues of Sir Robert Peel are found in the following British locations. Memorial outside the Robert Peel public house in Bury town centre, his birthplace. [70] Peel High School in Tamworth, New South Wales , Australia. Robert Peel Lower School in Sandy, Bedfordshire .

A British steamer named SS Sir Robert Peel, based in Canada, was burned by American forces on 29 May 1838, at the height of American-Canadian tensions over the Caroline Affair . Tamworth -raised musician Julian Cope sings "the king and queen have offered me the estate of Robert Peel" on the song 'Laughing Boy', from his 1984 LP Fried . The right wing of the Trafford Centre is called Peel Avenue, named after Robert Peel. The official mascot of Bury Football Club is Robbie the Bobby, in honour of Sir Robert Peel. One of the buildings which make up the Home Office headquarters, 2 Marsham St , is named Peel. The Peel building, situated on Peel Campus of the University of Salford The Sir Robert Peel monument, Cnr George & High Streets, Montrose, Scotland See also Prime Ministers of Great Britain political party 1721-42 Sir Robert Walpole - Restored confidence in the country following the South Sea Bubble financial crash of 1720. Dominated the political scene during the reigns of George I and George II. George II made Walpole a gift of 10 Downing Street.

Walpole resigned as a consequence of his perceived mis-handling in dealing with the War of Jenkins' Ear . Whig 1742-43 Earl of Wilmington - Suffering poor health for most of his time as Prime Minister, he died in office. Whig 1743-54 Henry Pelham - During his time in the post he oversaw the the British involvement in the War of the Austrian Succession in 1744-48, the 1745 Jacobite Rising and the adoption of the Gregorian calender . He died in office. Whig 1754-56 Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle - Assumed the office of Prime Minister just 10 days after the death of his brother Henry Pelham. During the Seven Years' War, he was blamed for the loss of Minorca and was replaced by the Duke of Devonshire. Whig 1756-57 William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire - In a government effectively controlled by Pitt the Elder, Devonshire's administration was brought to end following the dismissal of Pitt by the king, it was replaced by the Second Newcastle Ministry.

Whig 1757-62 Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle - Returning to office with Pitt the Elder as Southern Secretary, this government helped steer Britain to ultimate victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years' War. Whig 1762-63 John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute - A favourite of George III, he was the first Scot to hold the top office. Unpopular with the 'great unwashed', he introduced a tax on cider in order to help pay for the Seven Years' War. He resigned following fierce criticism of his handling of the peace negotiations. Tory The Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Viscount Melbourne 1828-30 Arthur Welleslley, 1st Duke of Wellington - The second Irish-born Prime Minister and second veteran general, perhaps more famous as a soldier of the Napoleonic Wars than a politician. Is said to have commented after his first Cabinet meeting: “An extraordinary affair. I gave them their orders and they wanted to stay and discuss them.” He introduced the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, removing many of the restrictions on Catholics in the UK. Resigned after a vote of no confidence.

Tory 1830-34 Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey - Famous for the blend of tea named after him, his political achievements included the Reform Act of 1832, which started the process of electoral change that we recognise today. His other legacies included the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire and restrictions concerning the employment of children. He resigned after disagreements over his Irish policies. Whig 1834 William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne - The last Prime Minister to be dismissed by a Sovereign, King William IV. Whig 1834-35 Sir Robert Peel 2nd Baronet - At the second time of asking, Peel accepted King William IV’s invitation to form a government. Head of a minority government, he resigned following a number of defeats in Parliament. Whig 1835-41 William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne - Returning to office for the second time, Melbourne found the new Queen Victoria much more agreeable than William IV. Tutoring the young queen in the ways of politics, they formed a close relationship. He resigned after a series of parliamentary defeats.

Whig 1841-46 Sir Robert Peel 2nd Baronet - Returning to office for the second time, Peel introduced important employment laws that banned women and children from working underground in mines, in addition The Factory Act of 1844 limited the hours of work for children and women. Unable to feed a starving Ireland, he finally succeeded in repealing the Corn Laws. Conservative 1846-52 Lord John Russell, 1st Earl Russell - Russell was the last Whig Prime Minister. His Public Health Act of 1848 improved the sanitary conditions of towns and cities. He was in office at the time of The Great Exhibition of 1851 . Whig 1852 Edward Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby - Considered by many to be the father of the modern Conservative party, his government collapsed when the budget of his Chancellor, Benjamin Disraeli, was rejected by the house. Conservative 1852-55 George Hamilton Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen - A cousin of the poet Lord Byron, his government was dominated by a war with Russia. He resigned after losing a vote of confidence into his handling of the Crimean War.

Peelite 1855-58 Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston - An Irish peer, his India Bill of 1858 transferred control of the East India Company to the Crown. Liberal 1858-59 Edward Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby - Returning to office for the second time, his Jews Relief Act of 1858, removed barriers to Jews entering Parliament. Conservative 1859-65 Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston - Returning to office for the second time, his ministry was dominated by the American Civil War and the resulting suffering caused by the Lancashire Cotton Famine . Hale and hearty to the end, he died in office at the tender age of just 81. Liberal 1865-66 Lord John Russell, 1st Earl Russell - Returning to office for the second time, after the untimely death of Palmerston.

Liberal 1866-68 Edward Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby - Returning to office for the third and final time, his Reform Act of 1867 doubled the number of adult males that could vote in England and Wales. Conservative Lord Palmerston, Benjamin Disraeli, W E Gladstone 1868 Benjamin Disraeli - Just 10 years after the barriers to Jews entering Parliament had been removed, Britain has its first, and so far only, Jewish Prime Minister. In accepting the post, 'Dizzy' is said to have declared, “I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole”. Conservative 1868-74 William Ewart Gladstone - Gladstone led the greatest reforming administrations of the 19th century. His policies were intended to improve individual liberty by scrapping barriers to freedom and personal advancement. A heavy defeat at the 1874 general election allowed his arch-rival Disraeli to once again reach the top of the greasy pole.

Liberal 1874-80 Benjamin Disraeli, the Earl of Beaconsfield - Returning to office for the second time at the age of 70, his policies introduced a large amount of social legislation, including providing housing for the poor and greatly improved sanitation. His relationship with Queen Victoria helped to return her to public life, proclaiming her Empress of India. Anglo-Zulu Wars . Conservative 1880-85 William Ewart Gladstone - Gadstone's second administration suffered a number of set-backs in foreign policy, including a humiliating defeat in the First Boer War and failing to rescue General Gordon in Sudan. Liberal 1885-86 Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury - Salisbury became leader of the Conservative party following the death of Disraeli in 1881, he reluctantly became Prime Minister and formed a minority government. Conservative 1886 William Ewart Gladstone - Now aged 76, Gladstone's introduction of a Home Rule Bill for Ireland split the Liberal Party.

Liberal 1886-92 Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury - With the split in the Liberal Party, Salisbury attempted to contain the Irish problem by a combination of firm government and reform. Creation of Rhodesia , modern day Zimbabwe, with its capital city named Salisbury. Conservative 1892-94 William Ewart Gladstone - Now well into his 80s, this 'Grand Old Man' of British politics was returned to office for a fourth term and once again introduced the Irish Home Rule Bill. Although passed by the House of Commons, the bill was rejected by the Lords. Gladstone submitted his fourth and final resignation. Liberal 1894-95 Archibold Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery - Reluctantly accepted the post of Prime Minister following the resination of Gladstone. In a short lived administration plagued by Cabinet disputes, he resigned having achieved his lifes three ambitions... to marry an heiress, own a Derby winning horse and to be Prime Minister.

Liberal 1895-1902 Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury - Returned to office for the third and final time. During his tenure the Boer War broke out in 1899, ending in 1902. He retired in favour of his nephew Balfour. Conservative Lord Salisbury, Arthur James Balfour, H H Asquith 1902-05 Arthur James Balfour - His Education Act of 1902 standardised the educational system of England and Wales, handing powers from school boards to Local Education Authorities (LEAs). His cabinet split on the issue of free trade policies. Conservative 1905-08 Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman - Glasgow born 'C-B' was the first in the top job to be given the official title of ‘Prime Minister’. Outspoken on the 'barbarities' of the Boer War, he restored independence to the Transvaal and Orange Free State in South Africa. Liberal 1908-15 Herbert Henry Asquith - Asquith became Prime Minister following the resignation of 'CB'.

He took charge in troubled times, with Irish Home Rule and Women’s Suffrage the burning issues of the day. The Old Age Pension Act of 1908 laid the foundation of the modern welfare state. This was followed by the National Insurance Act of 1911, that provided an income for working people suffering illness or unemployment. He also led Britain into the First World War . Liberal 1915-16 Herbert Henry Asquith - In order to gain maximum support for the ongoing war Asquith formed a coalition government. The conflict however, was not going well and so with deadlock in the trenches, Asquith resigned. coalition 1916-22 David Lloyd George - The only Prime Minister to have spoken Welsh as his first language, Lloyd George accepted an invitation to form a government following the resignation of his fellow Liberal, Asquith. A man of great energy and dynamism, he was widely touted as the man who had won the war and promised... ‘a land fit for heroes’. The Anglo-Irish Treaty led to the establishment of the Irish Free State. The public outcry that followed his 'cash for honours' scandal saw him ousted from power.

coalition 1922-23 Andrew Bonar Law - After Lloyd George had been removed from office by the Conservative members of his cabinet, the king invited the Canadian-born Bonar Law to form a new government. He lasted just 209 days in office before resigning due to ill health and died just 6 months later. Conservative 1923-24 Stanley Baldwin - Just a few months into office and much to the surprise of all around him, Baldwin called an early general election on the issue of protectionist trade tariffs. The policy was an attempt to resolve Britain's economic problems, it achieved however, the remarkable feat of reuniting the Liberals and letting Labour into power for the first time. Conservative 1924 James Ramsay MacDonald - The very first Labour Prime Minister, MacDonald came from a Scottish working class background. As head of a minority government, he was reliant on the support of the Liberals. Frustrated by his inability to introduce meaningful legislation he called an early election. Labour 1924-29 Stanley Baldwin - In his second term in office, Baldwin was responsible for several notable social achievements including extending the right to vote to women aged over 21.

He amazed the political world by inviting Winston Churchill, who at that time was a Liberal MP, to be his Chancellor of the Exchequer. He successfully steered the country through the rocky waters of the General Strike of 1926. Conservative 1929-31 Ramsey MacDonald - In his second minority government, MacDonald appointed the first ever female minister, Margaret Bondfield. Just a few months into his term however, the world was shaken by the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Labour 1931-35 Ramsey MacDonald - With his Labour government divided on how to resolve an economic crisis that included the doubling of unemployment levels; MacDonald resigned but was reappointed at the head of a national coalition government (with support from the Conservative and Liberal parties). This move cost him the support of his own party and he once again resigned national coalition 1935-37 Stanley Baldwin - Returning to office for the third time, his major achievement in this last phase of his career was to steer the country through the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936. Recognising the threat of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, Baldwin started a programme of re-arming the country.

He was later criticised for not doing more to prepare. Conservative Lloyd George, Stanley Baldwin, Sir Winston Churchill 1937-40 Neville Chamberlain - When Baldwin retired after the coronation of George VI, Chamberlain was the obvious choice for leader of the party. Following a meeting with Adolf Hitler in Munich 1938, he famously returned declaring “I believe it is peace for our time”. Following the invasion of Poland, Chamberlain declared war on Germany on 3 September, 1939 . Conservative 1940-45 Sir Winston Churchill - Following Chamberlain's resignation, Churchill was appointed as Prime Minister of an all-party coalition government. The speeches he made through his first summer in charge established a policy of 'no surrender', and the subsequent military alliances that he formed with both the USA and Soviet Union steered the Allies to victory in World War II. Shortly after VE Day , Churchill was surprisingly defeated in a General Election. coalition 1945-51 Clement Attlee - After leading Labour to a landslide victory, Attlee quickly set about implementing his parties manifesto pledges.

With the country effectively bankrupt, he Labour Robert Peel - 必应 Sign in Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British statesman and member of the Conservative Party, who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) and twice served as Home Secretary (1822–1827 and 1828–1830). He is regarded as the father of the modern British police and as one of the founders of the modern Conservative Party. The son of wealthy textile manufacturer and politician Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet, he was educated at Bury Grammar School and Harrow School and earned a double first in classics and mathematics from Chr ... (展开) ist Church, Oxford. He entered the House of Commons in 1809 under the tutelage of his father and Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington.

Peel was widely seen as a "rising star" in the Conservative Party and served in various junior ministerial offices, including Chief Secretary for Ireland (1812–1818) and Chairman of the Bullion Committee. Peel entered the Cabinet for the first time as Home Secretary (1822–1827), where he reformed and liberalised the criminal law and created the modern police force, leading to a new type of officer known in tribute to him as "bobbies" and "peelers". He cut tariffs to stimulate business; to replace the lost revenue he pushed through a 3% income tax. He played a central role in making Free Trade a reality and set up a modern banking system. After the resignation of Prime Minister The Earl of Liverpool, Peel resigned as Home Secretary but, after a brief period out of office, he returned as Home Secretary under his political mentor the Duke of Wellington (1828–1830), also serving as Leader of the House of Commons.

Initially a supporter of legal discrimination against Catholics, Peel eventually supported the repeal of the Test Act (1828) and the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, claiming that "though emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger". In 1830, the Whigs finally returned to power and Peel became a member of the Opposition for the first time. After successive election defeats, leadership of the Conservative Party gradually passed from Wellington to Peel and, when King William IV asked Wellington to become Prime Minister in November 1834, he declined and Peel was selected instead, with Wellington serving as caretaker until Peel took office. Peel then issued the Tamworth Manifesto, laying down the principles upon which the modern British Conservative Party is based. His first ministry was a minority government, dependent on Whig support and with Peel serving as his own Chancellor of the Exchequer. After only four months, his government collapsed and he served as Leader of the Opposition during the second government of The Viscount Melbourne (1835–1841). Peel declined to become Prime Minister of another minority government again in May 1839, prompting a political crisis.

He finally became Prime Minister again, after the 1841 general election. His second government ruled for five years and its major legislation included the Mines and Collieries Act 1842, the Income Tax Act 1842, the Factories Act 1844 and the Railway Regulation Act 1844. Peel's government was weakened by anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment following the controversial Maynooth Grant of 1845 and, following the outbreak of the Great Irish Potato Famine, his decision to join with Whigs and Radicals to repeal the Corn Laws led to his resignation as Prime Minister in 1846. Peel remained an influential backbencher and leader of the Peelite faction until his death in 1850. Peel often started from a traditional Tory position in opposition to a measure, then reversed himself and became the leader in supporting liberal legislation. This happened with the Test Act, Catholic Emancipation, the Reform Act, income tax and, most notably, the repeal of the Corn Laws as the first two years of the Irish famine forced this resolution because of the urgent need for new food supplies.

Peel, a Conservative, achieved repeal with the support of the Whigs in Parliament, overcoming the opposition of most of his own party. Therefore, many critics said he was a traitor to the Tory cause, or "a Liberal wolf in sheep's clothing" because his final position reflected liberal ideas. Historian A.J.P. Taylor says: "Peel was in the first rank of 19th century statesman. He carried Catholic Emancipation; he repealed the Corn Laws; he created the modern Conservative Party on the ruins of the old Toryism." Early life. Peel was born at Chamber Hall, Bury, Lancashire, to the industrialist and parliamentarian Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet and his wife Ellen Yates. Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet (25 April 1750 – 3 May 1830), was a British politician and industrialist and one of early textile manufacturers of the Industrial ... Robert Peel. Robert Peel was born in Bury, Lancashire, on 5th February, 1788. His father, ... Robert was trained as a child to become a future politician.

spartacus-educational.com/PRpeel.htm 472 pages · 2007 Robert Peel, as much as any man in the nineteenth century, transformed Great Britain into a modern nation. He invented our police force, which became a model for the … book.douban.com/subject/4015296 View the profiles of professionals named Robert Peel on LinkedIn. There are 134 professionals named Robert Peel, who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, … Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet Are you a RAPper or a RAPscallion? Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet Died 07/02/1850 London Major Acts: His major acts were when he served his second term in the Victorian Era, the Factory Act and Importation Act.

First Ministry (Under William IV) 12/10/183404/18/1835 First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer & Leader of the House of Commons--Sir Robert Peel, Bt Lord Chancellor--The Lord Lyndhurst Lord President of the Council--The Earl of Rosslyn Lord Privy Seal--The Lord Wharncliffe Home Secretary--Henry Goulburn Foreign Secretary & Leader of the House of Lords--The Duke of Wellington Secretary of State for War & the Colonies--The Earl of Aberdeen First Lord of the Admiralty--The Earl de Grey Master-General of the Ordnance--Sir George Murray President of the Board of Trade & Master of the Mint--Alexander Baring President of the Board of Control--The Earl of Ellenborough Paymaster of the Forces--Sir Edward Knatchbull, Bt Secretary at War--John Charles Herries A British Tory and Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846.

While Home Secretary, Peel helped create the modern concept of the police force, leading to officers being known as "bobbies" (in England) and "Peelers" (in Northern Ireland). While Prime Minister after 1841, Peel repealed the Corn Laws and issued the Tamworth Manifesto (1834), leading to the formation of the Conservative Party out of the shattered Tory Party. “There seem to me to be very few facts, at least ascertainable facts, in politics.” Prime Minister Date Takes Office Date Leaves Office Back to Regency Prime Ministers Early life Peel was born in Bury, Lancashire, England, to the industrialist and Member of Parliament Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet. His father was one of the richest textile manufacturers of the early Industrial Revolution. Peel was educated first at Hipperholme Grammar School, then at Harrow School and finally Christ Church, Oxford, where he took a double first in classics and mathematics. He is also believed to have attended Bury Grammar School. While living in Tamworth, he is credited with the development of the Tamworth Pig by breeding Irish stock with some local Tamworth pigs.

Peel entered politics in 1809 at the young age of 21 as MP for the Irish rotten borough of Cashel, Tipperary. With a scant 24 electors on the rolls, he was elected unopposed. His sponsor for the election (besides his father) was the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, with whom Peel's political career would be entwined for the next 25 years. Peel made his maiden speech at the start of the 1810 session, when he was chosen by the Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, to second the reply to the king's speech. His speech was a sensation, famously described by the Speaker, Charles Abbot, as "the best first speech since that of William Pitt." As Chief Secretary in Dublin in 1813, he proposed the setting up of a specialist police force, later called "Peelers". In 1814 the Royal Irish Constabulary was founded under Peel.

For the next decade he occupied a series of relatively minor positions in the Tory governments: Undersecretary for War, Chief Secretary for Ireland, and chairman of the Bullion Committee (charged with stabilizing British finances after the end of the Napoleonic Wars). He also changed constituency twice: first picking up another constituency, Chippenham, then becoming MP for Oxford University in 1817. He later served as MP for Tamworth from 1830 until his death. His home of Drayton Manor has since been demolished. Home Secretary Peel was considered one of the rising stars of the Tory party, first entering the cabinet in 1822 as Home Secretary. As Home Secretary, he introduced a number of important reforms of British criminal law: most memorably establishing the Metropolitan Police Force (Metropolitan Police Act 1829). He also reformed the criminal law, reducing the number of crimes punishable by death, and simplified it by repealing a large number of criminal statutes and consolidating their provisions into what are known as Peel's Acts. He reformed the gaol system, introducing payment for gaolers and education for the inmates.

He resigned as Home Secretary after the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, became incapacitated and was replaced by George Canning. Canning favoured Catholic Emancipation, while Peel had been one of its most outspoken opponents (earning the nickname "Orange Peel"). George Canning himself died less than four months later and, after the brief premiership of Lord Goderich, Peel returned to the post of Home Secretary under the premiership of his long-time ally the Duke of Wellington. During this time he was widely perceived as the number-two in the Tory Party, after Wellington himself. However, the pressure on the new ministry from advocates of Catholic Emancipation was too great and an Emancipation Bill was passed the next year. Peel felt compelled to resign his seat as MP representing the graduates of Oxford University (many of whom were Anglican clergymen), as he had stood on a platform of opposition to Catholic Emancipation (in 1815 he had, in fact, challenged to a duel the man most associated with emancipation, Daniel O'Connell). Peel instead moved to a rotten borough, Westbury, retaining his Cabinet position.

Peel's protégé Gladstone later emulated Peel by serving as MP for Oxford University from 1847 to 1865, before himself being defeated for his willingness to disestablish the Irish Church. Police reform It was in 1829 that Peel established the Metropolitan Police Force for London based at Scotland Yard. The 1,000 constables employed were affectionately nicknamed 'Bobbies' or, somewhat less affectionately, 'Peelers' (both terms are still used today). Although unpopular at first they proved very successful in cutting crime in London, and by 1857 all cities in the UK were obliged to form their own police forces. Known as the father of modern policing, Peel developed the Peelian Principles which defined the ethical requirements police officers must follow in order to be effective. Whigs in power (1830–1834) The Middle and Working Classes in England at that time, however, were clamoring for reform, and Catholic Emancipation was only one of the ideas in the air. The Tory ministry refused to bend on other issues and were swept out of office in 1830 in favor of the Whigs.

The following few years were extremely turbulent, but eventually enough reforms were passed that King William IV felt confident enough to invite the Tories to form a ministry again in succession to those of Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne in 1834. Peel was selected as Prime Minister but was in Italy at the time, so Wellington acted as a caretaker for the three weeks until Peel's return. First term as Prime Minister (1834–1835) This new Tory Ministry was a minority government, however, and depended on Whig goodwill for its continued existence. As his statement of policy at the general election of January 1835, Peel issued the Tamworth Manifesto. The issuing of this document is often seen as one of the most crucial points at which the Tories became the Conservative Party. In it he pledged that the Conservatives would endorse modest reform, but the Whigs instead formed a compact with Daniel O'Connell's Irish Radical members to repeatedly defeat the government on various bills. Eventually Peel's ministry resigned out of frustration and the Whigs under Lord Melbourne returned to power. The only real achievements of Peel's first administration was a commission to review the governance of the Church of England.

This ecclesiastical commission being the forerunner of the Church Commissioners. A further achievement was a rapid gain in seats in the House of Commons which was around 100 seats in the 100 days Peel's Ministry lasted. Leader of the Opposition (1835–1841) In May 1839, he was offered another chance to form a government, this time by the new monarch, Queen Victoria. However, this too would have been a minority government and Peel felt he needed a further sign of confidence from his Queen. Lord Melbourne had been Victoria's confidant for several years, and many of the higher posts in Victoria's household were held by the wives and female relatives of Whigs; there was some feeling that Victoria had allowed herself to be too closely associated with the Whig party. Peel therefore asked that some of this entourage be dismissed and replaced with their Conservative counterparts, provoking the so-called Bedchamber Crisis. Victoria refused to change her household, and despite pleadings from the Duke of Wellington, relied on assurances of support from Whig leaders. Peel refused to form a government, and the Whigs returned to power.

Second term as Prime Minister (1841–1846) Economic and financial reforms Peel came to office during an economic recession which had seen a slump in world trade and a budget deficit of £7.5 million run up by the whigs. Confidence in Banks and Businesses was low and a trade deficit existed. To raise revenue Peel's 1842 budget saw the re-introduction of Income Tax, removed previously at the end of the Napoleonic War. The money raised was more than expected and allowed for the removal and reduction of over 1,200 tariffs including the controversial sugar duties. It was also in the 1842 budget that the repeal of the corn laws was first proposed. It was defeated in a Commons vote by a margin of 4:1. Factory Act Peel finally had a chance to head a majority government following the election of July 1841. His promise of modest reform was held to, and the second most famous bill of this ministry, while "reforming" in 21st century eyes, was in fact aimed at the reformers themselves, with their constituency among the new industrial rich.

The Factory Act 1844 acted more against these industrialists than it did against the traditional stronghold of the Conservatives, the landed gentry, by restricting the number of hours that children and women could work in a factory, and setting rudimentary safety standards for machinery. Interestingly, this was a continuation of his own father's work as an MP, as the elder Robert Peel was most noted for reform of working conditions during the first part of the 19th century. Helping him was Lord Shaftesbury, a British MP who also established the coal mines act. In 1843 Peel was the target of a failed assassination attempt; a criminally-insane Scottish woodsman named Daniel M'Naghten stalked him for several days before accidentally killing Peel's personal secretary Edward Drummond instead. Corn Laws and after The most notable act of Peel's second ministry, however, was the one that would bring it down. This time Peel moved against the landholders by repealing the Corn Laws, which supported agricultural revenues by restricting grain imports. This radical break with Conservative protectionism was triggered by the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849).

Tory agriculturalists were skeptical of the extent of the problem, and Peel reacted slowly to the famine. As realization dawned, however, he hoped that ending the Corn Laws would free up more food for the Irish. His own party failed to support the bill, but it passed with Whig and Radical support. On the third reading of Peel's Bill of Repeal (Importation Act 1846) on 15 May, MPs voted 327 votes to 229 (a majority of 98) to repeal the Corn Laws. On 25 June the Duke of Wellington persuaded the House of Lords to pass it. On that same night Peel's Irish Coercion Bill was defeated in the Commons by 292 to 219 by "a combination of Whigs, Radicals, and Tory protectionists". Following this, on 29 June 1846, Peel resigned as Prime Minister. Though he knew repealing the laws would mean the end of his ministry, Peel decided to do so. It is possible that Peel merely used the Irish Famine as an excuse to repeal the Corn Laws as he had been an intellectual convert to free trade since the 1820s.

Blake points out that if Peel were convinced that total repeal was necessary to stave off the famine, he would have enacted a bill that brought about immediate temporary repeal, not permanent repeal over a three-year period of gradual tapering-off of duties. The historian Boyd Hilton argues Peel knew from 1844 he was going to be deposed as Conservative leader—many of his MPs had taken to voting against him and the rupture within the party between liberals and paternalist which had been so damaging in the 1820s, but masked by the issue of reform in the 1830s was brought to the surface over the Corn Laws. Hilton's hypothesis is that Peel wished to actually be deposed on a liberal issue so that he might later lead a Peelite/Whig/Liberal alliance. As an aside in reference to the Repeal of the Corn Laws, Peel did make some moves to subsidize the purchase of food for the Irish, but this attempt was small and had little tangible effect. In the age of laissez-faire, government taxes were small, and subsidies or direct economic interference were almost non-existent.

That subsidies were actually given was very much out of character for the political times; Peel's successor, Lord John Russell, received more criticism than Peel on Irish policy. The repeal of the Corn Laws was more political than humanitarian. Peel's support for free trade could already be seen in his 1842 and 1845 budgets; in late 1842 Graham wrote to Peel that "the next change in the Corn Laws must be to an open trade" while arguing that the government should not tackle the issue. Speaking to the cabinet in 1844, Peel argued that the choice was maintenance of the 1842 Corn Law or total repeal. Despite all of Peel's efforts, his reform programs had little effect on the situation in Ireland. Later career and death He did retain a hard core of supporters however, known as Peelites, and at one point in 1849 was actively courted by the Whig/Radical coalition. He continued to stand on his conservative principles, however, and refused. Nevertheless, he was influential on several important issues, including the furtherance of British free trade with the repeal of the Navigation Acts.

Peel was a member of the committee which controlled the House of Commons Library, and on 16 April 1850 was responsible for passing the motion that controlled its scope and collection policy for the rest of the century. Peel was thrown from his horse while riding up Constitution Hill in London on 29 June 1850, the horse stumbled on top of him and he died three days later on 2 July at the age of 62 due to a clavicular fracture rupturing his subclavian vessels. His Peelite followers, led by Lord Aberdeen and William Gladstone, went on to fuse with the Whigs as the Liberal Party. Family Peel married Julia, youngest daughter of General Sir John Floyd, 1st Baronet, in 1820. They had five sons and two daughters. Four of his sons gained distinction in their own right. His eldest son Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet, served as Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1861 to 1865. His second son Sir Frederick Peel was a politician and railway commissioner. His third son Sir William Peel was a naval commander and recipient of the Victoria Cross.

His fifth son Arthur Wellesley Peel was Speaker of the House of Commons and created Viscount Peel in 1895. His daughter Julia married the 6th Earl of Jersey. Julia, Lady Peel, died in 1859. Some of his direct descendants now reside in South Africa, the Australian states of Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania, and in various parts of the United States and Canada.

Question: Sir Robert Peel was British Prime Minister for the first time during the reign of which monarch?
Answer: King William IV