The creation of the Liberal party

The creation of the Liberal party stemmed from the Great Reform Act 1832

The Whigs came from a powerful aristocratic landowning families. They were in favour of the Great Reform Act but they wanted controlled reform.

Some Junior Whigs wanted to split themselves from these extremly rich Whigs and started to call themselves Liberals. Most of these new liberals were middle class from business and commerical backgrounds. They were lawyers and professional men that had come into Parliament after 1832.

These middle class people believed in individual liberty, Free Trade, freedom of the press and religious freedom. Many of them were Dissenters or Nonconformists who thought that Church should be separate and free from state patronage and control.  When the Conservative party split over the repeal of the Corn Laws into the Peelites and the Protectionists the Peelites increasing voted with the Whigs. This lead to the Conservative party being out of power up until 1868.  Over the years the Whigs gradually reduced in numbers and in 1859 they fused with the liberals in 1859. In the Whig party there was a number of radicals. They had the belief of taking actions that would benefit the greatest number of people people known as Utilitarianism. Radicals were middle class and wanted to change the social order against the social, economic dominance of the landowning class and the church of England.  The Liberal party also supported Laissez Faire policies. By the 1860s the Liberal party was becoming more organised party to pass legislation with the 1867 transformed party politics.

Who were the liberal part MPs between 1859

 Large landowners- 198
Gentleman of leisure- 49
Lawyers- 84
Radicals-20
Big businessmen-74
local businessmen- 43
Radical Businessmen- 34





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