17,394
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 21:
Line 21: + + − + + +
→Parliament: finance
==Parliament==
==Parliament==
Gladstone lost his parliamentary seat in 1845 because of his free trade views but in 1847 was elected to represent the University of Oxford. He left the Tory Party along with Sir [[Robert Peel]] in 1846, and during the next few years he moved slowly in the direction of liberalism. In 1852 he brought about the fall of the ministry of Lord Derby by his unpremeditated but brilliant attack on the budgets of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Benjamin Disraeli.
Gladstone served as President of the Board of Trade (1843-44) during the second ministry of [[Robert Peel]]. He resigned in 1845 over the Maynooth Grant issue, but returned in December as Colonial Secretary. Peel’s government fell in 1846, and Gladstone followed his leader in separation from the [[Conservative Party]]. After Peel’s death in 1850, Gladstone became leader of this ‘Peelite’ faction in the House of Commons.
Gladstone served as President of the Board of Trade (1843-44) during the second ministry of [[Robert Peel]]. He resigned in 1845 over the Maynooth Grant issue, but returned in December as Colonial Secretary. Peel’s government fell in 1846, and Gladstone followed his leader in separation from the [[Conservative Party]]. After Peel’s death in 1850, Gladstone became leader of this ‘Peelite’ faction in the House of Commons.
In 1852, he became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] in a Whig-Peelite coalition government led by [[Lord Aberdeen]]. The government resigned in 1855 over the [[Crimean War]] and Gladstone spent the next four years in the political wilderness, refusing to join Derby’s Conservative Ministry on the grounds that he did not want to work with [[Benjamin Disraeli]].
In 1852 Gladstone became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] in Lord Aberdeen's ministry (1852-55). The government resigned in 1855 over the [[Crimean War]] and Gladstone spent the next four years in the political wilderness, refusing to join Derby’s Conservative Ministry on the grounds that he did not want to work with [[Benjamin Disraeli]].
===Finance===
===Finance===
Gladstone became Chancellor of the Exchequer again in Lord Palmerston's ministry (1859-66), when he became one of the leaders of the newly renamed Liberal Party. He cut the income tax on the rich from 5% to 2%. His modest parliamentary reform bill was defeated in 1866, but his speeches did much to mold Disraeli's Reform Bill of 1867. His reputation is outstanding as a highly effective Chancellor who raised the visibility and power of the position.
Gladstone took readily to finance and achieved his greatest success in that field. He promoted balancing the budget, limiting public expenditure, and paying off national debt. His rhetoric of fiscal responsibility helped to unify the Liberal Party and differed significantly from the Conservatives in advocating fiscal simplicity, reduced government size, and direct taxation.
Gladstone took readily to finance and achieved his greatest success in that field. He promoted balancing the budget, limiting public expenditure, and paying off national debt. His rhetoric of fiscal responsibility helped to unify the Liberal Party and differed significantly from the Conservatives in advocating fiscal simplicity, reduced government size, and direct taxation.
When he became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] in 1853 he made that office, for the first time, the second most important in the government. He inaugurated an era of unexampled prosperity by applying the creed of [[laissez-faire]] to the nation's economic problems and by setting individuals free from a multitude of crippling and obsolete fiscal restrictions. His annual budget statements were eagerly awaited, and the crowning moments of the first phase of his career were the great budgets of 1853 and 1860. He popularized finance and moralized it, arguing that self-discipline in freedom is the essential condition of human strength and happiness.
When he became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] in 1853 he made that office, for the first time, the second most important in the government. He inaugurated an era of unexampled prosperity by applying the creed of [[laissez-faire]] to the nation's economic problems and by setting individuals free from a multitude of crippling and obsolete fiscal restrictions. His annual budget statements were eagerly awaited, and the crowning moments of the first phase of his career were the great budgets of 1853 and 1860. He popularized finance and moralized it, arguing that self-discipline in freedom is the essential condition of human strength and happiness.