Was peel responsible for his own downfall
Was Sir Robert Peel responsible for his own downfall? The period 1829-46 was one of political transformation in Britain, Peel faced the problem as a prime minister during this period as to where his loyalties lay- to the crown, nation or party. ... However Peel’s downfall was as a result of a lack of unity within the party he led through his own executive style of leadership, party unison was not one of his priorities but ultimately his disregard of its importance had damaging effects as divisions formed within the Conservatives, his skills as a prime minister were therefore not mirrored in those as a party leader and ultimately this weakness was exposed and led to his collapse. Peel’s main objective of his second ministry was to ‘make Britain a cheap place for living’ and he felt that free trade was the way to achieve this . ... The corn law repeal was simply an act of progression from the previous tariff reforms and not Peel turning his back on protectionism after it had helped him to gain power in 1841.Despite Peel seeing the justification in his actions, the view was not shared within his party. In Ireland, Peel was fully aware of the wave of unrest among the Irish Catholics and feared that O’Connell’s influence may lead to a repeal of the Act of Union or that the discontent of the Catholics could lead to Irish civil war. Peel therefore needed to gain the support of the middle class Irish Catholics and this meant making concessions, he did this through measures such as the Maynooth Grant, the Irish Colleges Bill and the setting up of the Devon Commission in 1843. ... A Under the political circumstances any decisions made about Ireland would have been controversial and Peel had to deal with the situation in the way he saw fit. Despite this Peel’s party were unfamiliar with Peel’s reasoning behind his actions and it was therefore seen as an act of betrayal. ... Despite their support diminishing by the time of corn law repeal, if Peel had not repealed them at the time when he did among the social unrest and Irish famine, the ACLL would surely have flourished once again. ... Peel’s actual fall came as a result of an act of revenge by his own party members as well as the opposition.