Benjamin Disraeli, was born in London on
21st December, 1804. His father, Isaac Disraeli, was the author of
several books on literature and history, including The
Life and Reign of Charles I (1828). After a private education
Disraeli was trained as a solicitor.
Like his father, Isaac Disraeli, Benjamin took a keen interest in
literature. His first novel, Vivian Grey
was published in 1826. The book sold very well and was followed by
The Young Duke (1831), Contarini
Fleming (1832), Alroy
(1833), Henrietta Temple (1837)
and Venetia (1837).
Disraeli was also interested in politics. In the early 1830s he stood
in several elections as a Whig, Radical and
as an Independent. Disraeli's early attempts ended in failure, but
he was eventually elected to represent Maidstone in 1837.
Disraeli's maiden speech in the House of Commons
was poorly received and after enduring a great deal of barracking
ended with the words: "though I sit down now, the time will come
when you will hear me." Disraeli was now a progressive Tory
and advocated triennial parliaments and the secret ballot. He was
sympathetic to the demands of the Chartists
and in one speech argued that the "rights of labour were as sacred
as the rights of property".
In 1839 Benjamin Disraeli married the extremely wealthy widow, Mrs.
Wyndham Lewis. The marriage was a great success. On one occasion Disraeli
remarked that he had married for money, and his wife replied, "Ah!
but if you had to do it again, you would do it for love."
After the Conservative victory in
the 1841 General Election, Disraeli suggested
to Sir Robert Peel, the new Prime Minister,
that he would make a good government minister. Peel disagreed and
Disraeli had to remain on the backbenches. Disraeli was hurt by Peel's
rejection and over the next few years he became a harsh critic of
the Conservative government.
In 1842 Disraeli helped to form the Young England group. Disraeli
and members of his group argued that the middle class now had too
much political power and advocated an alliance between the aristocracy
and the working class. Disraeli suggested that the aristocracy should
use their power to help protect the poor. This political philosophy
was expressed in Disraeli's novels Coningsby
(1844), Sybil (1845) and Tancred
(1847). In these books the leading characters show concern about poverty
and the injustice of the parliamentary system. Disraeli favoured a
policy of protectionism and strongly opposed Peel's decision to repeal
the Corn Laws. This issue split the Conservative
Party and Disraeli's attacks on Peel helped to bring about his
political downfall.
In 1852 Lord John Russell, the leader
of the Whig government, resigned. Lord
Derby, the new Prime Minister, appointed Disraeli as his Chancellor
of the Exchequer. This period of power only lasted a few months and
Derby was soon replaced by the Earl of Aberdeen.
Lord Derby became Prime Minister again in
1858 and once again Disraeli was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
He also became leader of the House of Commons
and was responsible for the introduction of measures to reform parliament.
In February, 1858, Disraeli proposed the equalization of the town
and county franchise. This would have resulted in some men in towns
losing the vote and was opposed by the Liberals.
An amendment proposed by Lord John Russell
"condemning this disfranchisement" was passed by 330 to
291.
In 1859 Lord Palmerston, became Prime
Minister, and Disraeli once more lost his position in the government.
For the next seven years the Liberals were in power and it was not
until 1866 that Disraeli returned to the cabinet. Once again, Lord
Derby appointed Disraeli as his Chancellor of the Exchequer and
leader of the House of Commons.
Some members of the Liberal Party, including
the new leader, William Gladstone, had
been in favour of legislation that would have extended the franchise.
His attempts to obtain parliamentary reform failed but Disraeli was
convinced that if the Liberals returned
to power, Gladstone was certain to try again. Benjamin Disraeli argued
that the Conservatives were in danger
of being seen as an anti-reform party. In 1867 Disraeli proposed a
new Reform Act. Lord Cranborne (later the Marquis
of Salisbury) resigned in protest against this extension of democracy.
In the House of Commons, Disraeli's proposals
were supported by Gladstone and his followers and the measure was
passed. The 1867 Reform Act gave the vote
to every male adult householder living in a borough constituency.
Male lodgers paying £10 for unfurnished rooms were also granted
the vote. This gave the vote to about 1,500,000 men.
The Reform Act also dealt with constituencies and boroughs with less
than 10,000 inhabitants lost one of their MPs. The forty-five seats
left available were distributed by: (i) giving fifteen to towns which
had never had an MP; (ii) giving one extra seat to some larger towns
- Liverpool, Manchester,
Birmingham and Leeds;
(iii) creating a seat for the University of London; (iv) giving twenty-five
seats to counties whose population had increased since 1832.
In 1868 Lord Derby resigned and Benjamin
Disraeli became the new Prime Minister. However, in the 1868
General Election that followed, William
Gladstone and the Liberals were returned
to power with a majority of 170.
After six years in opposition, Disraeli and the Conservative Party
won the 1874 General Election. It was the
first time since 1841 that the Tories in
the House of Commons had a clear majority.
Disraeli now had the opportunity to the develop the ideas that he
had expressed when he was leader of the Young England group in the
1840s. Social reforms passed by the Disraeli government included:
the Artisans Dwellings Act (1875), the Public Health Act (1875), the
Pure Food and Drugs Act (1875), the Climbing Boys Act (1875), the
Education Act (1876).
Disraeli also introduced measures to protect workers such as the 1874
Factory Act and the Climbing Boys Act (1875). Disraeli also kept
his promise to improve the legal position of trade unions. The Conspiracy
and Protection of Property Act (1875) allowed peaceful picketing
and the Employers and Workmen Act (1878) enabled workers to sue employers
in the civil courts if they broke legally agreed contracts.
Unlike William Gladstone, Disraeli got
on very well with Queen Victoria. She
approved of Disraeli's imperialist views and his desire to make Britain
the most powerful nation in the world. In 1876 Victoria agreed to
his suggestion that she should accept the title of Empress of India.
In August
1876 Queen Victoria granted Disraeli
the title Lord Beaconsfield. Disraeli now left the House of Commons
but continued as Prime Minister and now used the House
of Lords to explain his government's policies. At the Congress
of Berlin in 1878 Disraeli gained great acclaim for his success in
limiting Russia's power in the Balkans.
The Liberals defeated the Conservatives
in the 1880 General Election and after William
Gladstone became Prime Minister, Disraeli decided to retire from
politics. Disraeli hoped to spend his retirement writing novels but
soon after the publication of Endymion
(1880) he became very ill. Benjamin
Disraeli
died on 19th April, 1881.
John
Tenniel, Disraeli and Queen Victoria
Exchanging Gifts (Punch Magazine, 1876)
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
