111. Peel, the Corn Laws and Ireland

Peel’s name is tightly bound up with the issue of Corn Law Repeal, the striking achievement of his only full period in office (the hundred days he had before didn't really count). The repeal was, however, double-edged: a major success but also a (politically) fatal self-inflicted wound, obtained only at the price of splitting his own party and having to accept support from the Whigs, or Liberals as they were increasingly known.

Although it was the Corn Laws that left him vulnerable to being brought down, the final blow came from another quarter, that other cauldron of suffering, and of trouble for British governments at the time, Ireland. When the Liberals withdrew their support over a new Irish Coercion Bill, Peel realised he'd reached the end of the road and resigned. Although they were in Opposition, the Liberals had become the masters of the government's destiny.

It was time for another major realignment in British politics.

Illustration: A meeting of the Anti-Corn Law League in Exeter Hall, London. Unknown author. Public Domain.

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License