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Parliament, Party and the Art of Politics in Britain, 1855–59 pp 38–52Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Milton’s Fallen Angels

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Abstract

Palmerston’s achievement was the actual dominance of foreign affairs, the apparent paucity of domestic issues, and the prominence of the personality of the premier in parliamentary rhetoric and debate during 1855 and 1856. Palmerston successfully donned ‘Chatham’s mantle’. This created the imperative need, among hostile sections of political opinion, for a policy of opposition distinct from mere anti-Palmerstonianism; an opposition policy to shift the political focus away from the person of the premier. This in turn, pointed to that which opposition groups perceived to be their distinctive concern.

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Notes

  1. Newcastle to Gladstone, 8 March 1852, Newcastle Mss. Ne C 11713; Gladstone to Aberdeen, 12 August 1852, Aberdeen Mss. 43070, fol. 262. See also, J. B. Conacher, The Peelites and the Party System 1846–52, (Newton Abbot, 1972); and W. D. Jones and A. B. Erickson, The Peelites, 1846–1857 Resolution: Global (Ohio, 1972).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Loyola Marymount University, California, USA

    Angus Hawkins (Associate Professor in Modern British History)

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© 1987 Angus Hawkins

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Hawkins, A. (1987). Milton’s Fallen Angels. In: Parliament, Party and the Art of Politics in Britain, 1855–59. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08925-3_3

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