Editing Robert Peel (section)

==Prime Minister: 1834–1835<span class="anchor" id="First premiership"></span><!-- linked from redirects [[First premiership of Robert Peel]], [[First premiership of Sir Robert Peel]], [[First prime ministership of Robert Peel]], [[First prime ministership of Sir Robert Peel]] -->==

=== Appointment ===
{{further|First Peel ministry}}
Following the resignation of former prime minister [[Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey|Charles Grey]], because of an issue regarding Ireland's conciliatory reform and at the invitation of King [[William IV]], Peel became prime minister in early December 1834. Peel formed his own government, though it was a Tory government that was a minority government and depended on Whig goodwill for its continued existence. Parliament was dissolved in late December 1834 and a general election was called. Voting took place in January and February 1835, and Peel's supporters gained around 100 seats, but this was not enough to give them a majority.<ref>The Routledge Dictionary of Modern British History, John Plowright, Routledge, Abingdon, 2006, p. 235.</ref>

=== Tamworth Manifesto ===
As his statement of policy at the general election of January 1835, Peel issued the [[Tamworth Manifesto]].<ref>Clark, ''Peel and the Conservatives: A Study in Party Politics 1832–1841'', 210–15; Ramsay, ''Sir Robert Peel'', 184; Read, ''Peel and the Victorians'', 12; 69–72.</ref> This document was the basis on which the modern [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] was founded. In it, Peel pledged that the Conservatives would endorse {{em|modest}} reform such as reforms concerning economic and financial affairs, free trade and factory workers' rights.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lowe |first=Norman |title=Mastering Modern British History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kzgoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 |publisher=Macmillan Education UK |year=2017 |page=59 |isbn=9781137603883}}</ref>

The Whigs formed a compact with [[Daniel O'Connell]]'s Irish Radical members to repeatedly defeat the government on various bills.<ref>Clark, ''Peel and the Conservatives: A Study in Party Politics 1832–1841'', 227; 229–35; Ramsay, ''Sir Robert Peel'', 185–87; Read, ''Peel and the Victorians'', 71–73.</ref> Eventually, after only about 100 days in government, Peel's ministry resigned out of frustration and the Whigs under Lord Melbourne returned to power.<ref>Clark, ''Peel and the Conservatives: A Study in Party Politics 1832–1841'', 250–54, 257–61; Ramsay, ''Sir Robert Peel'', 188–92; Read, ''Peel and the Victorians'', 74–76.</ref> The only real achievement of Peel's first administration was a commission to review the governance of the [[Church of England]]. This ecclesiastical commission was the forerunner of the [[Church Commissioners]].<ref>Clark, ''Peel and the Conservatives: A Study in Party Politics 1832–1841'', 224–26.</ref>

=== Confidence vote and resignation ===
Despite the January 1835 general election, from which Peel attempted to consolidate his party's majority in Parliament, the Conservatives still remained a minority. This made Peel's position in the Commons precarious from the start.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peel's First Ministry |url=https://victorianweb.org/victorian/history/pms/peel/peel3.html |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=victorianweb.org}}</ref>

The immediate cause of Peel's downfall was a debate over the [[Church of Ireland]]. On 7 April 1835, Whig MP [[Ralph Bernal]] brought forward a report critical of Peel's administration of the Church of Ireland's revenues and proposed reforms. The report was passed in the [[House of Commons]] by a vote of 285 to 258, signifying a lack of confidence in Peel's government. This defeat underscored the government's inability to secure enough support to govern effectively.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Gash |first=Norman |date=1951 |title=Peel and the Party System 1830-50 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3678562 |journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society |volume=1 |pages=47–69 |doi=10.2307/3678562 |jstor=3678562 |issn=0080-4401}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mermagen |first1=Robert P. H. |last2=C. |first2=M. D. |date=1964 |title=The Established Church in England and Ireland: Principles of Church Reform |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/175341 |journal=Journal of British Studies |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=143–151 |doi=10.1086/385485 |jstor=175341 |issn=0021-9371}}</ref>

This loss led to Peel's resignation the following day, on 8 April 1835. The passing of the [[vote of no confidence]] highlighted the conditions in British politics at the time in a [[parliamentary system]]. After Peel's resignation, King William IV invited Lord Melbourne to form a new government, allowing the Whigs to return to power.<ref name=":10" />