Editing Joseph Chamberlain (section)

====1885 election====
In 1885, Chamberlain sought to "utterly destroy the Whigs, and have a Radical government before many years are out." To that end, Chamberlain and [[Sir Charles Dilke]] privately presented their resignations to Gladstone on 20 May, after the Cabinet had rejected Chamberlain's proposed Irish plan and his scheme for the creation of National Councils in England, Scotland, and Wales. The resignations were not made public, but the opportunity came for Chamberlain to present his Radicalism to the country after the [[List of successful votes of no confidence in British governments#Second defeat of the Gladstone ministry (1885)|Gladstone budget failed on 8 June]], triggering a [[1885 United Kingdom general election|new general election]] with a dramatically expanded, redistributed electorate.

In July 1885, Chamberlain wrote the preface to the ''Radical Programme'', the first campaign handbook in British political history. It endorsed [[land reform]], more direct taxation, free public education, the disestablishment of the [[Church of England]], universal male suffrage, and greater protection for trade unions. Chamberlain drew inspiration from his friend [[Frederick Maxse]]'s 1873 pamphlet ''The Causes of Social Revolt''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bowie|first1=Duncan|title=Our History: Roots of the British Socialist Movement|date=2014|publisher=Socialist History Society|location=London|isbn=978-0-9555138-9-3|page=21}}</ref> Chamberlain's proposal to separate free education for every child from the religious question was rejected by groups on all sides, including the NLF, Nonconformists, Catholics and more generally, taxpayers.<ref>Alan Simon, "Joseph Chamberlain and Free Education in the Election of 1885," ''History of Education'' (1973) 2#1 pp 56–78.</ref> The ''Programme'' earned the scorn of Whig Liberals and Conservatives alike.

Chamberlain began his election campaign at [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] on 5 August, in front of large posters declaring him to be "your coming Prime Minister." Until the campaign's end in October, he denounced opponents of the ''Programme'' and used the slogan "[[Three Acres and a Cow]]" to endorse the cause of the rural labourers, offering to make smallholdings available to them by using funds from local authorities. Chamberlain's campaign attracted large crowds and enthralled the young [[Ramsay MacDonald]] and [[David Lloyd George]], but disturbed leading Liberals like [[George Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen|George Goschen]], who called it the "Unauthorised Programme". The Conservatives denounced Chamberlain as an anarchist, with some{{who|date=October 2022}} even comparing him to [[Dick Turpin]].

In October 1885, as the campaign came to a close, Chamberlain visited Gladstone at [[Hawarden Castle (18th century)|Hawarden Castle]] to reconcile their respective electoral programmes. The meeting, although good-natured, was largely unproductive, and Gladstone neglected to tell Chamberlain of his ongoing negotiations with Parnell over Irish Home Rule. Chamberlain was informed their existence by [[Henry Labouchere]], but, did not press the issue, unsure of the precise nature of Gladstone's offer.

The Liberals [[1885 United Kingdom general election|won a plurality in November 1885]] but fell just short of a majority against the Conservatives. The Irish Nationalists held the balance of power between the two parties.