Editing Crimean War (section)

===British position===
[[File:Arundel Russian Bell 6.JPG|thumb|One of three 17th-century church bells in [[Arundel Castle]], England, which were taken from [[Sevastopol]] as trophies at the end of the Crimean War]]

Dissatisfaction with the conduct of the war was growing with the public in Britain and other countries and was worsened by reports of fiascos, especially the devastating losses of the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava. On Sunday, 21 January 1855, a "snowball riot" occurred in [[Trafalgar Square]] near [[St Martin-in-the-Fields]] in which 1,500 people gathered to [[anti-war movement|protest against the war]] by pelting cabs and pedestrians with snowballs.<ref name="autogenerated599">[[Karl Marx]], "The Aims of the Negotiations – Polemic Against Prussia – A Snowball Riot", in ''Collected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Volume 13'', p. 599.</ref> When the police intervened, the snowballs were directed at the constables. The riot was finally put down by troops and police acting with truncheons.<ref name="autogenerated599" /> In [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]], the Conservatives demanded an accounting of all soldiers, cavalry and sailors sent to Crimea and accurate figures as to the number of casualties sustained by all British armed forces in Crimea, especially concerning the Battle of Balaclava. When Parliament passed a bill to investigate by the vote of 305 to 148, Aberdeen said he had lost a vote of no confidence and resigned as prime minister on 30 January 1855.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leonard |first=Dick |url={{Google books|7Kosl75aYPAC|The Great Rivalry: Gladstone and Disraeli|page=98|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Great Rivalry: Gladstone and Disraeli |publisher=I.B. Tauris |year=2013 |location=London |page=98}}</ref> The veteran former Foreign Secretary [[Lord Palmerston]] became prime minister.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ridley |first=Jasper |url=https://archive.org/details/lordpalmerston00ridl/page/431 |title=Lord Palmerston |publisher=Dutton |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-525-14873-9 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lordpalmerston00ridl/page/431 431–436]}}</ref> Palmerston took a hard line and wanted to expand the war, foment unrest inside the Russian Empire and reduce the Russian threat to Europe permanently. [[Union between Sweden and Norway|Sweden–Norway]] and Prussia were willing to join Britain and France, and Russia was isolated.{{sfn|Figes|2010|pp=400–402, 406–408}}