Ultra-Tories
Encyclopedia
The Ultra-Tories were an Anglican
faction of British
and Irish
politics that appeared in the 1820s in opposition to Catholic emancipation
. They were later called the "extreme right wing" of British and Irish politics. They broke away from the governing party in 1829 after the passing of the Catholic Relief Act 1829
. Many of those labelled Ultra-Tory rejected the label and saw themselves as upholders of the Whig Revolution
settlement of 1689. The Ultras were defending "a doctrine essentially similar to that which ministerial Whigs had held since the days of Burnet
, Wake
, Gibson
and Potter".
A faction that was never formally organised, the Ultra-Tories were united in their antipathy towards the Duke of Wellington
and Sir Robert Peel for what they saw as a betrayal of Tory political and religious principle on the issue of Catholic Emancipation. They took their opposition to Peel to the extent of running a candidate against Peel when he had to resign his Oxford University seat when taking up political office (a requirement for all MPs when taking a ministerial office then). Though Peel was able to get back to Parliament via another parliamentary seat, this battle between Tory factions further embittered internal relations in the party.
The Ultra-Tory faction was informally led in the House of Commons
by Member of Parliament Sir Edward Knatchbull and Sir Richard Vyvyan
. In the House of Lords they enjoyed the support of many ex-cabinet ministers and leading peers like the Duke of Cumberland
, the Earl of Winchilsea and the Duke of Newcastle
. Their general viewpoint could be described as extreme on the matter of defending the established Anglican ascendancy and barring Catholics from political office or influence. However on the issue of electoral reform they were split; a large group came to a view that it could strengthen the appeal of pro-Protestantism.
The inability of the Tories to reunite led to losses in the 1830 General election following the death of King George IV
. Combined also with the news of the July Revolution
in France and a series of bad harvests in England which saw a great increase in political agitation, some Ultras returned to the party. However there were sufficient Ultra-Tories left who were able to combine with the Whigs and the Canningite
grouping (who had previously split from the main Tory party back in 1827-1828 over the issue of Catholic Emancipation which they had supported) to defeat Wellington who finally resigned in November 1830.
This led to the creation of a government with Lord Grey
as Prime Minister and the leading Canningites like Lord Palmerston
and Lord Melbourne
. One leading Ultra-Tory, the Duke of Richmond
, joined the Grey Cabinet and a few others appointed in more junior ministerial positions. However the scope of the subsequent reforms proved too much for many of the pro-government Ultras who then moved back into opposition. Eventually also Richmond left the Whig led coalition and returned to the Tory party (or the Conservative Party
as it was generally now known) after 1834.
Clark (1985) depicts England before 1828 as a nation in which the vast majority of the people believed in the divine right of kings, and the legitimacy of a hereditary nobility, and in the rights and privileges of the Anglican Church. In Clark's interpretation, the system remained virtually intact until it suddenly collapsed in 1828, because Catholic emancipation undermined its central symbolic prop, Anglican supremacy. Clark argues that the consequences were enormous: "The shattering of a whole social order....What was lost at that point...was not merely a constitutional arrangement, but the intellectual ascendancy of a worldview, the cultural hegemony of the old elite." Clark's interpretation has been widely debated in the scholarly literature.
Evans (1996) emphasizes that the political importance of Catholic emancipation in 1829 was that it split the anti-reformers beyond repair and diminished their ability to block future reform laws, especially the great Reform Act of 1832. Paradoxically, Wellington's success in forcing through emancipation converted many Ultra-Tories to demand reform of Parliament. They saw that the votes of the rotten boroughs had given the government its majority. Therefore it was an ultra-Tory the Marquis of Blandford
who in February 1830 introduced the first major reform bill, calling for the transfer of rotten borough seats to the counties and large towns, the disfranchisement of non-resident voters, preventing Crown office-holders from sitting in Parliament, the payment of a salary to MPs, and the general franchise for men who owned property. The ultras believed that a widely based the electorate could be relied upon to rally around anti-Catholicism.
Except for a few irreconcilables the vast bulk of the Ultra-Tories would eventually move over to the Conservatives, with some like Knatchbull, enjoying political office in Peel's first government in 1834. However when the party split again in 1846 over the issue of abolishing the Corn Laws
- the remaining Ultra-Tories quickly rallied to the 'Protectionist' banner and helped to vote Peel out from office once again - this time for good.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
faction of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
politics that appeared in the 1820s in opposition to Catholic emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
. They were later called the "extreme right wing" of British and Irish politics. They broke away from the governing party in 1829 after the passing of the Catholic Relief Act 1829
Catholic Relief Act 1829
The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 24 March 1829, and received Royal Assent on 13 April. It was the culmination of the process of Catholic Emancipation throughout the nation...
. Many of those labelled Ultra-Tory rejected the label and saw themselves as upholders of the Whig Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
settlement of 1689. The Ultras were defending "a doctrine essentially similar to that which ministerial Whigs had held since the days of Burnet
Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish theologian and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was respected as a cleric, a preacher, and an academic, as well as a writer and historian...
, Wake
William Wake
William Wake was a priest in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death in 1737.-Life:...
, Gibson
Edmund Gibson
Edmund Gibson was a British divine and jurist.-Early life and career:He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's College, Oxford...
and Potter".
A faction that was never formally organised, the Ultra-Tories were united in their antipathy towards the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
and Sir Robert Peel for what they saw as a betrayal of Tory political and religious principle on the issue of Catholic Emancipation. They took their opposition to Peel to the extent of running a candidate against Peel when he had to resign his Oxford University seat when taking up political office (a requirement for all MPs when taking a ministerial office then). Though Peel was able to get back to Parliament via another parliamentary seat, this battle between Tory factions further embittered internal relations in the party.
The Ultra-Tory faction was informally led in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
by Member of Parliament Sir Edward Knatchbull and Sir Richard Vyvyan
Sir Richard Vyvyan, 8th Baronet
Sir Richard Rawlinson Vyvyan, 8th Baronet was an English landowner and Whig and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1825 and 1857.-Early life:...
. In the House of Lords they enjoyed the support of many ex-cabinet ministers and leading peers like the Duke of Cumberland
Ernest Augustus I of Hanover
Ernest Augustus I was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death. He was the fifth son and eighth child of George III, who reigned in both the United Kingdom and Hanover...
, the Earl of Winchilsea and the Duke of Newcastle
Henry Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne
Henry Pelham Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne KG was a British nobleman and politician who played a leading part in British politics in the late 1820s and early 1830s.-Early life:...
. Their general viewpoint could be described as extreme on the matter of defending the established Anglican ascendancy and barring Catholics from political office or influence. However on the issue of electoral reform they were split; a large group came to a view that it could strengthen the appeal of pro-Protestantism.
The inability of the Tories to reunite led to losses in the 1830 General election following the death of King George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
. Combined also with the news of the July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
in France and a series of bad harvests in England which saw a great increase in political agitation, some Ultras returned to the party. However there were sufficient Ultra-Tories left who were able to combine with the Whigs and the Canningite
Canningite
Canningites was the name used for a faction of British Tories in the first decade of the 19th century through the 1820s who were led by George Canning. The Canningites were distinct within the Tory party because they favoured Catholic emancipation and freer trade.After the incapacity of Lord...
grouping (who had previously split from the main Tory party back in 1827-1828 over the issue of Catholic Emancipation which they had supported) to defeat Wellington who finally resigned in November 1830.
This led to the creation of a government with Lord Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
as Prime Minister and the leading Canningites like Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
and Lord Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
. One leading Ultra-Tory, the Duke of Richmond
Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond
Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond and 5th Duke of Lennox KG, PC , styled Earl of March until in 1819, was a British soldier, politician and a prominent Conservative.-Background and education:...
, joined the Grey Cabinet and a few others appointed in more junior ministerial positions. However the scope of the subsequent reforms proved too much for many of the pro-government Ultras who then moved back into opposition. Eventually also Richmond left the Whig led coalition and returned to the Tory party (or the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
as it was generally now known) after 1834.
Clark (1985) depicts England before 1828 as a nation in which the vast majority of the people believed in the divine right of kings, and the legitimacy of a hereditary nobility, and in the rights and privileges of the Anglican Church. In Clark's interpretation, the system remained virtually intact until it suddenly collapsed in 1828, because Catholic emancipation undermined its central symbolic prop, Anglican supremacy. Clark argues that the consequences were enormous: "The shattering of a whole social order....What was lost at that point...was not merely a constitutional arrangement, but the intellectual ascendancy of a worldview, the cultural hegemony of the old elite." Clark's interpretation has been widely debated in the scholarly literature.
Evans (1996) emphasizes that the political importance of Catholic emancipation in 1829 was that it split the anti-reformers beyond repair and diminished their ability to block future reform laws, especially the great Reform Act of 1832. Paradoxically, Wellington's success in forcing through emancipation converted many Ultra-Tories to demand reform of Parliament. They saw that the votes of the rotten boroughs had given the government its majority. Therefore it was an ultra-Tory the Marquis of Blandford
George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough DCL , styled Earl of Sunderland until 1817 and Marquess of Blandford between 1817 and 1840, was a British peer...
who in February 1830 introduced the first major reform bill, calling for the transfer of rotten borough seats to the counties and large towns, the disfranchisement of non-resident voters, preventing Crown office-holders from sitting in Parliament, the payment of a salary to MPs, and the general franchise for men who owned property. The ultras believed that a widely based the electorate could be relied upon to rally around anti-Catholicism.
Except for a few irreconcilables the vast bulk of the Ultra-Tories would eventually move over to the Conservatives, with some like Knatchbull, enjoying political office in Peel's first government in 1834. However when the party split again in 1846 over the issue of abolishing the Corn Laws
Corn Laws
The Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
- the remaining Ultra-Tories quickly rallied to the 'Protectionist' banner and helped to vote Peel out from office once again - this time for good.