147. Salisbury, man of his class

Before we return to the sorry tale of British rule in Ireland, this episode looks at some of the many other issues that Lord Salisbury addressed during his second ministry. What emerges is the portrait of a man of his class, moulded by the outlook of the aristocratic landowner, convinced that his peers were the men best positioned to lead without being ‘defiled by the taint of greed’ and therefore able to ensure that England, and by extension Britain, avoided change that was altogether too radical. That’s too radical not just for him but, indeed, for most Brits.

He was a man for whom all change was necessarily change for the worse. And yet, he could read circumstances well enough to know when certain changes were necessary, and ensure, heavy-hearted or not, they were made. One type of change he particularly disliked was modification of principles to suit electoral considerations, but he could make those too.

Indeed, that willingness of his contributed to driving forward the process that would make of the Conservative Party the most effective election-winning machine Britain has ever seen.

Illustration: Lord Salisbury during his second ministry, Harry Furniss, 1891. National Portrait Gallery 3411

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.