Who was Benjamin Disraeli?
Benjamin Disraeli was born in London in 1804 into a Jewish family. His father had him baptised into the Church of England when he was 12, which opened the door to a career in Parliament, since Jews could not sit there at the time. He was already a published novelist when he won a seat in 1837. He made his name by turning on Robert Peel over the Corn Laws in 1846. Later he was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Derby, then prime minister in 1868 and again from 1874 to 1880. He took the title Earl of Beaconsfield in 1876. His long duel with William Gladstone is one of the most famous in British politics.
Political views
- Wrote in his novel Sybil (1845) that Britain was split into two nations, the rich and the poor, who barely knew each other.Source: gutenberg.org
- Fought Peel's plan to scrap the Corn Laws in 1846 and spoke up for landowners and farming.Source: gov.uk
- As Chancellor and leader in the Commons, he brought in the proposals that widened the vote in 1867.Source: api.parliament.uk
- His second government passed the Public Health Act and the Artisans Dwellings Act in 1875, aimed at sanitation and clearing slums.Source: gov.uk
- Made peaceful picketing lawful and ended criminal charges for ordinary union activity under the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875.Source: gov.uk
- Treated empire and foreign affairs as central, above all the Eastern Question in the late 1870s.Source: gov.uk
Legacy
Many Conservatives see Disraeli as the father of one-nation conservatism, the idea that tradition, social reform and the welfare of working people belong together. His critics, starting with Gladstone and many Liberals, thought him a cynical opportunist whose imperial and Eastern policies were reckless. Some historians add that colleagues deserve more credit than he does for the reforms of his second government. He is still the only British prime minister born Jewish, and he put up with open antisemitic abuse along the way. On the 12 axes, he scores strongly on foreign policy strength and traditional morality, and the middle on markets and welfare.
In their own words
“Two nations; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets”