On 18 December 1834, Sir Robert Peel, the first leader of the modern Conservative Party, wrote as follows to the electors of his Tamworth constituency in Staffordshire:
“Gentlemen, On the 26th of November last, being then in Rome, I received from His Majesty [King William IV] a summons, wholly unforeseen and unexpected by me, to return to England without delay, for the purpose of assisting His Majesty in the formation of a new government.”
For the last time in British history, a prime minister had been sacked by the monarch. Peel was appointed in his place, and immediately called a general election. His letter to the Tamworth electors set out the broad objectives of Conservative Party policy.
Nothing like this had ever been done before. Peel had invented a new way of appealing to the electorate. His Tamworth Manifesto did not bring him an overall majority at the election in early 1835, but it introduced what would become a vital component of British election campaigns.
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At the invitation of the Peel Society, based in Tamworth, Alistair Lexden will give a lecture on the significance of the Tamworth Maniifesto at 11am on Saturday, 11 January 2025 at the Castle Hotel, Tamworth. Tickets are available, free of charge, from [email protected]
