Robert Peel

The Right Honourable Sir Robert Peel Bt FRS
Portrait by Henry William Pickersgill
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 30 August 1841 – 29 June 1846
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	The Viscount Melbourne
Succeeded by	Lord John Russell
In office 10 December 1834 – 8 April 1835
Monarch	William IV
Preceded by	The Duke of Wellington
Succeeded by	The Viscount Melbourne
Leader of the Opposition
In office 18 April 1835 – 30 August 1841
Prime Minister	The Viscount Melbourne
Preceded by	The Viscount Melbourne
Succeeded by	The Viscount Melbourne
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 15 December 1834 – 8 April 1835
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	The Lord Denman
Succeeded by	Thomas Spring Rice
Home Secretary
In office 26 January 1828 – 22 November 1830
Prime Minister	The Duke of Wellington
Preceded by	The Marquess of Lansdowne
Succeeded by	The Viscount Melbourne
In office 17 January 1822 – 10 April 1827
Prime Minister	The Earl of Liverpool
Preceded by	The Viscount Sidmouth
Succeeded by	William Sturges Bourne
Chief Secretary for Ireland
In office August 1812 – August 1818
Prime Minister	The Earl of Liverpool
Preceded by	The Earl of Mornington
Succeeded by	Charles Grant
Personal details
Born	(1788-02-05)5 February 1788 Bury, Lancashire, England
Died	2 July 1850(1850-07-02) (aged 62) Westminster, Middlesex, England
Resting place	St Peter Churchyard, Drayton Bassett
Political party	Tory (1809–1834) Conservative (1834–1846) Peelite (from 1846)
Spouse	Julia Floyd ​ (m. 1820)​
Children	7, including Robert, Frederick, William and Arthur
Parent	Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet (father)
Education	Harrow School
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford (BA) Lincoln's Inn
Signature
Military service
Years of service	1820
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	Staffordshire Yeomanry

This article is part of a series about Robert Peel
Tories Conservative Party Peelite MP for Tamworth Home Secretary Metropolitan Police Act 1829 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom First term Ministry Tamworth Manifesto 1835 general election Second term 1841 general election Ministry Mines and Collieries Act 1842 Income Tax Act 1842 Factory Act 1844 Railway Regulation Act 1844 Irish Famine Repeal of Corn Laws
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Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, FRS (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–1835), and twice as Home Secretary (1822–1827, 1828–1830). He is regarded as the father of modern British policing, owing to his founding of the Metropolitan Police Service. Peel was one of the founders of the modern Conservative Party.

The son of a wealthy textile manufacturer and politician, Peel was the first prime minister from an industrial business background. He earned a double first in classics and mathematics from Christ Church, Oxford. He entered the House of Commons in 1809 and became a rising star in the Tory Party. Peel entered the Cabinet as home secretary (1822–1827), where he reformed and liberalised the criminal law and created the modern police force, leading to a new type of officer known in tribute to him as "bobbies" and "peelers". After a brief period out of office he returned as home secretary under his political mentor the Duke of Wellington (1828–1830), also serving as Leader of the House of Commons. Initially, a supporter of continued legal discrimination against Catholics, Peel reversed himself and supported the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and the 1828 repeal of the Test Act, claiming that "though emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger".^[1]

After being in opposition from 1830 to 1834, he became prime minister in November 1834. Peel issued the Tamworth Manifesto (December 1834), laying down the principles upon which the modern British Conservative Party is based. His first ministry was a minority government, dependent on Whig support and with Peel serving as his own chancellor of the Exchequer. After only four months, his government collapsed and he served as Leader of the Opposition during Melbourne's second government (1835–1841). Peel became prime minister again after the 1841 general election. His second government ruled for five years. He cut tariffs to stimulate trade, replacing the lost revenue with a 3% income tax. He played a central role in making free trade a reality and set up a modern banking system. His government's major legislation included the Mines and Collieries Act 1842, the Income Tax Act 1842, the Factories Act 1844 and the Railway Regulation Act 1844. Peel's government was weakened by anti-Catholic sentiment following the controversial increase in the Maynooth Grant of 1845. After the outbreak of the Great Irish Famine, his decision to join with Whigs and Radicals to repeal the Corn Laws led to his resignation as prime minister in 1846. Peel remained an influential MP and leader of the Peelite faction until his death in 1850.

Peel often started from a traditional Tory position in opposition to a measure, then reversed his stance and became the leader in supporting liberal legislation. This happened with the Test Act, Catholic emancipation, the Reform Act, income tax and, most notably, the repeal of the Corn Laws. Historian A. J. P. Taylor wrote: "Peel was in the first rank of 19th-century statesmen. He carried Catholic Emancipation; he repealed the Corn Laws; he created the modern Conservative Party on the ruins of the old Toryism."^[2]