The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs Disraeli

by Richard Aldous

This was a key moment in the development of a new kind of Conservatism, but it was barely recognised as such in Manchester that night. What set the crowd alight was a brilliantly conceived attack on Gladstone and the government that would soon resonate throughout the country. The prime minister he attacked as a treacherous radical wolf in a moderate’s clothing. A leader, Disraeli said, should ‘speak with frankness and clearness to his countrymen’. Gladstone seemed unable to be clear about anything. ‘Although the prime minister of England is always writing letters and making speeches,’ Disraeli explained, ‘he seems to me ever to send forth an “uncertain sound”.’ If Radicals called for the abolition of the monarchy, the House of Lords or the Church of England, Gladstone would slyly reveal his support with crafty nods and winks, saying it ‘was no easy task, and that he must think once or twice, or even thrice before he could undertake it’.