Throughout these opening skirmishes Benjamin Disraeli leered menacingly from the opposition front bench, but said nothing. In the lead up to the debate he had waited impassively to see how best to undermine the government. Lord Derby’s gout, which left him persistently bedridden, gave Disraeli licence to follow his own instincts at Westminster. Only after viewing the disarray on the Liberal benches did he decide to oppose the Reform Bill. Bright’s intemperate outburst had scandalised Whigs on the Liberal backbenches. Here then was an opportunity to work with them to smash Gladstone.
