Few doubted that the chancellor had initiated a radical budget, but most did not understand why. Disraeli’s aim, suggestive of his later philosophy, was to broaden the party’s appeal to include the urban middle class, and even the working class. This meant a fundamental reorganisation of the financial system to create a more integrated, stable equilibrium between competing interests. Farmers and landowners were offered compensation for the abandonment of Protection by a reduction in malt duties, which also appealed to poorer beer drinkers. He then proposed to ease the burden of urban,
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