How weak was the Tory position in the 1830s?
Although it cannot be questioned that Peel achieved a great deal during his parliamentary career, often in the face of concerted opposition, on closer inspection many of his successes are qualified by other factors. Despite the undoubtedly poor parliamentary position that he had inherited from Wellington, Peel’s Tory Party in the early 1830s was not as weak as it seemed. The fact that the Tories had an overwhelming majority in the House of Lords meant that Peel had an effective veto over any proposed legislation, while the Whig majority, which looked so impressive on paper, was not a united party but an undisciplined conglomeration of groups, each of which were pursuing their own agenda. This lack of solidarity was one of the major reasons for the collapse of the Whig government during the 1830s and meant that the Tory Party had greater leverage within the House of Commons than the figures might suggest. It is also, arguable that the Tory Party would have prospered in the 1830s even wi
