The Lichfield House Compact was an 1835 agreement between the Whig government, the Irish Repeal Party (led by

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

) and the Radicals to act as one body against the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. It allowed O'Connell to push for further reforms for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It was signed in February 1835 in

Lichfield House, St James's St James's Square is the only square in the St James's district of the City of Westminster and is a garden square. It has predominantly Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture. For its first two hundred or so years it was one of the three or fou ...

, residence of

Thomas Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield Thomas William Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield PC (20 October 1795 – 18 March 1854), previously known as The Viscount Anson from 1818 to 1831, was a British Whig politician from the Anson family. He served under Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne as ...

. The Compact has been argued by historians such as Robert StewartStewart, R. ''Party and Politics: 1830-1852.'' to have been the moment of formation of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. However, the Compact was formed in opposition to the

Peelite The Peelites were a breakaway dissident political faction of the British Conservative Party from 1846 to 1859. Initially led by Robert Peel, the former Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader in 1846, the Peelites supported free trade whilst ...

faction, and some argue that it was the Peelites whose contribution to Liberal ideology played a dominant role in later years. A number of supporters of Daniel O'Connell saw this agreement as a betrayal of their hopes for a repeal of the Act of Union. Many voters saw the alliance as dangerous. However, the Whigs and their Radical and Repeal allies won a majority in the January 1835 general election, and in April their leader

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...

replaced Peel as Prime Minister.

References

Christine Kinealy 'Repeal and Revolution. 1848 in Ireland' (Manchester University Press, 2009) 1830s in the United Kingdom {{UK-poli-stub

See also

References