Peace, Retrenchment and Reform was a political slogan used in early-19th-century

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politics by Whigs, Radicals and Liberals. The historian R. B. McCallum in his history of the Liberal Party defined the meaning of the slogan:

The critical, conscience-searching attitude to foreign and imperial affairs, the willingness to see the right triumph over national sentiment... was sheer idealism, the belief that war was wrong and that in the new world of great inventions and world-wide trade civilised nations should not require to settle difference by war.... Retrenchment... meant the saving of the resources of the individual from the grasp of the state taxation system. It was held as a general truth that wealth left in the hands of private persons would be more fruitfully used than if used by the state.... iberalshad most vigorously attacked sinecures and abuses; it was they who had established free trade which seemed the best guarantee of economic development and it was they who more than any others discouraged expense on armaments, the most wasteful and unproductive of all expenditure.... Reform... had a particular and narrower use as meaning reform of the franchise.... More broadly it meant improvement in the method and art of government and the removal of any restriction or disqualification that fell on any particular class or sect.

In 1794, the Radical Daniel Stuart published his pamphlet ''Peace and Reform, Against War and Corruption'' and in 1796, the Whig

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stood for election a platform of "Peace and Reform". The relentless campaign by the Radical MP

Joseph Hume Joseph Hume FRS (22 January 1777 – 20 February 1855) was a Scottish surgeon and Radical MP.Ronald K. Huch, Paul R. Ziegler 1985 Joseph Hume, the People's M.P.: DIANE Publishing. Early life He was born the son of a shipmaster James Hume ...

against what he considered wasteful and extravagant government expenditure in the 1820s caused the word "retrenchment" to be added to "peace and reform". The Whig government of

Earl Grey Earl Grey is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for General Charles Grey, 1st Baron Grey. In 1801, he was given the title Baron Grey of Howick in the County of Northumberland, and in 1806 he was created Viscou ...

was elected to office on the slogan "Peace, Retrenchment and Reform" in

1830 It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. Events January–March * January 11 – LaGrange College (later the University of North Alabama) b ...

. The Liberals under

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

won the 1880 general election on the slogan, as did the Liberals under Sir

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1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

. The Radical MP

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn Laws ...

said in 1859, "I am for 'Peace, retrenchment, and reform', the watchword of the great Liberal party 30 years ago. Whosoever may abandon the cause I shall never pronounce another Shibboleth, but as long as the old flag floats in the air I shall be found a steadfast soldier in the foremost ranks".''The Times'' (29 April 1859), p. 6.

Notes

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References

*E. F. Biagini, ''Liberty, Retrenchment and Reform. Popular Liberalism in the Age of Gladstone, 1860–1880'' (Cambridge University Press, 1992). *R. B. McCallum, ''The Liberal Party from Earl Grey to Asquith'' (London: Victor Gollancz, 1963). British political phrases