The Ultra-Tories were an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

faction of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

politics that appeared in the 1820s in opposition to

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

. The faction was later called the "

extreme right-wing Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

" of British and Irish politics.James J. Sack
"Ultra tories (''act''. 1827–1834)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 19 September 2011. The Ultra-Tories faction broke away from the governing party in 1829 after the passing of the

Catholic Relief Act 1829 The Catholic Relief Act 1829, also known as the Catholic Emancipation Act 1829, was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1829. It was the culmination of the process of Catholic emancipation throughout the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. Many of those labelled Ultra-Tory rejected the label and saw themselves as upholders of the Whig

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

settlement of 1689. The Ultra-Tories were defending "a doctrine essentially similar to that which ministerial Whigs had held since the days of Burnet, Wake,

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

and Potter".

History

A faction that was never formally organised, the Ultra-Tories were united in their antipathy towards

the Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

and

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

for what they saw as a betrayal of Tory political and religious principle on the issue of Catholic emancipation. They took their opposition to Peel to the extent of successfully running Robert Inglis to defeat Peel when he resigned his Oxford University seat after his change of opinion in 1829. Although Peel was able to get back to Parliament via another parliamentary seat, this battle between Tory factions further embittered internal relations in the party. The Ultra-Tory faction was informally led in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

by Member of Parliament Sir Edward Knatchbull and Sir Richard Vyvyan. In the House of Lords, they enjoyed the support of many ex-cabinet ministers and leading peers like the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...

, the

Earl of Winchilsea Earl of Winchilsea is a title in the Peerage of England held by the Finch-Hatton family. It has been united with the title of Earl of Nottingham under a single holder since 1729. The Finch family is believed to be descended from Henry FitzHerbe ...

and the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle ...

. Their general viewpoint could be described as extreme on the matter of defending the established Anglican ascendancy and barring Catholics from political office or influence. However, they were split on the issue of electoral reform and a large group came to a view that it could strengthen the appeal of pro-Protestantism. The inability of the Tories to reunite led to losses in the 1830 general election following the death of King

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

. Combined also with the news of the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first in 1789. It led to ...

in France and a series of bad harvests in England which saw a great increase in political agitation, some Ultras returned to the party. However, there were sufficient Ultra-Tories left who were able to combine with the Whigs and the

Canningite Canningites were a faction of British Tories in the first decade of the 19th century through the 1820s who were led by George Canning. The Canningites were distinct within the Tory party because they favoured Catholic emancipation and free trad ...

grouping, who had previously split from the main Tory party back in 1827–1828 over the issue of Catholic emancipation which they had supported, to defeat Wellington who finally resigned in November 1830. This led to the creation of a government with Lord Grey as Prime Minister and the leading Canningites such as Lord Palmerston and

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 pr ...

. One leading Ultra-Tory, the

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles ...

, joined the Grey Cabinet and a few others appointed in more junior ministerial positions. However, the scope of the subsequent reforms proved too much for many of the pro-government Ultras who then moved back into opposition. Eventually, Richmond left the Whig led coalition and returned to the Tory party, or 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 ...

as it was generally now known, after 1834. Except for a few irreconcilables the vast bulk of the Ultra-Tories would eventually move over to the Conservatives, with some such as Knatchbull enjoying political office in Peel's first government in 1834. However, when the party split again in 1846 over the issue of abolishing the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They wer ...

, the remaining Ultra-Tories quickly rallied to the protectionist banner and helped to vote Peel out from office once again, this time for good. The Ultra-Tories were civilian politicians. In practice, they had the overwhelming support of the Anglican clergy and bishops, many of whom came under severe verbal attack in their home parishes and dioceses for opposition to the Reform Act of 1832.

Legacy

J. C. D. Clark depicts England before 1828 as a nation in which the vast majority of the people believed in the

divine right of kings In European Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representin ...

, the legitimacy of a hereditary nobility and in the rights and privileges of the Anglican Church. In Clark's interpretation, the system remained virtually intact until it suddenly collapsed in 1828 because Catholic emancipation undermined Anglican supremacy which was its central symbolic prop. Clark argues that the consequences were enormous: "The shattering of a whole social order .. What was lost at that point ..was not merely a constitutional arrangement, but the intellectual ascendancy of a worldview, the

cultural hegemony In Marxist philosophy, cultural hegemony is the dominance of a culturally diverse society by the ruling class who manipulate the culture of that society—the beliefs and explanations, perceptions, values, and mores—so that the worldview o ...

of the old elite". Clark's interpretation has been widely debated in the scholarly literature and almost every single historian who has examined the issue has highlighted the substantial amount of continuity between the periods before and after 1828–1832. Eric J. Evans emphasizes that the political importance of Catholic emancipation in 1829 was that it split the anti-reformers beyond repair and diminished their ability to block future reform laws, especially the great

Reform Act of 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

. Paradoxically, Wellington's success in forcing through emancipation converted many Ultra-Tories to demand reform of Parliament. They saw that the votes of the rotten boroughs had given the government its majority. Therefore, it was the Ultra-Tory the Marquess of Blandford who in February 1830 introduced the first major reform bill, calling for the transfer of rotten borough seats to the counties and large towns, the disfranchisement of non-resident voters, preventing Crown office-holders from sitting in Parliament, the payment of a salary to MPs and the general franchise for men who owned property. Such ultras believed that somewhat more open elections would be relied upon to oppose Catholic equality.Eric J. Evans (1996), ''The Forging of the Modern State: Early Industrial Britain, 1783–1870'' (2nd ed.), 1990, p. 216.

History

Legacy

Notes

Further reading