Russell's Administration of 1846-52

Russell's Administration of 1846-52

The liberals believed that change was essential to preserve the

importance of the political system. This showed they were accepted

reform, a lot more than the conservatives. This however was slightly

limited to the beliefs of the Whigs. The liberals also believed in

free trade, as did the Whigs and therefore were in favor of disposing

of the Corn Laws. They had open attitudes to the allowing the middle

class into the framework, and hence worked on the franchise. The

middle class was the liberals target vote and so they were also in

favor of a cheap government, remaining keen on low taxes due to their

economic policies. They had a respect for the rights of the ordinary

Englishman. Also taking into account their laissez-faire approach,

less emphasis on the role of the government. The liberals saw the

political system superior to those of the European countries and the

democratic excess of USA. In addition they wanted a restriction on the

monarchs use of power and similarly they put less emphasis on the

importance of the Church of England, and felt that religion did not

matter; they had sympathy towards the nonconformist denominations,

valuing equality.

The Whigs passed the Great Reform Act in 1832; It extended franchise

and in the process removed a large amount of the rotten boroughs,

making the political system slightly less corrupt. This had quite a

big impact, which also leads to the repeal of the Corn Laws, both

Liberals and Whigs were for those acts. Another liberal impact was the

Factory Reform Act, which meant the men and women factory workers

could only work 10 hours a day, following Earl Grey's act in 1850

which meant if they disobeyed they act they would be punished. This

act was anticipated before the protest of the amount of work, which

indicated the liberals were looking out for the middle class. They

also introduced the Sugar Act in 1848, which removed the trading

privileges of British West Indies. Russell's ministry also repealed

the Navigation Laws in 1849, allowing overseas traders to use any