Midlothian campaign

Photograph taken at Dalmeny House of the campaign's organizers in 1879. Included in the photograph are William Ewart Gladstone and his wife Catherine and daughter Mary, as well as the Earl of Rosebery (seated at front, facing right) and his Countess and the Countess's cousin Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild.

The Midlothian campaign of 1878–80 was a series of foreign policy speeches given by William Gladstone, leader of Britain's Liberal Party. It is often cited as the first modern political campaign.[1][2] It also set the stage for Gladstone's comeback as a politician. It takes its name from the Midlothian constituency in Scotland where Gladstone (who was of Scottish ancestry) successfully stood in the 1880 election.

When Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli attempted to distract public opinion from the economic and financial problems of Britain by calling attention to the worsening British-Ottoman relations, Gladstone in four speeches charged the government with financial incompetence, neglect of domestic legislation, and mismanagement of foreign affairs.

The Midlothian campaign unified the Liberal Party under Gladstone's leadership and probably forced the government to think in terms of dissolution sooner. It created a momentum that carried the Liberals to power in the election.[3]

  1. ^ Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E.; Evans, Andrew D.; Wheeler, William Bruce; Ruff, Julius (2014). Discovering the Western Past, Volume II: Since 1500. Cengage Learning. p. 336. ISBN 978-1111837174.
  2. ^ Price, Richard (1999). British Society 1680-1880: Dynamism, Containment and Change. Cambridge University Press. p. 289. ISBN 9780521657013.
  3. ^ David Brooks, "Gladstone and Midlothian: The Background to the First Campaign," Scottish Historical Review (1985) 64#1 pp 42-67