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John Hogan
In 1846 the Conservative party split over Peel's decision to repeal the Corn Laws. While over a third of Conservative peers voted for repeal from a variety of motives, not least out of loyalty to the Duke of Wellington, a clear majority rallied to the protectionist standard raised by the Duke of Richmond. The Protectionists elected Lord Stanley (the future fourteenth Earl of Derby) as their leader. Stanley's policy was to reunite the Conservative party in the House of Lords in opposition to the Whig government and to use this as a forge on which to work the reunion of the whole party. In 1846 this seemed to be a sensible policy with a reasonable chance of success. A majority of Peelite peers favoured reconciliation with the Protectionists and Stanley maintained generally good relations with the most prominent Peelites in the Lords during this period. Yet despite these advantages Stanley's policy failed. Although the Peelite peers did not organise as a political party they retained a separate identity and few of them joined the Protectionist government formed in 1852. Stanley failed because the strength of feeling associated with protectionism and free trade was too deep to be overcome, even in the Lords.
