Adullamites

Adullamiten is a parliamentary nickname for the renegade in the reform debates of 1866 English Liberals under Robert Lowe, whose waste John Bright called it a miss hilarious retraction into the political Cave of Adullam ( In the cave of Addulam (1 Sam. 22, i) David stayed longer time during the persecution of Saul ). The Adullamiten, which completely disappeared in 1868, as a group, led the failure of the Reform Bill and the fall of the Gladstone Ministry Russel.

Timing

Since 1832, the electoral law was changed in small steps. It was in several steps, the circle of eligible voters increased and equalized the constituency sizes. 1854 followed the law to the connexion of electoral corruption. 1866 should be another law be put in place, which should greatly expand the voting rights of the rural and urban population.

When Gladstone took the thrust of this law, there was a majority in Parliament for the Whigs. This had been elected a year earlier, to support Palmerston. There were in the majority aristocrats who were not willing to grant workers a right to vote.

Under the leadership of Robert Lowe, a group of Whigs to split off and joined the Conservatives under Benjamin Disraeli on. The group included, among others, Edward Horsman, Samuel Laing and the deputies of the Irish landowners. They agreed with them in the House against the law.

By some speeches Lowe expressed that he had voted against the law, because the working class is the bourgeoisie inferior intellectually, and morally. This resulted in several industrial centers to demonstrations of trade unions together with the bourgeoisie.

Follow

After the law had failed, the government stepped back to Russell / Gladstone. The subsequent government under Disraeli brought under the impact of the unrest in the cities of the law again. This was even more extensive than that which had brought under Lowe together with the conservatives to the case Adullamiten. The Act received in the cities every owner of a dwelling also an option. The rural population as well as the miners were still being excluded.

The Liberals could not prevail in the English party system at the time.