Gladstone and Derby

I've been reading a book about Gladstone and Disraeli recently (both former British Prime Ministers in the Nineteenth Century) and its been eye opening in a variety of ways.

One of those eye openers has been the realisation that for a period of the Nineteenth Century the North West of England was something of a powerhouse of British and, as a result of the British Empire, global politics.

Largely that was the result of two men. One the one hand there was the Earl of Derby, a member of the Stanley family who resided at Knowsley Hall (now best known for its safari park), member of Cabinet for many years, and later held the title British Prime Minster on a number of occasions.

On the other side was William Gladstone, a leading member of both Conservative and Liberal governments who in his later years became MP for South Lancashire, a constituency that held at its centre, Liverpool, Manchester and most of the towns inbetween.

To suggest that they alone held power in the UK would be false - certainly the monarch and establishment was much stronger than it is now, not too mention a House of Commons and Lords that seemed far more capable of reeling in the singluar personalities of the Cabinet - but they did carry a great deal of poltical clout and it was very much rooted in the North West.

Examining that state of affairs from the North West of England in the Twenty First Century is a sobering reminder that all power is fleeting and to think that the current status quo will remain is at best short sighted.