Page "William Ewart Gladstone" Paragraph 88

Gladstone was becoming increasingly uneasy about the direction in which British politics was moving.

In a letter to Lord Acton on 11 February 1885, Gladstone criticised Tory Democracy as " demagogism " that " put down pacific, law-respecting, economic elements that ennobled the old Conservatism " but " still, in secret, as obstinately attached as ever to the evil principle of class interests ".

He found contemporary Liberalism better, " but far from being good ".

Gladstone claimed that this Liberalism's " pet idea is what they call construction, — that is to say, taking into the hands of the state the business of the individual man ".

Both Tory Democracy and this new Liberalism, Gladstone wrote, had done " much to estrange me, and had for many, many years ".