BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

15
districts to reflect the distribution of the population throughout the
country.
The social consequences brought on by the reforms of the
1880's, like those which had preceded them, took time to be fully
realized.
But the implications were clear: democracy was stubbornly
making its way forward and if the aristocracy wished to survive it must
regroup and adapt its tactics to the challenge of changing times. This
it was able to do through the aegis of the Conservative party leader,
Marquis of Salisbury.
Existing studies of Salisbury, as Robert Blake noted in 1970,
have generally tended to de-emphasize the extent of his power and
influence while in office.' 7
Instead, they have focused on his stated
preference for the management of the Foreign Office over the duties of
the prime-ministership and have stressed his limitations and reticence
in directing and influencing members of the Cabinet, the Lords, or even
errant parliamentarians.
Similarly, Salisbury's failure to arouse the
emotional fervor of his audiences has often been interpreted as an
indication of his lack of rapport with the public.
While there is some
justification for these claims, on balance, they have tended to
minimize or neglect the triumphs of one of the most successful
political leaders of modern Britain.8
7
Robert Blake, The Conservative Party from Peel to Churchill
(London: Fontana, 1979), p. 130; reprint, published originally in 1970
by Eyre and Spottiswoode.
8 For the traditional interpretation see Lady Gwendolen Cecil,
Biographical Studies of the Life and Political Character of Robert
Third Marquis of Salisbury (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1948);
printed for private circulation. Idem, Life of Robert Marquis of
Salisbury, 4 vols. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1921-1932). Robert
Taylor, Lord Salisbury (London: Allen Lane, 1975). Peter Marsh, The