1846 vote of no confidence against the government of Sir Robert Peel

Sir Robert Peel, Bt, the Prime Minister in Office

The 1846 vote of no confidence against the government of Sir Robert Peel occurred in June 1846.

Sir Robert Peel, Bt became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1841. In order to relieve the suffering caused by the Great Famine in Ireland, he decided in 1845 to repeal the Corn Laws which were passed in 1815 to protect British agricultural production by restrictions on grain imports. This policy caused a split in the Conservative Party between the free-traders led by Peel and the protectionists led by Lord Stanley, Lord George Bentinck and Benjamin Disraeli. On 15 May 1846, Peel's Bill of Repeal (officially titled Corn Importation Bill) was passed in the House of Commons with the support of the Whigs and the Radicals.^[1]

The Irish Coercion Bill (officially titled Protection of Life (Ireland) Bill) was introduced by the government in March 1846 to deal with the turbulences on the island, and was regarded by Peel's opponents as an opportunity to oust him. On 25 June, the same day when the Bill of Repeal was passed in the House of Lords,^[2] the Coercion Bill was defeated in the House of Commons on its second reading by a combination of Conservative protectionists, Whigs and Radicals. The vote was 219 to 292.^[3] Peel's government resigned on 27 June, and Lord John Russell formed a Whig government. Lord Stanley became the Leader of the Conservative Party. The Conservative free-traders, including The Earl of Aberdeen and William Ewart Gladstone, followed Peel to form a distinct faction called 'the Peelites'. They merged with the Whigs and Radicals in 1859 to form the Liberal Party.

Yes votes	219
No votes	292

References

1. "Corn Importation Bill - Adjourned Debate - (Third Night)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. May 15, 1846.
2. "Corn Importation Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. June 25, 1846.
3. "Protection of Life (Ireland) Bill - Adjourned Debate - (Sixth Night)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. June 25, 1846.