Protectionist Party

The direct origin of the party dates back to 1834, when R. Peel reorganized the Tories into the Conservative Party, based on the conservative political philosophy of E. Burke and the concept of the "parti conservateur" imported from France, to counter not only the radicalization of the reform movement, such as the demand for electoral reform, but also the die-hard Tories who were pushing for the status quo in excess of what was happening in the reform movement (although even after that, the term "Tory" has often been used synonymously with the Conservative Party). With the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, conflict between Peel and other core members of the party and ordinary members and rural supporters intensified, and the non-Peel faction of the party temporarily called itself the "Protectionist Party," but its divisions became apparent after the general election the following year (there is a strong view that the origins of the modern Conservative Party lie in the non-Peel faction). Although the party later changed its name back and ratified the repeal of the Corn Laws, for about 20 years the party was often seen as a "stupid party" of rural landowners, and, with two short and weak exceptions (1852, 1858-1859), it continued to languish as a perpetual opposition party, as the Liberal Party under Palmerston had long enjoyed a strong position as the governing party.

*Some of the terminology that refers to the "Protectionist Party" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…　発生の直接起源は，選挙法改正要求に代表されるような改革運動の急進化のみならず，これに反発して過剰な現状維持に走る頑迷派トーリーにも対抗するため，E.バークの保守的政治哲学やフランスから輸入された〈保守の党parti conservateur〉の概念をよりどころに，R.ピールが中心となりトーリー党が保守党に再編された1834年にさかのぼる(もっともそれ以降もトーリーという呼称は保守党と同義で頻繁に用いられる)。46年の穀物法撤廃を契機に，ピールら党中枢議員と一般議員･農村支持層との対立が激化し，非ピール派の党本体は一時〈保護主義党Protectionist Party〉を名のって翌年の総選挙以降分裂が表面化する(非ピール派に近代保守党の起源を求める有力な見解もある)。その後党名を元に戻し，穀物法撤廃を追認したにもかかわらず，約20年間，同党は農村地主的で〈まのぬけた党stupid party〉とみなされがちで，パーマストン下の自由党が強力な統治政党としての地位を長く享受したこともあって，短期かつ非力な2度の例外(1852,58‐59)を除き，万年野党的低迷を続けた。…

※「Protectionist Party」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報