Sir Robert Peel

“No minister ever stood, or could stand, against public opinion” – Sir Robert Peel.

Sir Robert Peel was Born in Bury, Lancashire, on

5 February 1788, and was by no means born into a poor family as his father was one

of the wealthiest businessmen in Britain at the time being a very successful textiles

manufacturer. Robert had the classic upbringing of British nobility and was

taught by private clergy tutors throughout his life including by Charles Lloyd,

who, later in life, with the help of Peel, became Bishop of Oxford. The family also

courted friendships with other influential individuals of the era. For example,

as a child, he was friends with the young Lord Byron.

Sir Robert Peel initially studied law but was

also a captain with the Manchester Regiment of Militia and went on to become a

lieutenant in the Staffordshire Yeomanry Cavalry.

By the age of 21, as well as having an

interest in the military, he also started to show an avid interest in politics

and in 1809 he became the MP for Cashel, in Tipperary, Ireland, although this

may not be as impressive as it first seems as he stood unopposed in a constituency

that only had 24 electors. He did, however, have significant support from his

wealthy father as well as the chief secretary for Ireland at the time,  a certain Sir Arthur Wellesley who went on to

become the Duke of Wellington and would prove to be an important political ally

of Sir Robert Peel over the next quarter-century.

The young politician had success early on when

in 1810 he became the Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and in

1812 he was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland. This was significant as Peel

fiercely opposed allowing Catholics to be admitted to Parliament since

Catholics refused to swear the oath of allegiance to the crown leaving Robert Peel

and many others to be suspicious of their motives and loyalty.  Peel’s bill ended up being defeated, but only

by a very narrow vote.

By 1818 Sir Robert Peel was no longer Chief

Secretary for Ireland but in 1819 he was chosen as the Chairman of a select

committee appointed by the House of Commons called the Bullion Committee. The

purpose of this committee was to help the British economy recover after all the

war debt that had been accumulated during the wars against Napoleon. Now that

the Napoleonic Wars were over, the English government sought a way to help

stabilise its currency and with Sir Robert Peel leading the charge a movement

was directed to put the British Pound back on the gold standard, meaning that

Britain’s economic unit of account would be based on a fixed quantity of gold,

as he thought this might help reduce or even remove inflation. By 1821, his

goal was realised, and England was back on the gold standard.

On 8 June 1820, Sir Robert Peel married Julia

Floyd and the couple went on to have seven children together. By this time he was

one of the young stars of the Tory party and was made Home Secretary twice, first

in 1822 and then again in 1828 under the Prime Ministership of the Duke of

Wellington and was widely considered to be number two in the party behind his

long-time political ally.

In 1829, he created the thing that he is

usually most remembered for when he established the Metropolitan Police Force

in London which was based in Scotland Yard and employed some 1000 constables

who initially became known as bobbies or peelers. This was so successful that

Sir Robert Peel became known as the father of modern policing.