Did Peel\'s statesmanship prevent him from being a good politician? Sir Robert Peel was not the archetypal Tory landowner, but rather the first middle-class man to make any impact in politics, and so heralded in a new meritocracy, with the wholly elected House of Commons more influential than the Lords or the King, and organised into tight political parties with defined policies and objectives. This did not happen overnight, of course, nor was Peel …showed first 75 words of 2546 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2546 total…from his support: \"Peel has committed great and grievous mistakes in omitting to call his friends frequently round together to state his desires and rouse their zeal\" (Lord Ashley). Peel\'s Lancashire accent and his nouveau riche family background, his cold, rational and cautious mind, his lack of panache, and his drab speeches, never helped his cause, either. \"His smile was like the silver plate on a coffin\", remarked O\'Connell after his death in 1850.