Towards New Reforms
"The Age of Palmerstone"
Lord Palmerston 
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The leading political figure in Britain between 1846 and 1865 was undoubtedly Lord Palmerston. He has been described as "the most characteristically mid-Victorian statesman of all"45 . He was liberal in his foreign policy but slightly more conservative in his domestic policy. It was during this period that the machinery of modern government was set up, with the establishment of a civil service to carry out the work of government. Local government was also reorganized to make sure of good government and proper services for the people. Characteristic of the development in Britain in this period is the tendency of political reform to be accompanied by social improvement.
Development of the Two-Party System
Politicians like Palmerston and Peel had been individualists who went against their own parties’ ideas and beliefs. After the death of Palmerston in 1865 a much stricter two-party system evolved, demanding greater loyalty from its membership. The two parties, Tory and Liberal, developed greater party organisation and order and there was a change in the kind of men who became political leaders. This was clearly a result of the Reform Act of 1832, after which the vote had been extended to more people. These new voters usually opted for a different kind of MP, from the commercial rather than the landowning class.
Development of Trade Unions
Just as central and local government was developed in the years after 1850, this period also saw a strengthening of the trade unions, based on particular kinds of skilled labour. Unlike many of their European counterparts, the British trade union movement sought to achieve their goals through parliamentary democracy and direct negotiations with employers.46 We can, in other words, say that the period after 1848 in England saw the gradual development of trends that had been established in the 1830s, and that this was achieved by peaceful means.
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