84-452: Albert Gladstone Trotter , better known as Uncle Albert (19 November c. 1910s – 2001), is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses , portrayed by Buster Merryfield . He was introduced during the fourth series as a replacement for the character of Grandad (the character's brother) due to the sudden death of Lennard Pearce in 1984. Albert was born sometine in
168-777: A gravy boat !" Albert had a female companion called Elsie Partridge, who was first mentioned by Rodney in The Unlucky Winner Is... , and appeared in the episode Sickness and Wealth . His nephews often teased him about this as well as his ability to sink ships and, with his bald head and big white beard, his resemblance to Captain Birdseye . Although Del and Rodney often teased Albert, they showed their care for him when they found out he had died in If They Could See Us Now , and they both regretted not taking him on holiday with them before he died (although Albert never held
252-542: A Select Committee was appointed by the Lords in 1857 to look into the question. Gladstone gave evidence to the committee, stating: "I approached the subject in the first instance as I think everyone in Parliament of necessity did, with the strongest possible prejudice against the proposal [to interfere]; but the facts stated were of so extraordinary and deplorable a character, that it was impossible to withhold attention from them. Then
336-687: A cheer. When Lord Palmerston went to Bradford the streets were still, and working men imposed silence upon themselves. When Mr Gladstone appeared on the Tyne he heard cheer no other English minister ever heard ... the people were grateful to him, and rough pitmen who never approached a public man before, pressed round his carriage by thousands ... and thousands of arms were stretched out at once, to shake hands with Mr Gladstone as one of themselves. When Gladstone first joined Palmerston's government in 1859, he had opposed further electoral reform, but he changed his position during Palmerston's last premiership, and by 1865 he
420-546: A controversial policy – because the duty traditionally inflated the cost of publishing and hindered the dissemination of radical working-class ideas. Although Palmerston supported the continuation of the duty, using it and income tax revenue to buy arms, a majority of his Cabinet supported Gladstone. The Bill to abolish duties on paper narrowly passed the Commons but was rejected by the House of Lords. No money bill had been rejected by
504-585: A few weeks into Lord Palmerston's first premiership, and resigned along with the rest of the Peelites after a motion was passed to appoint a committee of inquiry into the conduct of the war. The Conservative Leader Lord Derby became Prime Minister in 1858, but Gladstone – who like the other Peelites was still nominally a Conservative – declined a position in his government, opting not to sacrifice his free-trade principles. Between November 1858 and February 1859, Gladstone, on behalf of Lord Derby's government,
588-414: A fight over Albert's future wife Ada to whom they were both attracted. Despite this, he attended Ted's funeral. Uncle Albert, as he was known by his two great nephews, Del Boy and Rodney , joined the cast in 1985 during the episode Strained Relations when he attended the funeral of his older brother Ted. Shortly after the funeral, Albert was abandoned by his nephew Stan and his wife Jean, with whom he
672-520: A friend, "I really have great difficulty sometimes in exactly comprehending what he means". In December 1845, Gladstone returned to Peel's government as Colonial Secretary . The Dictionary of National Biography notes: "As such, he had to stand for re-election, but the strong protectionism of the Duke of Newcastle, his patron in Newark, meant that he could not stand there and no other seat was available. Throughout
756-517: A passing resemblance to their late uncle (implied to all be children of his from his sexual proclivity at the time), they joked it should have been called "Trottersville". In the 2003 special, Sleepless in Peckham , it was revealed that Albert had invested his share of the Trotter fortune in a safer area prior to his death. Coupled with his choice of a simple lifestyle, this meant Albert had around £290,000 at
840-527: A passport). Damien, as a joke, hides Cassandra's birth control pills in Albert's urn. Originally, the final episode of Only Fools and Horses was meant to be Who Wants to Be a Millionaire , with Del Boy leaving for Australia with new partner Jumbo Mills, Uncle Albert staying in Nelson Mandela House, and Rodney and Mickey Pearce taking over Trotters Independent Traders, but John Sullivan felt that this
924-493: A private notebook. He aided the House of Mercy at Clewer near Windsor (which exercised extreme in-house discipline) and spent much time arranging employment for ex-prostitutes. In a "Declaration" signed on 7 December 1896 and only to be opened after his death, Gladstone wrote, "I desire to record my solemn declaration and assurance, as in the sight of God and before His Judgement Seat, that at no period of my life have I been guilty of
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#17330924565731008-418: A tax imposed could be collected in a financial year so Gladstone therefore imposed the extra four pence at a rate of 8d. during the first half of the year so that he could obtain the additional revenue in one year. Gladstone's dividing line set up in 1853 had been abolished in 1858 but Gladstone revived it, with lower incomes to pay 6½d. instead of 9d. For the first half of the year, the lower incomes paid 8d. and
1092-521: A total of five constituencies . Gladstone was born in Liverpool to Scottish parents. He first entered the House of Commons in 1832, beginning his political career as a High Tory , a grouping that became the Conservative Party under Robert Peel in 1834. Gladstone served as a minister in both of Peel's governments, and in 1846 joined the breakaway Peelite faction, which eventually merged into
1176-439: Is made to undergo a week of embarrassment as he is takes part in a variety of children's activities, such as skateboarding , in which Rodney comes second in a contest, and attending a junior disco, where Rodney advanced to the final of the breakdancing contest. Rodney is also the crush of a thirteen-year-old Bros fan. Both Rodney and Cassandra are soon despondent, since they cannot spend any time together, and are ready to reveal
1260-638: The Ancient Mariner never actually held a passport and at the same time showing up at the wrong funeral to someone else called Albert. In the 2002 special, Strangers on the Shore , the two scatter Albert's ashes in the English Channel , before visiting the French village where Albert had been stationed for a time during the war only to find an entire town inhabited by bald men with white beards who all bore more than
1344-666: The House of Commons . At university, Gladstone was a Tory and denounced Whig proposals for parliamentary reform in a famous debate at the Oxford Union in May 1831. On the second day of the three-day debate on the Whig Reform Bill Gladstone moved the motion: That the Ministry has unwisely introduced, and most unscrupulously forwarded, a measure which threatens not only to change the form of our Government, but ultimately to break up
1428-877: The Maynooth Grant issue, which was a matter of conscience for him. To improve relations with the Catholic Church, Peel's government proposed increasing the annual grant paid to the Maynooth Seminary for training Catholic priests in Ireland. Gladstone, who had previously argued in a book that a Protestant country should not pay money to other churches, nevertheless supported the increase in the Maynooth grant and voted for it in Commons, but resigned rather than face charges that he had compromised his principles to remain in office. After accepting Gladstone's resignation, Peel confessed to
1512-608: The 1910s on Tobacco Road in southeast, London, close to the Docks , where he lived with his brothers Ted , George, and Jack. His year of birth is not known; in The Bible of Peckham, it is stated he was born in 1920 but this was not written by John Sullivan . He was most likely born around the time of the outbreak of the First World War . Albert joined the Royal Navy aged 17, and was later
1596-519: The Act through Parliament at the height of the railway bubble . Gladstone became concerned with the situation of "coal whippers". These were the men who worked on London docks, "whipping" in baskets from ships to barges or wharves all incoming coal from the sea. They were called up and relieved through public houses, so a man could not get this job unless he had the favourable opinion of the publican, who looked most favourably upon those who drank. The man's name
1680-495: The Bar . In September 1842 he lost the forefinger of his left hand in an accident while reloading a gun. Thereafter he wore a glove or finger sheath (stall). When Gladstone was 22 the Duke of Newcastle , a Conservative party activist, provided him with one of two seats at Newark where he controlled about a fourth of the very small electorate. The Duke spent thousands of pounds entertaining
1764-418: The Duke offered Gladstone the safe seat of Newark which he then controlled. Following the success of his double first, William travelled with his brother John on a Grand Tour of western Europe. Although Gladstone entered Lincoln's Inn in 1833, with intentions of becoming a barrister , by 1839 he had requested that his name should be removed from the list because he no longer intended to be called to
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#17330924565731848-491: The Exchequer, to become part of the new Liberal Party . Gladstone inherited a deficit of nearly £5,000,000, with income tax now set at 5d (fivepence). Like Peel, Gladstone dismissed the idea of borrowing to cover the deficit. Gladstone argued that "In time of peace nothing but dire necessity should induce us to borrow". Most of the money needed was acquired through raising the income tax to 9d. Usually, not more than two-thirds of
1932-636: The Isle of Wight, which enabled him to fall without injuring himself. He used this to his advantage in the post-war years, staging mock falls down the cellars of pubs in order to receive financial compensation. He staged falls down at least fifteen cellars, gaining the nickname of "The Ferret" in the process. After the war, Albert joined the Merchant Navy . In spite of his past with the Royal and Merchant Navies, Albert cannot swim. He lost contact with his brother Ted because of
2016-404: The Lords for over 200 years, and a furore arose over this vote. The next year, Gladstone included the abolition of paper duty in a consolidated Finance Bill (the first ever) to force the Lords to accept it and accept it they did. The proposal in the Commons of one bill only per session for the national finances was a precedent uniformly followed from that date until 1910, and it has been ever since
2100-543: The Tyne, all the country heard how twenty miles of banks were lined with people who came to greet him. Men stood in the blaze of chimneys; the roofs of factories were crowded; colliers came up from the mines; women held up their children on the banks that it might be said in after life that they had seen the Chancellor of the People go by. The river was covered like the land. Every man who could ply an oar pulled up to give Mr Gladstone
2184-624: The act which is known as that of infidelity to the marriage bed." In 1850–51 Gladstone visited Naples , Italy, for the benefit of his daughter Mary's eyesight. Giacomo Lacaita, a legal adviser to the British embassy, was at the time imprisoned by the Neapolitan government, as were other political dissidents. Gladstone became concerned about the political situation in Naples and the arrest and imprisonment of Neapolitan liberals. In February 1851 Gladstone visited
2268-770: The appointment of Lord Aberdeen as prime minister, head of a coalition of Whigs and Peelites, Gladstone became Chancellor of the Exchequer . The Whig Sir Charles Wood and the Tory Disraeli had both been perceived to have failed in the office and so this provided Gladstone with a great political opportunity. His first budget in 1853 almost completed the work begun by Peel eleven years before in simplifying Britain's tariff of duties and customs. 123 duties were abolished and 133 duties were reduced. The income tax had legally expired but Gladstone proposed to extend it for seven years to fund tariff reductions: We propose, then, to re-enact it for two years, from April 1853 to April 1855, at
2352-404: The beginning of 1859, there were 419 duties in existence. The 1860 budget reduced the number of duties to 48, with 15 duties constituting the majority of the revenue. To finance these reductions in indirect taxation, the income tax, instead of being abolished, was raised to 10d. for incomes above £150 and at 7d. for incomes above £100. In 1860 Gladstone intended to abolish the duty on paper –
2436-653: The burgh of Dingwall. In 1815, Gladstone also travelled to London and Cambridge for the first time with his parents. Whilst in London, he attended a service of thanksgiving with his family at St Paul's Cathedral following the Battle of Waterloo , where he saw the Prince Regent . William Gladstone was educated from 1816 to 1821 at a preparatory school at the vicarage of St. Thomas' Church at Seaforth , close to his family's residence, Seaforth House . In 1821, William followed in
2520-505: The clauses empowering the government to take control of railways in times of war, the concept of Parliamentary trains , limited in cost to a penny a mile, of universal service, and of control of the recently invented electric telegraph which ran alongside railway lines. Railways were the largest investment (as a percentage of GNP) in human history and this Bill the most heavily lobbied in Parliamentary history . Gladstone succeeded in guiding
2604-476: The corn law crisis of 1846, therefore, Gladstone was in the highly anomalous and possibly unique position of being a secretary of state without a seat in either house and thus unanswerable to parliament." When Peel's government fell in 1846, Gladstone and other Peel loyalists followed their leader in separating from the protectionist Conservatives; instead offering tentative support to the new Whig prime minister Lord John Russell , with whom Peel had cooperated over
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2688-522: The execution of it absolute perfection. Even those who do not admire the Budget, or who are injured by it, admit the merit of the performance. It has raised Gladstone to a great political elevation, and, what is of far greater consequence than the measure itself, has given the country assurance of a man equal to great political necessities, and fit to lead parties and direct governments. During wartime, he insisted on raising taxes and not borrowing funds to pay for
2772-636: The first time. Many reforms were passed during his first ministry, including the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland and the introduction of secret voting . After electoral defeat in 1874 , Gladstone resigned as leader of the Liberal Party. From 1876 he began a comeback based on opposition to the Ottoman Empire 's reaction to the Bulgarian April Uprising . His Midlothian Campaign of 1879–1880
2856-483: The footsteps of his elder brothers and attended Eton College before matriculating in 1828 at Christ Church, Oxford , where he read Classics and Mathematics , although he had no great interest in the latter subject. In December 1831, he achieved the double first-class degree he had long desired. Gladstone served as President of the Oxford Union , where he developed a reputation as an orator, which followed him into
2940-574: The grammar then, which when once learned need not be referred to afterwards". Because of his actions as Chancellor, Gladstone earned the reputation as the liberator of British trade and the working man's breakfast table, the man responsible for the emancipation of the popular press from "taxes upon knowledge" and for placing a duty on the succession of the estates of the rich. Gladstone's popularity rested on his taxation policies which meant to his supporters balance, social equity and political justice. The most significant expression of working-class opinion
3024-402: The great aim – the moral and political significance of the act, and its probable and desired fruit in binding the two countries together by interest and affection. Neither you nor I attach for the moment any superlative value to this Treaty for the sake of the extension of British trade. ... What I look to is the social good, the benefit to the relations of the two countries, and the effect on
3108-511: The higher incomes paid 13d. in income tax. On 12 September 1859 the Radical MP Richard Cobden visited Gladstone, who recorded it in his diary: "... further conv. with Mr. Cobden on Tariffs & relations with France. We are closely & warmly agreed". Cobden was sent as Britain's representative to the negotiations with France's Michel Chevalier for a free trade treaty between the two countries. Gladstone wrote to Cobden: ...
3192-486: The judgements of God upon England for our national iniquity towards China" in May 1840. A famous speech was made by Gladstone in Parliament against the First Opium War . Gladstone criticised it as "a war more unjust in its origin, a war more calculated in its progress to cover this country with permanent disgrace". His hostility to opium stemmed from the effects of opium upon his sister Helen . Before 1841, Gladstone
3276-560: The meal, and the oversized table, everything appears to be going well until Del realises that Albert has confused the jars containing coffee and gravy granules. By this time, however, it is too late; the guests have already poured coffee over their meals. Before eating, Del punishes Albert by pouring the "gravy" all over his meal. The meal is abandoned early, and Raquel goes to fetch the "coffee". In Del Boy's own words: "Not only have you managed to sink every battleship and aircraft carrier that you've ever sailed on, but now you've gone and knackered
3360-433: The money needed to rectify this deficit and instead increased income tax by half, from sevenpence to tenpence-halfpenny in the pound (from 2.92% to 4.38%). By May another £6,870,000 was needed for the war and Gladstone raised the income tax from tenpence halfpenny to fourteen pence in the pound to raise £3,250,000. Spirits, malt, and sugar were taxed to raise the rest of the money needed. He proclaimed: He served until 1855,
3444-464: The new Liberal Party in 1859. He was chancellor under Lord Aberdeen (1852–1855), Lord Palmerston (1859–1865) and Lord Russell (1865–1866). Gladstone's own political doctrine – which emphasised equality of opportunity and opposition to trade protectionism – came to be known as Gladstonian liberalism . His popularity amongst the working-class earned him the sobriquet "The People's William". In 1868, Gladstone became prime minister for
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3528-408: The number of people eligible to pay it by lowering the threshold from £150 to £100. The more people that paid income tax, Gladstone believed, the more the public would pressure the government into abolishing it. Gladstone argued that the £100 line was "the dividing line ... between the educated and the labouring part of the community" and that therefore the income taxpayers and the electorate were to be
3612-523: The oldest person to serve as prime minister and the only prime minister to have served four non-consecutive terms. He left Parliament in 1895 and died three years later. Gladstone was known affectionately by his supporters as "The People's William" or the "G.O.M." ("Grand Old Man", or, to political rivals "God's Only Mistake"). Historians often rank Gladstone as one of the greatest prime ministers in British history . Born on 29 December 1809 in Liverpool , at 62 Rodney Street , William Ewart Gladstone
3696-411: The only catch is the organisers think he is fourteen. Del Boy has become obsessed with entering competitions, and enters a painting produced by Rodney when he was fourteen into one, though without Rodney's consent. Rodney's work is selected as one of the winners, and his prize is a free holiday to Majorca , Spain , but when informing him of his success, Del declines to tell Rodney that he has won in
3780-473: The organisers, especially after it emerges that Del has altered the birth date on Rodney's passport. However it turns out that the organisers, in order to allow the parents of all the children present (also competition winners) a chance to enjoy the holiday as well, have set up a club filled with activities for the youngsters to enjoy. As a result, Rodney is forced into the Groovy Gang , a youth activity group, and
3864-541: The peace of Europe. Gladstone's budget of 1860 was introduced on 10 February along with the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty between Britain and France that would reduce tariffs between the two countries. This budget "marked the final adoption of the Free Trade principle, that taxation should be levied for Revenue purposes alone, and that every protective, differential, or discriminating duty ... should be dislodged". At
3948-651: The prisons where thousands of them were held and was extremely outraged. In April and July, he published two Letters to the Earl of Aberdeen against the Neapolitan government and responded to his critics in An Examination of the Official Reply of the Neapolitan Government in 1852. Gladstone's first letter described what he saw in Naples as "the negation of God erected into a system of government". In 1852, following
4032-617: The prize, since the winning tickets were in Rodney's name and under Spanish law, people under eighteen are not allowed to gamble . Knowing their act is over and desperately wanting to claim the prize, Rodney produces his student card to prove he is really over eighteen, so the Trotters can then legally claim the prize. However, that has also been changed by Del, meaning the Trotters' money cannot be claimed. Del defeatedly suggests "It's only money, bruv..." to cheer Rodney up. Rodney angrily chases Del out of
4116-407: The question being whether legislative interference was required I was at length induced to look at a remedy of an extraordinary character as the only one I thought applicable to the case ... it was a great innovation". Looking back in 1883, Gladstone wrote that "In principle, perhaps my Coalwhippers Act of 1843 was the most Socialistic measure of the last half century". He resigned in 1845 over
4200-443: The rate of 7d. in the £; from April 1855, to enact it for two more years at 6d. in the £; and then for three years more ... from April 1857, at 5d. Under this proposal, on 5 April 1860, the income tax will by law expire. Gladstone wanted to maintain a balance between direct and indirect taxation and to abolish income tax. He knew that its abolition depended on a considerable retrenchment in government expenditure. He therefore increased
4284-826: The repeal of the Corn Laws . After Peel's death in 1850, Gladstone emerged as the leader of the Peelites in the House of Commons. He was re-elected for the University of Oxford (i.e. representing the MA graduates of the university) at the General Election in 1847 – Peel had once held this seat but had lost it because of his espousal of Catholic Emancipation in 1829. Gladstone became a constant critic of Lord Palmerston . In 1847 Gladstone helped to establish Glenalmond College , then The Holy and Undivided Trinity College at Glenalmond. The school
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#17330924565734368-475: The rule. Gladstone steadily reduced Income tax over the course of his tenure as Chancellor. In 1861 the tax was reduced to ninepence (£0–0s–9d), in 1863 to sevenpence, in 1864 to fivepence and in 1865 to fourpence. Gladstone believed that government was extravagant and wasteful with taxpayers' money and so sought to let money "fructify in the pockets of the people" by keeping taxation levels down through "peace and retrenchment". In 1859 he wrote to his brother, who
4452-455: The same people, who would then vote to cut government expenditure. The budget speech (delivered on 18 April), nearly five hours long, raised Gladstone "at once to the front rank of financiers as of orators". Colin Matthew has written that Gladstone "made finance and figures exciting, and succeeded in constructing budget speeches epic in form and performance, often with lyrical interludes to vary
4536-457: The series' third episode, The Frog and the Pussycat . Merryfield died on 23 June 1999 from a brain tumour. During the 2001 Christmas special, If They Could See Us Now , Cassandra takes a phone call from Elsie Partridge's son who informs them that Albert has died. Del and Rodney, who had since become millionaires, regretted not having taken him with them, but were consoled by the revelation that
4620-433: The tension in the Commons as the careful exposition of figures and argument was brought to a climax". The contemporary diarist Charles Greville wrote of Gladstone's speech: ... by universal consent it was one of the grandest displays and most able financial statement that ever was heard in the House of Commons; a great scheme, boldly, skilfully, and honestly devised, disdaining popular clamour and pressure from without, and
4704-564: The third and final chapter of the 1996 Christmas trilogy), a frustrated Del cuts Albert off at "During th..." by threatening to pour a cup of tea over his head should he complete the sentence "During the war...". Albert restarts his anecdote with, "During the 1939-1945 conflict with Germany..." Albert was less of a help than a hindrance; in Time on Our Hands , Albert ruins a long anticipated dinner with Raquel's parents (whom she had not spoken to for many years). After hours of preparation and worrying about
4788-577: The time of his death, which he left to his two great nephews to invest. This was enough to save them from being evicted from Nelson Mandela House, and allow them to one day become millionaires once more. Although Albert talks about his Naval career, he wore his ribbons in every episode. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS ( / ˈ ɡ l æ d s t ən / GLAD-stən ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898)
4872-405: The time was his practice of replacing the trees felled by planting new saplings. Gladstone was a lifelong bibliophile . In his lifetime, he read around 20,000 books, and eventually owned a library of over 32,000. In 1859, Lord Palmerston formed a new mixed government with Radicals included, and Gladstone again joined the government (with most of the other remaining Peelites) as Chancellor of
4956-403: The truth, but Del, who is enjoying himself, pretends to each of them (separately) that the other is having fun. Whilst on the trip, Del purchases some Spanish lottery tickets for each of them – to placate Cassandra and Rodney's anger at being lied to – and Rodney's numbers win the one million peseta jackpot. The group are then informed by the holiday organisers that they will be unable to claim
5040-399: The under-15 category. When at the airport, Del finally tells Rodney and Cassandra the full details of the prize, namely that the organisers think Rodney is fourteen. He persuades the two to go along with it, meaning that Rodney has to pretend to be fourteen for the week, with Del posing as his father and Cassandra posing as his stepmother. The plot appears to work, despite bemused looks from
5124-403: The very foundations of social order, as well as materially to forward the views of those who are pursuing the project throughout the civilised world. Gladstone's 45-minute speech made a great impression on those present and his Amendment carried 94 votes to 38. Among those impressed was Lord Lincoln, who told his father the Duke of Newcastle about it, and it was through this recommendation that
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#17330924565735208-467: The voters. Gladstone displayed remarkably strong technique as a campaigner and stump speaker. He won his seat at the 1832 United Kingdom general election with 887 votes. After new bills to protect child workers were proposed following the publication of the Sadler report , he voted against the 1833 Factory Acts that would regulate the hours of work and welfare of minors employed in cotton mills. Gladstone
5292-546: The war. The goal was to turn wealthy Britons against expensive wars. Britain entered the Crimean War in February 1854, and Gladstone introduced his budget on 6 March. He had to increase expenditure on the military and a vote of credit of £1,250,000 was taken to send a force of 25,000 to the front. The deficit for the year would be £2,840,000 (estimated revenue £56,680,000; estimated expenditure £59,420,000). Gladstone refused to borrow
5376-464: Was 81 in 1891. Eventually, he became notorious for this activity, prompting Lord Randolph Churchill to observe: For the purposes of recreation he has selected the felling of trees; and we may usefully remark that his amusements, like his politics, are essentially destructive. Every afternoon the whole world is invited to assist at the crashing fall of some beech or elm or oak. The forest laments in order that Mr Gladstone may perspire." Less noticed at
5460-494: Was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for 12 years, spread over four non-consecutive terms (the most of any British prime minister) beginning in 1868 and ending in 1894. He also was Chancellor of the Exchequer four times, for over 12 years. Apart from 1845 to 1847, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1832 to 1895 and represented
5544-490: Was a member of the Financial Reform Association at Liverpool: "Economy is the first and great article (economy such as I understand it) in my financial creed. The controversy between direct and indirect taxation holds a minor, though important place". He wrote to his wife on 14 January 1860: "I am certain , from experience, of the immense advantage of strict account-keeping in early life. It is just like learning
5628-623: Was an early example of many modern political campaigning techniques. After the 1880 general election , Gladstone formed his second ministry (1880–1885), which saw the passage of the Third Reform Act as well as crises in Egypt (culminating in the Fall of Khartoum ) and Ireland, where his government passed repressive measures but also improved the legal rights of Irish tenant farmers. Back in office in early 1886, Gladstone proposed home rule for Ireland but
5712-554: Was an intense opponent of the opium trade . Referring to the opium trade between British India and Qing China , Gladstone described it as "infamous and atrocious". Gladstone emerged as a fierce critic of the Opium Wars , which Britain waged to re-legalise the British opium trade into China, which had been made illegal by the Chinese government. He publicly lambasted the wars as " Palmerston's Opium War" and said that he felt "in dread of
5796-524: Was at Northumberland in 1862 when Gladstone visited. George Holyoake recalled in 1865: When Mr Gladstone visited the North, you well remember when word passed from the newspaper to the workman that it circulated through mines and mills, factories and workshops, and they came out to greet the only British minister who ever gave the English people a right because it was just they should have it ... and when he went down
5880-424: Was being made to stand on a table and say "Ladies and gentlemen" to the assembled audience, probably at a gathering to promote the election of George Canning as MP for Liverpool in 1812. In 1814, young "Willy" visited Scotland for the first time, as he and his brother John travelled with their father to Edinburgh , Biggar and Dingwall to visit their relatives. Willy and his brother were both made freemen of
5964-471: Was called to action following the outbreak of the Second World War . He spent the rest of his life recounting tales from the war. He was awarded seven medals - although this was largely because he had an extraordinarily unfortunate time. He served on seven ships that were either torpedoed or divebombed over a period of four years, including two during Peacetime . Albert undertook basic parachute training on
6048-513: Was defeated in the House of Commons. The resulting split in the Liberal Party helped keep them out of office – with one short break – for 20 years. Gladstone formed his last government in 1892 , at the age of 82. The Government of Ireland Bill 1893 passed through the Commons but was defeated in the House of Lords in 1893, after which Irish Home Rule became a lesser part of his party's agenda. Gladstone left office in March 1894, aged 84, as both
6132-609: Was firmly in favour of enfranchising the working classes in towns. The policy caused friction with Palmerston, who strongly opposed enfranchisement. At the beginning of each session , Gladstone would passionately urge the Cabinet to adopt new policies, while Palmerston would fixedly stare at a paper before him. At a lull in Gladstone's speech, Palmerston would smile, rap the table with his knuckles, and interject pointedly, "Now, my Lords and gentlemen, let us go to business". Although he personally
6216-548: Was living in their mobile home. After initial reluctance, Del agreed to let his him stay. Albert was described by Del as "England's greatest sailor since Nelson lost the Armada." It is revealed by Albert in Tea for Three , that Grandad and Albert fell out over Albert's later wife, Ada, whom they both fancied at the time. The fight ended in them both hitting each other and after that, they never spoke again. Ultimately, Albert's marriage to Ada
6300-547: Was made Extraordinary Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands embarking via Vienna and Trieste on a twelve-week mission to the southern Adriatic entrusted with complex challenges that had arisen in connection with the future of the British protectorate of the United States of the Ionian Islands . In 1858, Gladstone took up the hobby of tree felling, mostly of oak trees, an exercise he continued with enthusiasm until he
6384-579: Was not a Nonconformist, and rather disliked them in person, he formed a coalition with the Nonconformists that gave the Liberals a powerful base of support. The Unlucky Winner Is... " The Unlucky Winner Is... " is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses . It was the fourth episode of series 6 and was first screened on 29 January 1989. In the episode, Rodney wins a holiday to Majorca , Spain,
6468-404: Was not an entirely happy one, and the two were estranged by the late 1960s, though never formally divorced. They had no children. Albert was famed for telling stories that often began with the words "During the war...", which often annoyed Del and Rodney but almost always caught their interest once he started telling them the story. In Albert's final appearance in the series ( Time On Our Hands ,
6552-523: Was not the end of the road for the Trotters. After the decision had been made, Albert was meant to be in until the final episode, Sleepless in Peckham , but, owing to Buster Merryfield's death, the script had to be changed, and Uncle Albert died before the events of If They Could See Us Now . Reportedly, John Sullivan had intended for a younger Uncle Albert to make an appearance in the prequel series Rock and Chips in flashbacks taking place before his fallout with Grandad, but Sullivan died after writing
6636-432: Was of purely Scottish ancestry. His grandfather Thomas Gladstones was a prominent merchant from Leith , and his maternal grandfather, Andrew Robertson, was Provost of Dingwall and a Sheriff-Substitute of Ross-shire . His biographer John Morley described him as "a highlander in the custody of a lowlander", and an adversary as "an ardent Italian in the custody of a Scotsman". One of his earliest childhood memories
6720-688: Was reluctant to join the Peel government because of the First Opium War, which Palmerston had brought on. Gladstone was re-elected in 1841. In the second ministry of Robert Peel, he served as President of the Board of Trade (1843–1845). Gladstone was responsible for the Railways Act 1844 , regarded by historians as the birth of the regulatory state , of network industry regulation, of rate of return regulation, and telegraph regulation. Examples of its foresight are
6804-675: Was set up as an episcopal foundation to spread the ideas of Anglicanism in Scotland, and to educate the sons of the gentry. As a young man Gladstone had treated his father's estate, Fasque , in Kincardineshire, southwest of Aberdeen, as home, but as a younger son he would not inherit it. Instead, from the time of his marriage, he lived at his wife's family's estate at Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales. He never actually owned Hawarden, which belonged first to his brother-in-law Sir Stephen Glynne , and
6888-553: Was the fourth son of the wealthy merchant, planter and Tory politician John Gladstone , and his second wife, Anne MacKenzie Robertson. He was named after a close friend of his father, William Ewart, another Liverpool merchant and the father of William Ewart , later a Liberal politician. In 1835, the family name was changed from Gladstones to Gladstone by royal licence. His father was made a baronet , of Fasque and Balfour, in 1846. Although born and raised in Liverpool, William Gladstone
6972-548: Was then inherited by Gladstone's eldest son in 1874. During the late 1840s, when he was out of office, he worked extensively to turn Hawarden into a viable business. In 1848 he founded the Church Penitentiary Association for the Reclamation of Fallen Women . In May 1849 he began his most active "rescue work" and met prostitutes late at night on the street, in his house or in their houses, writing their names in
7056-462: Was written down and the "score" followed. Publicans issued employment solely on the capacity of the man to pay, and men were often drunk when they left the pub to work. They spent their savings on drinks to secure the favourable opinion of publicans and further employment. Gladstone initiated the Coal Vendors Act of 1843, which set up a central office for employment. When that Act expired in 1856,
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