William Gladstone: Difference between revisions

William Ewart Gladstone was a British Liberal Party statesman and four times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1868-741868–74, 1880-851880–85, 1886 and 1892-94). He was known as G.O.M. which to most people used to stand for Grand Old Man but his long term [[Arch Enemy|rival]] [[Benjamin Disraeli]] always said stood for God's Only Mistake. He was a champion of Home Rule for Ireland. When Disraeli died Gladstone proposed a state funeral (to make political capital on his rival's death) but Disraeli's will stipulated other arrangements. To this Gladstone replied, ''"As Disraeli lived, so he died -- all display, without reality or genuineness."''

Prior to becoming PM, he had initially been a Conservative, before joining the [[Sir Robert Peel|Peelite]] faction that merged with the Whigs and Radicals to become the Liberal Party. He had served as a junior minister under Peel, and as Chancellor of the Exchequer under [[The Earl of Aberdeen]] (during whose premiership Gladstone delivered the longest-ever Budget speech, clocking in at four hours, 45 minutes),<ref>The sole exception to the rule that eating and drinking are forbidden in the Commons chamber is that the Chancellor is entitled to drink whatever he/she likes during the Budget speech; usually, it's alcoholic, as the Chancellor typically [[Needs a Freaking Drink]] after it. Gladstone managed to pull this one off with just a single glass of sherry and beaten egg, so...kudos.</ref>, [[The Viscount Palmerston]] (with whom he was constantly at loggerheads), and [[Earl Russell]]. Noted for his skill as a financial administrator, he would be his own Chancellor several times after becoming PM.

* Appears in the backstory of ''The Bartimaeus Trilogy'', where he was a both Prime Minister of the UK and the most powerful wizard in the world. He was able to create a magical staff--whichstaff—which later turns into a major [[McGuffin]]--that—that allowed him to conquer all of western Europe from Calais to Prague. The main story is set 100 years later, when the British Empire is going into terminal decline, and Gladstone is considered to be a national hero shrouded in myth. The novel also alludes to his rivalry to Disraeli (which in this case ended in a city-block-destroying magical duel)