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The History of The Whigs
main ambition of moderate parlimantary reform had been achieved (Lowe, 1989:67). What happened next was quite bizarre. Viscount Melbourne had taken over from Grey as Prime Minister, but King William IV, angry at the Reform Act and fearful of further reforms, took Grey's resignation as an excuse to dismiss the Whig Parliament and asked the Tories under Sir Robert Peel to form a government (Lowe, 1989:67). However, without a majority, Peel's position was untenable and he was forced to resign in April 1835 (Lowe, 1989:67). Following Peel's resignation, Viscount Melbourne would go on to hold office for the Whigs between 1835-1841 (Castleden, 1995:646). The Whigs failed to capitalise on their achievements, and with anger over the failure of the Chartists, persistence of the corn laws, and the rejuvinated Tories under Robert Peel, beat the Whigs in the 1841 election (Lowe, 1989:77). The repeal of the corn laws in 1846 crushed the Tories and the Whig Lord John Russell was to become Prime Minister from 1846-1852 (Castleden, 1995:646). The Whigs would go on to form the Liberal party with the Peelites, those conservatives who had supported the repeal of the corn laws and were therefore hated by the other Conservatives (Lowe, 1989:118). They would never hold office as the Whigs again