1876 - 1880

Stafford Northcote (1818-1887) was drawn into politics through working as Gladstone's private Secretary during the 1840s. But he moved in the opposite direction to Gladstone, opting for the protectionist side of the Conservative party. He was elected to Parliament as a 'Liberal Conservative' in 1855, a couple of years after compiling (with Sir Charles Trevelyan) an influential report recommending the formation of a civil service based on competitive examination. He fell soon under Disraeli's spell, and became his most trusted assistant. In 1872 he was appointed chancellor of the exchequer in Disraeli's second government, and when the prime minister moved to the Lords in 1876 as Earl of Beaconsfield, Northcote replaced him as Leader of the Commons. Following Beaconsfield's death in 1881, Northcote held the party Leadership jointly with Lord Salisbury, and led the opposition to Gladstone in the Commons, while constantly being undermined by a group of young Turks on the Tory benches. On the fall of the Gladstone government Northcote moved to the Lords as Earl of Iddesleigh, and served as first Lord of the Treasury in an administration led by Lord Salisbury.

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