ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some of the principal Victorian political debates and events. The majority of the Victorian population, while they did not participate in the formal political institutions of law-making, governing, or even voting, often cared a great deal about the ends to which power was used by those who possessed it. The most famous Victorian analysis of the roles and responsibilities of the various parts of government were Walter Bagehot's 1867 book The English Constitution. During the Victorian era, reforms replaced Old Corruption with a much smaller, less expensive government that was self-consciously committed to public service and the public good. During the Victorian period, the main political parties increasingly came to be known as the Liberal and Conservative parties. Indeed many Victorians were suspicious of the whole idea of organized political parties, believing that they were a bar to political independence and led to opposition and conflict for their own sakes.
