The Impact of British Politics on Irish Home Rule

This paper examined the influence of Britain\u27s political elite on the issue of Irish home rule from 1870 to 1886. In the early 1870s Irish political leaders, such as C.S. Pamell, began to set out a desire and argument for a form of local control known as home rule. However, while the British political leadership remained opposed to any form of home rule, the general public had not yet formed an opinion. It was not until British politicians\u27 manipulated public opinion to consider home rule as a threat to kingdom and empire that the public then began to express opposition to Pamell and his home rule campaign. Contrary to the traditional process of public opinion influencing the politicians and shaping public policy, this paper demonstrates how the politicians influenced and persuaded the public to oppose Irish home rule. Therefore British politicians used the product of their manipulation as justification to oppose home rule