Looking to what has occurred since the Reform Act of 1832 was passed - to the increase of population, the progress of industry, the spread of knowledge, and our ingenuity in the arts - we are of the opinion that numbers, thoughts and feelings have since that time been created which it is desirable should be admitted within the circle of the Constitution.
― Disraeli arguing for the Second Reform Act, March 1867.
Benjamin Disraeli II, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 - 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative party leader who twice served non-consecutively as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, first briefly in 1868 after the resignation of Lord Derby and then from 20 February 1874 - 21 April 1880 (preceded and succeeded by William Ewart Gladstone). He was the first and only Prime Minister of Britain to have Jewish heritage, having been born to Jewish parents, although he himself was a Christian. He originated the philosophy of one-nation conservatism, the idea that the rich have a responsibility to help the less fortunate and that the government should work in favour of all classes, not just business interests.
Disraeli was an important member of Lord Derby's second short-lived (1858 - 1859) government, during which he successfully changed Parliamentary rules to allow Jews into Parliament, passed the Thames Purification Bill funding Joseph Bazalgette's construction of the London sewage system and ended the East India Company's autocratic rule over British India. He was also a key member of Derby's third government. During the third government Disraeli was one of the main proponents of the Reform Act 1867, which increased the number of people allowed to vote by 88%, placed heavy restrictions on the corrupt rotten boroughs and increased political representation for Britain's more under-represented areas. The Act was successfully passed despite strong opposition from Disraeli's fellow Conservatives.
Disraeli first became Prime Minister in February 1868 when Lord Derby resigned. During his brief term he was able to pass the Corrupt Practices Act which moved the responsibility for electoral challenges to the High Court, successfully undermining attempts at electoral bribery. He also nationalized the postal service and ordered Robert Napier's successful military campaign to depose the insane and homicidal Emperor Tewodros II of Abyssinia. Disraeli lost power in December of the same year when Gladstone gained a 110 majority in the general election.
Disraeli became Prime Minister once again in the 1874 general election due to the failures of Gladstone's liberal government. The Disraeli government was responsible for several reforms, including the modernisation of national sanitary codes, the prohibition of the sale of unsanitary food and the prohibition of child labour. Disraeli also made loans available to towns and cities for the construction of affordable working-class housing, legalized peaceful picketing, introduced safety standards for factory work and gave workers the ability to sue their bosses if they broke their contract.
One of Disraeli's greatest foreign policy achievements was the acquisition of the Suez Canal, at the time the world's foremost trade route, for British overseas interests. Disraeli recognized the economic and strategic benefits of the canal and began negotiations to buy 44% of the shares in the company that controlled the canal. Disraeli took a loan of 100,000,000 francs from his ally Lionel de Rothschild and used it to buy the shares, allowing Britain complete control of trade in the Suez Canal. Control of the canal also gave Britain a strategic advantage over their enemies the Russian and French Empires.
Another foreign policy success was the Congress of Berlin, a diplomatic conference re-organizing the Balkan Peninsula in order to ensure peace in the Balkans following Russia's victory in the Russo-Turkish War. Prior to the Congress, Disraeli held secret negotiations with the Russians and Ottomans and was able to persuade the Ottomans to cede Cyprus to Britain, giving the British an outpost in the Mediterranean to hold out against Russian dominance in the area, a major diplomatic victory. He was also able to bluff the Russians into allowing Britain's Ottoman allies to keep key strategic territory by pretending to be preparing for invasion.
Disraeli was defeated by Gladstone in the 1880 election due to an economic slump caused by poor harvest. He soon fell ill with asthma and gout and died the following year.