"Yet his was an ideology driven not by self-gratification, but by a determination to see the country prosper and its people brought as far as possible out of poverty.
"Today, this is done by providing them with a welfare state at the expense of a diminishing number of taxpayers.
"Gladstone chose to do it by putting people into work and allowing them to keep all or much of what they earned."
What a novel idea! I wonder why our politicians can't think of it? And to think, in those days, that was called "liberalism."
Classical liberalism - basically a belief in Free Trade, negotiation over imperialism, low taxation and minimal government interference in people’s lives. My how times have changed. I’ve been to his house, now a residential Library, a place called St Deniol’s. Its incredible. He was incredible. Read up on him. Truly amazing man.