old him that Liberalism was the morally right form of government, where the freedom of the individual, the equality of opportunity for all and the toleration of and sympathy for others (Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite), were conducive to the greatest happiness in society. He would therefore seek to deregulate the economy and retrench government, to institute religious tolerance and equality in the country, to replace the class system with a fair meritocracy, and to seek peace, warm relations and increased trade abroad. Gladstone was dismissed by his rival Disraeli as a scheming politician and opportunist desperate to hold onto power and for whom it happened to be convenient to uphold liberal ideals. For a start, he had originally defected to the Liberals in a large part because he could not see himself co-operating with Disraeli. Secondly, the Liberal Party was a nebulous coalition in which the whole political spectrum was represented: nominally "Liberal" MPs, ranging from old land-owning "Adullamite" Whigs through to idealistic Radicals and vociferous Dissenters - in short, everyone who disliked the Tories for some reason or another - were in Gladstone's ranks, and so Glads
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