Sir Robert Peel - paragon or pariah? Peel was the greatest political leader in mid-Victorian Britain and a titan of Conservative politics. He held the greatest offices of state over a political career spanning forty years and was twice Prime Minister. He was a tireless reformer who put ""nation"" before ""party"" with a range of modernizing measures including giving political rights to Catholics, reform of banking, the railways, the criminal law and prisons, as well as founding the Metropolitan Police. He introduced ""free-trade"" budgets and repealed the Corn Laws to give cheap food to...