Long before he became the UK’s 48th Prime Minister, Lord Rosebery (d.1929) was the subject of much mirth and debate. This Punch cartoon of 1889 satirises his re-election as Chair of the then London County Council. It shows ‘Mr Punch’ himself doffing his hat to ‘Mrs London Council’ as ‘she’ is dragged on at great personal effort of the one doing the pulling, the now familiar Chair. ‘CONGRATULATE YOU, MA’AM ON RETAINING SUCH A CAPITAL CHAIRMAN. HE’LL GET YOU ALONG IF ANYONE CAN!’ It is hard to know whether the cartoon meant to praise or castigate, and many saw him as a brilliant politician, others as a total failure in office. He had also been Foreign Secretary for his beloved Whig party. Either way, he succeeded William Gladstone as PM in 1894, only to lose the General Election the following year. He quit as party leader and, in fact, all political life the following year.
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