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Description: | Full-length marble statue of Bright who is shown in attitude of public speaker. He is in modern clothing, waistcoat and topcoat. His right hand is by his side whilst in the left hand held up to his chest he holds a scroll. It surmounts a granite pedestal. Additional Information: John Bright (1811-1889), the son of Jacob Bright, a successful cotton manufacturer, was born in Rochdale on 16th November, 1811. He received a Quaker education at schools in Lancashire and Yorkshire. This education helped to develop in Bright a passionate commitment to political and religious equality. Bright worked in the family business in Rochdale and also became involved in local politics including the campaign against the economic privileges of the Anglican Church. In 1839, he joined the Anti-Corn Law League, quickly establishing himself as one of its most forceful and popular public speakers. In his speeches Bright attacked the privileged position of the landed aristocracy and argued that their selfishness was the cause of much working-class suffering. In 1843 he was elected as MP for Durham. Following the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 Bright along with Cobden were political heroes. He used his high standing to campaign for progressive causes. With Cobden he opposed Britain's aggressive foreign policy, a stance that led to their campaign against the Crimean War. The two men were much abused by the press and some MPs even accused them of treason. In the 1857 General Election, both Bright and Cobden lost their parliamentary seats. Five months later, Bright won a by-election in Birmingham. He, however, refused to change his view on Britain's foreign policy. He blamed the Indian Mutiny on British misrule. As a Quaker he was totally opposed to slavery and was a passionate supporter of the union in the American Civil War. A believer in universal suffrage and the secret ballot Bright was an important figure in the Liberal campaign for parliamentary reform. When Gladstone became prime minister in 1868 he appointed Bright President of the Board of Trade. Ill-health forced him to retire from the Cabinet in 1870. Public attitudes to Bright changed, nowhere more so than in Manchester. In 1878 the town which 21 years before had burnt him in effigy, unveiled a life-size statue of him in the new town hall. Bright went on to hold other government offices though he was never slow to criticise what he considered to be the mistaken policies of his own party. He was a vocal opponent of Gladstone's policy of Home Rule for Ireland. When the British fleet attacked Egypt in 1882, he resigned from the Cabinet. Bright was widely acknowledged as one of the great public speakers of the nineteenth century. Tom Mann recalled 'The plainness of his language, the unaffected simplicity of his illustrations, his power to drive home the points of his speech, in conjunction with the mellifluous vocalization of which he was master, made one feel that it was a great privilege to listen to such oratory, and to observe the orator.' He remained MP for Birmingham until his death on 27th March, 1889. | Subjects: | Statue | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Sculptor: Bruce-Joy, Albert | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=7560... | Go to resource |
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