Robert Lowe
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke,
GCB,
PC (4 December 1811 – 27 July 1892), British
statesman, was a pivotal conservative spokesman who helped shape British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under
William Ewart Gladstone as
Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1868 and 1873 and as
Home Secretary between 1873 and 1874. Lowe is remembered for his work in education policy, his opposition to electoral reform and his contribution to modern
UK company law. Gladstone appointed Lowe as Chancellor expecting him to hold down public spending. Public spending rose, and Gladstone pronounced Lowe "wretchedly deficient"; most historians agree. Lowe repeatedly underestimated the revenue, enabling him to resist demands for tax cuts and to reduce the national debt instead. He insisted that the tax system be fair to all classes. By his own main criterion of fairness — that the balance between direct and indirect taxation remain unchanged — he succeeded. Even in his time, however, this concept of
fiscal incidence was obsolescent.
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