Editing Midlothian campaign (section)

==The constituency of Midlothian==
By this point, Gladstone was already planning his return to full-time politics. At Hawarden Castle, he was analysing Liberal wins at several by-elections. Gladstone had never warmed to his current constituency in south-east London, feeling the constituency was too suburban, thereby lacking the industrial vigour of Lancashire and the glamour of his former Oxford University constituency. He was now in full search for a new constituency.<ref>Richard Aldous: ''The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs Disraeli'' Pimlico, London 2007, p.&nbsp;290&nbsp;f.</ref> After his announcement that he would not stand again in Grenwich, he also made clear that he was interested to receive offers from local Liberal organisations.<ref>Ian St John: ''Gladstone and the Logic of Victorian Politics.'' Anthem Press, London, 2010, p. 245.</ref> There were two offers before him; first up Leeds, a constituency with more than 50.000 voters and a Liberal stronghold.
[[File:Archibald-Philip-Primrose-5th-Earl-of-Rosebery.jpg|thumb|5th Earl of Rosebery]]

The other offer was the [[Midlothian (UK Parliament constituency, 1708–1918)|constituency of Edinburghshire, popularly known as Midlothian]], in Scotland. Created in 1708, the constituency of Midlothian was, compared to Leeds, just a tiny constituency with only 3620 voters. Nevertheless, Midlothian offered a sophisticated, metropolitan environment which were steeped in the tradition of the [[Scottish Enlightenment]]. Furthermore, it was a battleground for influence between two of the most powerful Scottish aristocratic families: The [[Duke of Buccleuch]] and the [[Earl of Rosebery]] were fighting for supremacy here since the 1860s.<ref>Richard Aldous: ''The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs Disraeli'' Pimlico, London 2007, p.&nbsp;291.</ref> In [[1868 United Kingdom general election|1868]] the long Conservative supremacy had come to an end when the Liberals sponsored by the Earl of Rosebery had won in Midlothian; in 1874 [[William Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch|Lord Dalkeith]] heir to the Duke of Buccleuch, had been able to win the seat back with a narrow majority for the Conservatives.<ref>Robert Blake: ''Disraeli'' Prion, London 1966, p.&nbsp;699.</ref> Nevertheless, Rosebery convinced Gladstone that Midlothian was an ideal place to start his campaign. In the past, Scotland had become a stronghold for Liberalism.<ref>Patrick Jackson: ''The Last of the Whigs: A Political Biography of Lord Hartington, Later Eight Duke of Devonshire.'' Associated University Presses, London 1994, p.&nbsp;98.</ref>

Rosebery who was one of the richest landowners and married to [[Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery|Hannah de Rothschild]], promised Gladstone that he would pay up for all arising costs. Gladstone subsequently opted for Midlothian while Leeds fell to his son, [[Herbert Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone|Herbert]].<ref>John Campbell: ''Pistols at Dawn: Two Hundred Years of Political Rivalry from Pitt and Fox to Blair and Brown.'' Vintage Books, London 2009, p.&nbsp;134.<br /Roy Jenkins: ''Gladstone: A Biography.'' Macmillan, London 1995, p.&nbsp;416.</ref>
Rosebery became Gladstone's campaign manager.