Gladstone Essay What was Gladstone's liberalism and to what extent was it applied during his first ministry? This question focuses on Gladstone's liberalism and to what extent he applied it during his first ministry, 1868-74. Liberalism is a political philosophy that stresses individual liberty, equal opportunity and rights, Victorian liberalism was a mixture of ideology, morality and self-interest, and it advocated civil and religious liberty. Gladstone was the embodiment of Victorian liberalism, he tried to put forward his liberalism but he often found that he fought a lone battle in the cabinet. To assess the extent of how much Gladstone's liberalism was applied during