Led by Richard Cobden and John Bright, it won a wide hearing for its argument that free trade would lead to a more equitable society, making essential products available to all.
The Manchester School took the theories of economic liberalism advocated by classical economists such as Adam Smith and made them the basis for government policy.
[1] Manchester was the hub of the world's textile manufacturing industry and had a large population of factory workers who were disadvantaged by the Corn Laws, the protectionist policy that imposed tariffs on imported wheat and therefore increased the price of food.
However, the operation of the Corn Laws meant that factory workers in the textile mills of northern England were faced with increasing food prices.
The "Little Englander" movement saw little benefit in paying taxes to defend colonies such as Canada, which contributed little trade to Manchester manufacturers and could not supply their main raw material of cotton.