A brief general history of the UK paint industry. Part 3: Making it big

Soon two names would come into prominence, two names which produced a corner‐stone for this country from which we still draw compound interest — Gladstone and Disraeli. These two great men were to rule the land and British Empire, in alternation, from 1868 to 1885. Both premiers, in their own way, laid out the ground for a consumer society based on, believe it or not, budget deficits. With frequent annexations, rapid invention and innovation, the increasing benefits of education and without the negative and burgeoning cost of welfare payments, Victorian Britain — give or take the odd hiccup — literally steamed toward world dominance. The inane, idle and lazy went to that wonderful institution, the workhouse and, a mixture of muscular Christianity and true compassion ensured deserving cases — who really were in a state of physical or mental turmoil — were succoured. They were indeed, the good old days.