Background
Sibthorp was born into a Lincoln gentry family, and was commissioned into the Scots Greys in 1803.
Sibthorp was born into a Lincoln gentry family, and was commissioned into the Scots Greys in 1803.
He was promoted Lieutenant in 1806 and later transferred to the 4th Dragoon Guards, in which he reached the rank of Captain. He stoutly opposed Catholic Emancipation, the Reform Acting of 1832, the repeal of the Corn Laws, and the 1851 Great Exhibition. He was convinced that any changes from the Britain of his youth (in the late 18th century) were signs of degeneracy, that Britain was about to go bankrupt, and that the new railways were a passing fad which would soon give way to a return to stagecoaches.
He was opposed to all foreign influences, and offended Queen Victoria with his public suspicions of Prince Albert, the prince consort.
The electors of Lincoln however, thought very highly of him. To them he was a man of honesty and independence and they returned him to Parliament on eight occasions.
During Sibthorp"s three decades in Parliament, he became renowned, along with Sir Robert Inglis, as one of its most reactionary members. His political views, his bluntness in expressing them, and his eccentricities made him the target of both witticisms and cartoons in Punch.
8th United Kingdom Parliament. 9th United Kingdom Parliament. 10th United Kingdom Parliament.
12th United Kingdom Parliament.
13th United Kingdom Parliament. 14th United Kingdom Parliament.
15th United Kingdom Parliament. 16th United Kingdom Parliament]
He sat as a for Lincoln from 1826 to 1855 (with one brief break).