Why did the fall of Khartoum damage William Gladstone's government in Britain?

The fall of Khartoum in 1885 caused significant political damage to Prime Minister William Gladstone’s government, ultimately leading to its collapse later that year.1

The backlash was primarily driven by the death of the British general Charles George Gordon, who had been sent to the Sudan to oversee the evacuation of Egyptian forces. Gordon became a national hero in Britain, and his death at the hands of al-Mahdī’s forces sparked a storm of public protest.12

Gladstone’s administration was widely blamed for the tragedy due to its persistent refusal to send reinforcements to Khartoum earlier in the siege. Although Gladstone eventually dispatched a relief force under Gen. Garnet Wolseley in July 1884, it arrived in January 1885—two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed. The public perceived the government's perceived inaction and the delayed arrival of aid as a failure of leadership, which severely undermined Gladstone's political standing.123