Government of the United Kingdom
The Canningites, led by George Canning and then the Viscount Goderich as First Lord of the Treasury, governed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1827 until 1828.
On 9 April 1827 the Tory Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Lord Liverpool, suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. He had been prime minister nearly fifteen years, ever since the assassination of his predecessor Spencer Perceval in May 1812. The man chosen to succeed him was the Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons, George Canning. Canning was very much on the moderate wing of the Tory Party, and many of the more hard-line members of Liverpool's government, including the Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel, and national hero the Duke of Wellington (Master-General of the Ordnance), refused to serve under him. Canning's government was therefore recruited from the moderate wing of the Tory Party, known as the Canningites, with the support of several members of the Whig Party.
Fate
Canning, who was in poor health at the time of his appointment, died in office on 8 August 1827, and the Leader of the House of Lords F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, 1st Earl of Ripon succeeded him as prime minister. However, Goderich's government never even met in a session of Parliament, and was replaced by a High Tory government under the Duke of Wellington on 22 January 1828.
Cabinets
George Canning's Cabinet, April 1827 – August 1827
Changes
The Viscount Goderich's Cabinet, September 1827 – January 1828
Full list of ministers
This is a list of the members of the government. Members of the Cabinet are indicated by bold typeface.
- Notes
- ^ Created Earl of Dudley on 5 October 1827.
- ^ Appointed Home Secretary July 1827.
- ^ Appointed Lord President August 1827.
References
- Chris Cook and John Stevenson, British Historical Facts 1760–1830
- Joseph Haydn and Horace Ockerby, The Book of Dignities