Spencer Horatio Walpole

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The Rt Hon. Spencer Horatio Walpole

Spencer Horatio Walpole, PC, QC, LLD (11 September 1806–22 May 1898) was a British Conservative politician who served three times as Home Secretary in the administrations of Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby.

Walpole was the second son of Thomas Walpole and Lady Margaret Perceval, youngest daughter of John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont and sister of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. His great-grandfather was the diplomat Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton, younger brother of Prime Minister Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford.

Walpole was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He chose law as his profession, and was called to the Bar, Lincoln's Inn, in 1831. He built up a successful practice and was made a Queen's Counsel in 1846. Walpole then turned to politics, and in 1846 he was elected to Parliament for Midhurst as a Tory, a seat he would hold until 1856. He quickly gained a reputation in the House of Commons, and when the Tories came to power in early 1852 under the Earl of Derby, Walpole was appointed Home Secretary in the so-called "Who? Who? Ministry". He was admitted to the Privy Council at the same time. However, the government fell already in December 1852.

In 1856 Walpole was elected to Parliament for Cambridge University. Two years later the Tories (or the Conservatives as they became known during the 1850s) returned to office under the Earl of Derby. Walpole was again appointed Home Secretary, but resigned in January 1859 after disagreements over electoral reforms. The government was dismissed in July the same year. The Conservatives remained out of office for seven years, but in 1866 they again came to power under Derby, who made Walpole Home Secretary for the third time. However, he was severely criticized for his handling of the movement for parliamentary reform, and resigned in May 1867. He nonetheless continued to serve in the cabinet as Minister without Portfolio until February 1868, when Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister. Walpole never held office again, but remained a Member of Parliament for Cambridge University until 1882.

Walpole married his first cousin, Isabella Perceval, daughter of Spencer Perceval, in 1835. They had four children, two sons and two daughters. Their second son Sir Spencer Walpole, was a well-known historian. Walpole died in May 1898, aged 91.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Horace Seymour	Member of Parliament for Midhurst 1846–1856	Succeeded by Samuel Warren
Preceded by Henry Goulburn	Member of Parliament for Cambridge University 1856–1882	Succeeded by Henry Raikes
Political offices
Preceded by Sir George Grey, Bt	Home Secretary 1852	Succeeded by The Viscount Palmerston
Preceded by Sir George Grey, Bt	Home Secretary 1858–1859	Succeeded by Thomas Sotheron-Estcourt
Preceded by Sir George Grey, Bt	Home Secretary 1866–1867	Succeeded by Gathorne Hardy