Canningite Government 1827–28

George Canning by Richard Evans, c. 1825.

The Viscount Goderich

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.

Formation

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 the 8 August 1827, and the Leader of the House of Lords Lord Goderich 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

• George Canning - First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons
• Lord Lyndhurst - Lord Chancellor
• Lord Harrowby - Lord President of the Council
• The Duke of Portland - Lord Privy Seal
• William Sturges Bourne - Secretary of State for the Home Department
• Lord Dudley - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• Lord Goderich - Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and Leader of the House of Lords
• William Huskisson - President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy
• Charles Williams-Wynn - President of the Board of Control
• Lord Bexley - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Lord Palmerston - Secretary at War
• Lord Lansdowne - Minister without Portfolio

Changes

• May, 1827 - Lord Carlisle, the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests, enters the Cabinet
• July, 1827 - The Duke of Portland becomes a minister without portfolio. Lord Carlisle succeeds him as Lord Privy Seal. W. S. Bourne succeeds Carlisle as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests. Lord Lansdowne succeeds Bourne as Home Secretary. George Tierney, the Master of the Mint, enters the cabinet

The Viscount Goderich's Cabinet, September 1827 – January 1828

Viscount Goderich and his wife are buried in the memorial chapel at All Saints' Church, Nocton.

• Lord Goderich – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Lords
• Lord Lyndhurst – Lord Chancellor
• The Duke of Portland – Lord President of the Council
• The Earl of Carlisle – Lord Privy Seal
• The Marquess of Lansdowne – Secretary of State for the Home Department
• The Earl of Dudley – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• William Huskisson – Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and Leader of the House of Commons
• J. C. Herries – Chancellor of the Exchequer
• The Marquess of Anglesey – Master-General of the Ordnance
• Charles Grant – President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy
• Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn – President of the Board of Control
• William Sturges Bourne – First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
• Lord Bexley – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Viscount Palmerston – Secretary at War

Full List of Ministers

This is a list of the members of the government. Members of the Cabinet are indicated by bold typeface.

References

• Chris Cook and John Stevenson, British Historical Facts 1760-1830
• Joseph Haydn and Horace Ockerby, The Book of Dignities

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