PRIME MINISTERS
- George Grenville to The Marquess of Rockingham By Alijan Kirk
I can only assume by now you all are used to the drill. I’ll go on about old Prime Ministers and hopefully you read them! This one is going to be a task since four of this month’s five did not actually serve in office for a particularly long duration, but we can only see what each one brings! GEORGE GRENVILLE Back to the House of Commons now, as George Grenville gets the top job, being the chosen successor of the Earl of Bute, although the King held a personal dislike of him. The Whig MP for Buckingham, Grenville rose to prominence as a close ally of William Pitt, being Treasurer of the Navy and then Northern Secretary. The two would eventually conflict in 1761 when Pitt resigned from the Government, while Grenville remained. With the Seven Years’ War now over, Grenville’s most immediate task was to rebuild Britain’s economy, since a great deal was spent to cover the costs of the war. Grenville’s solution for this was to pass the Stamp Act of 1765, which imposed an exclusive tax on the colonies in America and required documents and newspapers to be printed on stamped paper from London. It was met with general outrage and rioting throughout the colonies, the first symptoms of alienation between the American colonies and Great Britain. Another early act of the ministry was to prosecute the MP for Middlesex, John Wilkes (not to be confused with John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Abraham Lincoln a century later), 70
for publishing an article critical of a speech made by the King. Wilkes would flee to France and although re-elected by his constituency several times, he would be continually denied permission into parliament. In terms of foreign policy, Grenville’s government was useless. Britain failed to secure alliances with other major European powers, internationally isolating them, which would become a problem for future governments.
LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
Meanwhile, the King’s dislike of Grenville had resulted in him asking William Pitt to form a ministry on several occasions, being denied each time. He then turned his attention to The Marquess of Rockingham, who agreed to form a government. With that, the King fired Grenville in July 1765. He never again held public office, although he remained in Parliament until his death in November 1770, aged 58. www.lancmag.com
