Lord Liverpool as Prime Minister 1812-1827

Administration:

He was not the first choice to form a government in 1812, but was regarded as a 'safe pair of hands'.

Political difficulties:

• Had to hold his cabinet toghether despite strong, varying views from his ministers.
• Government ministers in the House of Commons had trouble matching the skill level of Radicals and Whigs, however the opposition lacked unity leadership.
• Declining system of patronage, and the growing party system.

Unpopularity and incapabality of the monarch damaged Liverpool's own reputation because he was often left to resolve the issues created.

Decline in patronage - Liverpool abolished roughly 1800 sinecure titles in an attempt to save the government money. This was a catalyst for the increased development of party politics in Britain, and the decline of Royal influence in the government.

From 1821 Liverpool's administration stepped away from repressive to liberal, and were deemed the 'New Look Tories';

• There was a revival in the economy and social unrest had diminshed.
• Cabinet reshuffles meant that new political talent such as the young Robert Peel, Duke of Wellington, Huskingsson and Canning.

Interpretations of the Government after the Reshuffle

Liberal Toryism Doctrine - describes the cabinet change as a dramatic change, which was the purpose of the reshuffle according to Brock.

Boyd, a more recent historian gives the cause of the reshuffle to be continuity in Liverpools government, but does not exclude ideological divisions.

The Corn Laws - 1815:

The Corn Laws had been passed to prevent an influx of foreign corn in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars, in addition the landowning classes wanted to protect British corn from a rapid fall in price after the war.

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