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The Decline of the Grenvillite Faction Under the First Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, 1817-1829

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2014

James J. Sack
James J. Sack*
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Chicago Circle
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Extract

The Grenvillites were one of the more durable and long lasting of the political groups or factions which functioned within the Westminster scene during the first three decades of the nineteenth century. Yet several years before the Reform Bill of 1832 substantially reduced their borough strength in the House of Commons, the Grenvillites as a group had ceased playing even a peripherally important role in the political nation. The decline of this faction illustrates one of the problems implicit in a system which places emphasis upon a great peer or wealthy Commoner acting as paterfamilias of a political clique. It is all very well when there exists an individual of some talent or even a moderate degree of gravitas to lead the group, but what will follow when an internal shift within the faction throws up a total incompetent, who neither properly prunes nor tends his preserve, to run the corporate affairs? This article will examine how such an occurrence overtook the Grenvillites during the years after 1817.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of British Studies , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , Autumn 1975 , pp. 112 - 134
Copyright
Copyright © North American Conference of British Studies 1975

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References

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