Foxite was a late 18th-century

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

political label for Whig followers of

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...

. Fox was the generally acknowledged leader of a faction of the Whigs from 1784 to his death in 1806. The group had developed from successive earlier factions, known as the "Old Corps Whigs" (led by the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle u ...

in the 1750s and early 1760s), the "

Rockingham Whigs The Rockingham Whigs (or Rockinghamites) in 18th century British politics were a faction of the Whigs led by Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, from about 1762 until his death in 1782. The Rockingham Whigs briefly held power fr ...

" (who had supported the

Marquess of Rockingham Marquess of Rockingham, in the County of Northampton, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1746 for Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton. The Watson family descended from Lewis Watson, Member of Parliament f ...

from the mid-1760s until his death in 1782) and the "Portland Whigs", who had followed the

Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

, who had succeeded Rockingham as prime minister. In 1794, the Duke of Portland joined the ministry of

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

. That led to a division amongst the Portland Whigs. Those who remained in opposition became the Foxite Whigs. By 1794, Fox had been the leading figure of the faction in the House of Commons for some years. He first served as the government

Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of the ...

in 1782. The term Foxite is sometimes applied to members of the House of Commons before and after the end of the titular factional leadership of Portland, and was not infrequently used as a blanket term for those opposed to the ruling Pittites after the death of Fox in 1806. Fox and his supporters remained in opposition after 1794, until the formation of the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806. That administration was under the premiership of the leader of another Whig faction (

Lord Grenville William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, (25 October 175912 January 1834) was a British Pittite Tory politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs for the duration of ...

). Fox was the Leader of the House of Commons and

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

, during that ministry. After the death of Fox, his faction was led by

Viscount Howick Earl Grey is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for General Charles Grey, 1st Baron Grey. In 1801, he was given the title Baron Grey of Howick in the County of Northumberland, and in 1806 he was created Viscou ...

, who, in 1807, became Earl Grey by being removed to the House of Lords. There was a crisis of Whig leadership in the House of Commons, as no obvious chief had emerged. The Foxite and

Grenvillite The Grenville Whigs (or Grenvillites) were a name given to several British political factions of the 18th and the early 19th centuries, all of which were associated with the important Grenville family of Buckinghamshire. Background The Grenvi ...

factions combined their forces in the House of Commons in 1808. Grenville and Grey jointly proposed

George Ponsonby George Ponsonby (5 March 17558 July 1817), was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents. Background and education Ponsonby was the second surviving son ...

as leader in the Commons. In effect, that step created the more organised Whig Party of the 19th century and was a major stage in the decline of the factional political system more characteristic of the 18th century. In effect, the Foxites had thereafter to be a distinct group, having merged into the

s as part of a significantly more cohesive party of Whigs.

Electoral performances

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * Whig factions Eponymous political ideologies Radical parties {{Poli-term-stub