Canningites

Canningites were a faction of

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, ...

Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

in the first decade of the 19th century through the 1820s who were led by George Canning. The Canningites were distinct within the Tory party because they favoured

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

and

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

. After the incapacity of

Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. He held many important cabinet offices such as Foreign Secret ...

in 1827, Canning was asked to form a government. Because Canning did not have the full support of the Tory party, which was split between Canningites and

Ultra-Tories The Ultra-Tories were an Anglican faction of British and Irish politics that appeared in the 1820s in opposition to Catholic emancipation. The faction was later called the "extreme right-wing" of British and Irish politics.James J. Sack"Ultra torie ...

, he created a coalition government with his Canningites allying themselves with the Whigs. Canning died in August 1827 and the Canningite Lord Goderich became Prime Minister, but his government collapsed in January 1828. The Canningites then allied themselves with the Tories, led by the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

. They resigned in May 1828, though, on the issue of allocating seats from disenfranchised corrupt boroughs to the new growing cities of England. Now usually known as the 'Huskissonites' (after their new leader,

William Huskisson William Huskisson (11 March 177015 September 1830) was a British statesman, financier, and Member of Parliament for several constituencies, including Liverpool. He is commonly known as the world's first widely reported railway passenger casu ...

) the group numbered a bare dozen or so in the House of Commons, with greater support in the House of Lords. For the next year and half they acted a separate group between the two main parties, and were courted by both. After Huskisson died in 1830 (in a railway accident, the first recorded casualty of this new form of transport), the remainder of the group decided to join the Whigs and voted against the Tory government in a parliament in favour of electoral reform. Wellington resigned as prime minister and the surviving Canningite/Huskissonites joined the new Whig cabinet of

Earl Grey 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 ...

in November 1830. Very soon after they ceased to act as a recognisable separate political grouping. In addition to Goderich and Huskisson, prominent Canningites included: * Granville Leveson-Gower * Edward John Littleton *

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...

* Viscount Palmerston *

William Sturges Bourne William Sturges-Bourne PC (7 November 1769 – 1 February 1845), known as William Sturges until 1803, was a British Tory politician. He was briefly Home Secretary under George Canning in 1827. Background and education Born William Sturges, he ...

* Robert John Wilmot-Horton * Charles Grant Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom Political party factions in the United Kingdom Political parties established in the 19th century 1820s establishments in the United Kingdom Political parties disestablished in 1830 1830 disestablishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-poli-stub