HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A coalition of the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
and Liberal Unionist parties took power in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
shortly before the 1895 general election. Conservative leader
Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...
was appointed
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and his nephew, Arthur Balfour, became
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 of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The Leader is always a memb ...
, but various major posts went to the Liberal Unionists, most notably the Leader of the House of Lords, the Liberal Unionist Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire, who was made Lord President, and his colleague in the Commons,
Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually was a leading New Imperialism, imperial ...
, who became Colonial Secretary. It was this government which would conduct the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
from 1899–1902, which helped them to win a landslide victory at the 1900 general election. The government consisted of three ministries, the first two led by Salisbury (from 1895–1902) and the third by Balfour (from 1902 onwards). __TOC__


The office of Prime Minister

Lord Salisbury was the
second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
and last person to be head of government while not simultaneously holding the title of First Lord of the Treasury. It was said that there were some attempts to distinguish between the two offices, but in the century or more since, they have remained one and the same.


Trade reform

Balfour succeeded Salisbury as prime minister in 1902. Eventually, the Unionist government would falter after Chamberlain proposed his scheme for tariff reform, whose partial embrace by Balfour led to the resignation of the more orthodox free traders in the Cabinet.


Chinese miners in South Africa

After the conclusion of the Boer War, the British government sought to rebuild the South African economy which had been devastated by the war. An important part of the rebuilding effort was to get the gold mines of the Witwatersrand, the richest in history and a major cause of the war, back in production as soon as possible. Because the government decreed that white labour was too expensive and black labourers were reluctant to return to the mines, the government decided to import over 60,000 contracted workers from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. This was deeply unpopular at the time, as popular opinion in much of the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
, including Britain; was hostile to Chinese immigration. It also happened at a time when poverty and unemployment amongst working-class British people was at very high levels. On 26 March 1904, a demonstration against Chinese immigration to South Africa was held in Hyde Park and was attended by 80,000 people. The Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Union Congress then passed a resolution declaring that:


Fall from power

With his majority greatly reduced and defeat in the next election seeming inevitable, Balfour resigned as prime minister in December 1905, leading to the appointment of a minority Liberal government under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. In the
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
which followed in 1906, all but three members of Balfour's cabinet lost their seats, including Balfour himself.


Cabinets


Salisbury ministry


June 1895 to November 1900


November 1900 to July 1902

In November 1900, the Cabinet was reformed for the first time.


Balfour ministry

:


Changes

*May 1903 Lord Onslow succeeds Robert William Hanbury at the Board of Agriculture. *September to October 1903 ** Lord Londonderry succeeds the Duke of Devonshire as Lord President. Londonderry remains President of the Board of Education. **Lord Lansdowne succeeds Devonshire as Leader of the House of Lords. Lansdowne remains Foreign Secretary. **
Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...
succeeds Arthur Balfour as Lord Privy Seal. ** Austen Chamberlain succeeds Charles Ritchie at the Exchequer. Chamberlain's successor as Postmaster General is not in the Cabinet. **
Alfred Lyttelton Alfred Lyttelton KC (7 February 1857 – 5 July 1913) was a British politician and sportsman from the Lyttelton family who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sport ...
succeeds
Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually was a leading New Imperialism, imperial ...
as Colonial Secretary. ** St John Brodrick succeeds Lord George Hamilton as Secretary for India. ** H. O. Arnold-Forster succeeds Brodrick as Secretary for War. ** Andrew Graham-Murray succeeds Lord Balfour of Burleigh as Secretary for Scotland. *March 1905 ** Walter Hume Long succeeds George Wyndham as Irish Secretary. ** Gerald Balfour succeeds Long at the Local Government Board. **
Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...
succeeds Balfour at the Board of Trade. Salisbury remains Lord Privy Seal. ** Lord Cawdor succeeds Lord Selborne at the Admiralty. ** Ailwyn Fellowes succeeds Lord Onslow at the Board of Agriculture.


List of ministers


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unionist government, 1895-1905 1895–1905
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
1890s in the United Kingdom 1900s in the United Kingdom 1895 establishments in the United Kingdom 1905 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Coalition governments of the United Kingdom Ministries of Queen Victoria Ministries of Edward VII Cabinets established in 1895 Cabinets disestablished in 1905 1905 in British politics Arthur Balfour Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury