The British general election of 1784 resulted in William Pitt the Younger securing an overall majority of about 120 in the British House of Commons, having previously had to survive in a House which was dominated by his opponents. William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British politician during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

Background

In December 1783, George III engineered the dismissal of the Fox-North Coalition, which he hated, and appointed William Pitt the Younger as Prime Minister. Pitt had very little personal support in the House of Commons and the supporters of Charles James Fox and Lord North felt that the constitution of the country had been violated. The doctrine that the government must always have a majority in Parliament was not yet fully established and Fox knew he had to be careful. George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ... William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, Prime Minister of Great Britain 1783 & 1807-1809. ... William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British politician during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. ... The Prime Minister is in practice the most important political office in the United Kingdom. ... Charles James Fox Statue of Charles James Fox in Bloomsbury Square, erected 1816. ... Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG , PC (April 13, 1732 – August 5, 1792), more often known by his earlier title, Lord North, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782, and a major actor in the American Revolution. ...

On February 2, 1784 Fox carried a motion declaring "That it is the Opinion of this House, That the Continuance of the present Ministers in their Offices is an Obstable to the Formation of such an Administration as may enjoy the Confidence of this House, and tend to put an End to the unfortunate Divisions and Distractions of the Country" by 223 to 204. Pitt remained in office, and government supporters ensured petitions and resolutions of borough corporations were presented to Parliament to encourage members to back Pitt, and slowly MPs converted. February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

By March 1, Fox's motion which concluded by "beseech[ing] His Majesty, that He would be graciously pleased to lay the Foundation of a strong and stable Government, by the previous Removal of His present Ministers" was carried but only by 201 to 189. A week later, a more strongly worded motion threatening the withholding of supply was also passed – but only by 191 to 190. Fox thereafter declined to push motions, as his base continued to crumble. Pitt meanwhile decided to go to the country and on March 24, Parliament was prorogued and on the following day the Parliament first elected in 1780 was dissolved. March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in leap years). ...

Course of the election

The election was fought very much as a national campaign around the questions of the fall of the Fox-North government and whether or not Pitt should continue in office, rather than a series of local campaigns, which was more common for 18th century British elections. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

Thanks to a combination of patronage and bribes paid by the HM Treasury, many small pocket boroughs returned Pitt-supporting MPs as widely expected. Additionally, in the constituencies decided by large electorates there was massive support for Pitt-supporters. Many of Fox's supporters were forced to either withdraw or make deals with their opponents to avoid election defeat. In the county constituencies only one Fox supporter was elected in a contest, though others returned due to local electoral pacts. Those MPs who had remained in opposition, refusing to go over to support Pitt, and who failed to return to the House of Commons as a consequence became known as "Fox's Martyrs" in reference to John Foxe's Book of Martyrs (although the majority were supporters of North). Generally, patronage is the act of a so-called patron who supports or favors some individual, family, group or institution. ... The new eastern entrance to HM Treasury HM Treasury, in full Her Majestys Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the UK Governments financial and economic policy. ... The term rotten borough refers to a parliamentary borough or constituency in the Kingdom of England (pre-1707), the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1801), the Kingdom of Ireland (1536-1801) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (from 1801 until their final abolition in 1867) which due... John Foxe, line engraving by George Glover, first published in the 1641 edition of Actes and Monuments John Foxe (1516–April 8, 1587) is remembered as the author of the famous Foxes Book of Martyrs. ... William Tyndale, just before being burnt at the stake, cries out Lord, ope the King of Englands eies in this woodcut from an early edition of Foxes Book of Martyrs. ...

The first day's polling, March 30, saw 13 government supporters and four opponents returned. By the conclusion of the fifth day (April 3), there were already more than 150 government MPs and a lead of 50 over supporters of the coalition. The government achieved an overall majority on April 15. March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in leap years). ... April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ...

Notable contests

The contests involving both Pitt and Fox attracted particular attention. Pitt had long wished to be a Member of Parliament for the University of Cambridge and had failed to be elected when he stood for the seat in the 1780 general election. Now he was returned at the top of the poll and would hold the seat for the rest of his life. Cambridge University was a university constituency electing two members to the House of Commons, from 1603 to 1950. ...

Fox was one of the two sitting members for the constituency of Westminster, which had the largest electorate of any in the country and a great deal of prestige. His position there was central to his claim to be representing the people. He stood against two Pitt supporters for the constituency's two seats; both sides spent heavily, campaigned bitterly, allegedly libelled and slandered their opponents relentlessly and resorted to all kinds of tactics, including Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire touring the streets and kissing many voters to induce them to vote for Fox. Even George, Prince of Wales campaigned for Fox. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (June 7, 1757 - March 30, 1806), born Lady Georgiana Spencer, was the first wife of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire and mother of William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire. ... George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death. ...

At the conclusion of polling on May 17, Fox had narrowly succeeded with 6,233 votes to Sir Cecil Wray's 5,998. However Pitt's supporters then demanded a scrutiny of the votes and the Returning Officer therefore did not make the return. A scrutiny in a constituency as large as Westminster was an enormously time-consuming process; Fox, suspecting this may happen, had already arranged for his return for the Northern District of Burghs (April 26) so that he would not be out of the House during it. The scrutiny did not show specially large numbers of illegal voters and eventually began to look like a political tactic; on March 4, 1785 the House of Commons finally put an end to it by ordering the Returning Officer to declare the result. May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

See also

• List of Parliaments of Great Britain
• MPs elected in the British general election, 1784