Embattled Whigs gamble – and lose
WHY WAS IT CALLED?
Early 1710 saw the ruling Whig party coming under pressure on a number of fronts. Firstly, they failed to negotiate peace in the War of the Spanish Succession, thus losing popularity with a public (and monarch) weary of the costs of war.
Secondly, they tried to prosecute the clergyman Henry Sacheverell, who had delivered a sermon at St Paul’s Cathedral attacking the Whigs’ policy of religious toleration. Sacheverell was found guilty – but the light sentence he received made the Whigs look weak.
Queen Anne was losing confidence in the Whigs’ allies, Lords Marlborough and Godolphin, and in August 1710 dismissed Godolphin as Lord Treasurer, replacing him with the Tory Robert Harley who became chancellor of the Exchequer. This led the government to dissolve parliament on 21 September, and call an election.
DID THE GAMBLE PAY OFF?
No. The ensuing election, held in October– November 1710 (there was no fixed polling date until 1918), was a disaster for the Whigs and resulted in a landslide victory for the Tories. Returned for England and Wales were 329 Tories and 168 Whig MPs, with a few independents.
The outcome was that the moderate Harley was pressured into appointing more extreme, ‘High Tory’ ministers, and introducing measures to reverse Whig policies on religious toleration.