Fox–North coalition | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| April–December 1783 | |
.jpg)  Fox (left) and North (right) | |
| Date formed | 2 April 1783 (1783-04-02) |
| Date dissolved | 18 December 1783 (1783-12-18) |
| People and organisations | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland |
| Secretaries of State | |
| Totalno. of members | 15 appointments |
| Member parties | |
| Status in legislature | |
| Opposition party | |
| Opposition leaders | |
| History | |
| Legislature term | |
| Predecessor | Shelburne ministry |
| Successor | First Pitt ministry |
TheFox–North coalition was a government in Great Britain that held office during 1783.[1] As the name suggests, the ministry was a coalition of the groups supportingCharles James Fox andLord North. It was headed byWilliam Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, who became Prime Minister on 2 April 1783.
Fox was aWhig by background, and North came from the nominalTory Party; however, both had fallen out with the government ofLord Shelburne. They combined their forces in theHouse of Commons to throw out Shelburne's ministry and then form a government of their own.
KingGeorge III despised the government, and Fox in particular, but found that no other ministry could be formed at this stage despite several offers toWilliam Pitt the Younger. Consequently, the King declined to provide the government with the normal tools ofpatronage, and it was forced to look elsewhere.
TheTreaty of Paris was signed during this government on 3 September 1783, formally ending theAmerican Revolutionary War. The government also came under strain when, from the opposition, Pitt introduced a proposal for electoral reform to tackle bribery androtten boroughs. The proposal did not pass, but caused tensions within the coalition which contained both proponents and opponents of political reform.
The BritishEast India Company was in trouble; Fox proposed nationalising it, thus providing the government with a new source of appointments so that it could reward and maintain support. The East India Bill was introduced and passed in the Commons, but the King remained deeply opposed. He informed theHouse of Lords that he would regard any peer who voted for the bill as his enemy. The bill was defeated on 17 December 1783 and the King immediately dismissed the coalition. It was succeeded by agovernment formed byWilliam Pitt the Younger.
After being dismissed, Fox and North tried to force Pitt from power through defeat in the House of Commons, but he refused to resign. The response of opinion in the country, evidenced by petitions, resolutions of borough corporations and the actions of the London mobs, showed strong opposition to the coalition and support for Pitt. In March 1784 ageneral election was called in which Pitt's government made massive gains, especially in constituencies decided by popular votes.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Preceded by | Government of Great Britain 1783 | Succeeded by |
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