The Whig government of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

that began in November 1830 and ended in November 1834 consisted of two ministries: the Grey ministry (from 1830 to July 1834) and then the first Melbourne ministry.

History

The first wholly Whig government since 1783 came to power after 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 ...

's Tory government lost a vote of no confidence on 15 November 1830. The government, led by the

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 ...

, passed the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

in 1832, which brought about parliamentary reform, and enacted the

Slavery Abolition Act 1833 The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provided for the gradual abolition of slavery in most parts of the British Empire. It was passed by Earl Grey's reforming administrat ...

, bringing about the abolition of slavery in most of the British Empire. However,

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

dismissed Grey's successor

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 ...

in 1834 and asked

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

to form a government. Peel was out of the country at the time, so the Duke of Wellington formed a caretaker government.

Cabinets

The Earl Grey's Cabinet, November 1830 – July 1834

The Viscount Melbourne's Cabinet, July 1834 – November 1834

List of ministers

Members of the Cabinet are indicated by bold face. ;Notes

References

*C. Cook and B. Keith, ''British Historical Facts 1830–1900'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Whig government 1830-1834 1830-1834

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

1830 establishments in the United Kingdom 1834 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 1830s in the United Kingdom Ministries of William IV of the United Kingdom Cabinets established in 1830 Cabinets disestablished in 1834