page_title: Robert Monckton (died 1722)
section_title: MP for Aldborough
hierarchical_section_title: Robert Monckton (died 1722) / Political career / MP for Aldborough
caption_attribution_description: English: Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1693-1768)
context_page_description: Robert Monckton was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1713. He took an active part supporting William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution, and was notable for his involvement in a number of exceptionally bitter and prolonged electoral disputes.
context_section_description: Newcastle offered Monckton the borough of Aldborough, where he had recently acquired control by purchase from the Wentworth family, relatives of Lord Wentworth The borough had seen bitter contests in the past, as it was a scot and lot borough, with a wide franchise, though a small electorate.  As a result of Newcastle's influence, Monckton was returned as Member of Parliament unopposed in January 1701, along with Cyril Arthington, who had contested the seat unsuccessfully in the past and had the support of another local landowner.
  The parliament had a Tory majority and the Junto soon found themselves accused of treason. The first move to redefine party loyalties came in February with a motion to urge the King to recognise the Duke of Anjou, Louis XIV's grandson, as 'King of Spain'. This was a direct attack on the foreign policy of William himself and the previous administration. Monckton denounced ths fiercely, saying that "if this vote was carried, he should expect that the next vote would be for owning the pretended Prince of Wales" - a reference to the James Francis Edward Stuart, the "Old Pretender", the Jacobite candidate for the throne supported by Louis XIV. He demanded support for England and its allies in what would soon become the War of the Spanish Succession, saying that "he, for one, would be prepared to eat only roots for the good of his country."
  In April came moves to remove the Junto members Somers, Halifax and Orford, together with Portland, from the king's council. Having rejected their extreme measures in the past, Monckton felt obliged to defend them against a pending impeachment. When the motion came up for debate, Monckton proposed an amendment that the House "would support the King in preventing the union of France and Spain and in the maintaining of the trade and commerce of this kingdom." This irrelevant and unpalatable amendment led to heated debate, with Monckton predicting dire commercial consequences for the present policies. Harley, now Speaker, rose and removed his hat, a gesture intended to silence Monckton, but he continued his diatribe, even when called to order.
  Parliament was dissolved later the same year and for the second election of 1701 Monckton  reassured Newcastle of his Whig loyalties by promising that he would support other Whig candidates in Yorkshire. He and Arthington were returned again, but in a contested election, with another Newcastle client, William Jessop, a close third. At the 1702 English general election,  Monckton was elected unopposed alongside Jessop, as Arthington's patron sold his interest to Newcastle.   
  Monckton and Jessop were returned together unopposed at the  1705 English general election. Monckton never again attained the prominence that marked the first years of the century. He became more and more an agent of Newcastle, acting as go-between in his dealings with Harley, whom he warned against being manipulated by the Tories. He was appointed to the Board of Trade in 1707, a post which allowed him to develop his interest in commerce. He was returned again with Jessopp at the 1708 British general election and generally supported distinctively Whig measures, although he found the venality of the party hard to bear at times. In 1710 he was reported as saying "he'll be no Whig any longer, for he says he angered since he came to town some of his old friends by being so reasonable as to maintain 'twas fit the Queen should use her pleasure in disposing employments as she pleases." However, this was clearly a figure of speech, as he was returned unopposed with Jessop again as a Whig at the 1710 British general election. He was in favour of the Hanoverian Succession, during the 1710–1711 session.
  In 1711, Newcastle died. He was succeeded by his nephew Thomas Pelham-Holles. Monckton attempted to intercede in property disputes between the new duke and the dowager duchess, but only alienated both parties. As a result, the duchess announced that she would not support him at Aldborough, although Pelham was publicly undecided. Monckton continued his personal friends
caption: Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle. His succession to the title resulted in Monckton's loss of political patronage and signalled the eclipse of his political career.
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "350", "Image YResolution": "350", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0", "Image DateTime": "2006:09:13 20:14:42", "Image ExifOffset": "164", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "300", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "2481", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2359", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2811"}