William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger William Pitt was born at Hayes , Kent on 28th May 1759. He suffered from poor health and was educated at home. His father, William Pitt , Earl of Chatham, was the former M.P. for Old Sarum and one of the most important politicians of the period. The Earl of Chatham was determined that his son would eventually become a member of the House of Commons and at an early age William was given lessons on how to become an effective orator. When William was fourteen he was sent to Pembroke Hall , Cambridge . His health remained poor and he spent most of the time with his tutor, the Rev. George Pretyman . William, who studied Latin and Greek, received his M.A. in 1776. William grew up with a strong interest in politics and spent much of his spare time watching debates in parliament. On 7th April 1778 he was present when his father collapsed while making a speech in the House of Lords and helped to carry his dying father from the chamber. In 1781 Sir James Lowther arranged for William Pitt to become the M.P.

for Appleby . He made his first speech in the House of Commons on 26th February, 1781. William Pitt had been well trained and afterwards, Lord North , the prime minister, described it as the "best speech" that he had ever heard. Soon after entering the Commons, William Pitt came under the influence of Charles Fox , Britain's leading Whig politician. Pitt joined Fox in his campaign for peace with the American colonies. On 12th June he made a speech where Pitt insisted that this was an "unjust war" and urged Lord North's government to bring it to an end. Pitt also took an interest in the way that Britain elected Members of Parliament. He was especially critical of the way that the monarchy used the system to influence those in Parliament. Pitt argued that parliamentary reform was necessary for the preservation of liberty. In June 1782 Pitt supported a motion for shortening the duration of parliament and for measures that would reduce the chances of government ministers being bribed. When Lord Frederick North's government fell in March 1782, Charles Fox became Foreign Secretary in Rockingham's Whig government.

Fox left the government in July 1782, as he was unwilling to serve under the new prime minister, Lord Sherburne. Short of people willing to serve him, Sherburne appointed the twenty-three year old Pitt as his Chancellor of the Exchequer. Fox interpreted Pitt's acceptance of this post as a betrayal and after this the two men became bitter enemies. On the 31st March, 1783, Pitt resigned and declared that he was "unconnected with any party whatever". Now out of power, Pitt turned his attention once more to parliamentary reform. On 7th May he proposed a plan that included: (1) checking bribery at elections; (2) disfranchising corrupt constituencies; (3) adding to the number of members for London . His proposals were defeated by 293 to 149. Another bill that he introduced on 2nd June for restricting abuses in public office was passed by the House of Commons but rejected by the House of Lords . In Parliament he opposed Charles Fox's India Bill. Fox responded by making fun of Pitt's youth and inexperience and accusing him of following "the headlong course of ambition".

George III was furious when the India Bill was passed by the House of Commons . The king warned members of the House of Lords that he would regard any one who voted for the bill as his enemy. Unwilling to upset the king, the Lords rejected the bill by 95 votes to 76. The Duke of Portland's administration resigned and on 19th December, 1783, the king invited William Pitt to form a new government. At the age of only twenty-four, Pitt became Britain's youngest prime minister. When it was announced that Pitt had accepted the king's invitation, the news was received in the House of Commons with derisive laughter. Pitt had great difficulty finding enough people to join his government. Except for himself, his cabinet of seven contained no members of the House of Commons. Charles Fox led the attack on Pitt and although defeated in votes several times in the Commons, he refused to resign. After building up his popularity in the country, Pitt called a general election on 24th March, 1784. Pitt's timing was perfect and 160 of Fox's supporters were defeated at the polls. Pitt himself stood for the seat of Cambridge University .

Pitt now had a majority in the House of Commons and was able to persuade parliament to pass a series of measures including the India Act that established dual control of the East India Company . Pitt also attacked the serious problem of smuggling by reducing duties on those goods that were mainly being imported illegally into Britain. The success of this measure established his reputation as a shrewd politician. In April 1785 Pitt proposed a bill that would bring an end to thirty-six rotten boroughs and to transfer the seventy-two seats to those areas where the population was growing. Although Pitt spoke in favour of reform, he refused to warn the House of Commons that he would resign if the measure was defeated. The Commons came to the conclusion that Pitt did not feel strongly about reform and when the vote was taken it was defeated by 248 votes to 174. Pitt accepted the decision of the Commons and never made another attempt to introduce parliamentary reform. The general election of October 1790 gave Pitt's government an increased majority. For the next few years Pitt was occupied with Britain's relationship with France . Pitt had initially viewed the French Revolution as a domestic issue which did not concern Britain.

However, Pitt became worried when parliamentary reform groups in Britain appeared to be in contact with French revolutionaries. Pitt responded by issuing a proclamation against seditious writings. When Pitt heard that King Louis XVI had been executed in January 1793, he expelled the French Ambassador. In the House of Common's Charles Fox and his small group of supporters attacked Pitt for not doing enough to preserve peace with France . Fox therefore blamed Pitt when France declared war on Britain on 1st February, 1793. Pitt's attitude towards political reform changed dramatically after war was declared. In May 1793 Pitt brought in a bill suspending Habeas Corpus . Although denounced by Charles Fox and his supporters, the bill was passed by the House of Commons in twenty-four hours. Those advocating parliamentary reform were arrested and charged with sedition. Tom Paine managed to escape but others such as Thomas Hardy , John Thellwall and Thomas Muir were imprisoned. Pitt decided to form a great European coalition against France and between March and October 1793 he concluded alliances with Russia, Prussia, Austria, Spain, Portugal and some German princes.

At first these tactics were successful but during 1794 Britain and her allies suffered a series of defeats. To pay for the war, Pitt was forced to increase taxation and to raise a loan of £18 million. This problem was made worse by a series of bad harvests. When going to open parliament in October 1795, George III was greeted with cries of 'Bread', 'Peace' and 'no Pitt'. Missiles were also thrown and so Pitt immediately decided to pass a new Sedition Bill that redefined the law of treason. Britain's continuing financial difficulties convinced Pitt to seek peace with France . These peace proposals were rejected by the French in May 1796 and William Pitt once again had to introduce new taxes. This included duties on horses and tobacco. The following year Pitt introduced additional taxes on tea, sugar and spirits. Even so, by November 1797, Britain had a budget deficit of £22 million. On several occasions Pitt was in physical danger from angry mobs and he had to be constantly protected by an armed guard. Pitt's health began to deteriorate and newspapers began reporting that the prime minister had suffered a mental breakdown and was insane.

Pitt responded by passing new laws that enabled the government to suppress and regulate newspapers . Britain's financial problems continued and in his budget of December 1798 William Pitt introduced a new graduated income tax. Beginning with a 120th tax on incomes of £60 and rising by degrees until it reached 10% on incomes of over £200. Pitt believed that this income tax would raise £10 million but in fact in 1799 the yield was just over £6 million. James Gillray , William Pitt's Policy of Income Tax (1799) In 1797 Pitt appointed Lord Castlereagh as his Irish chief secretary. This was a time of great turmoil in Ireland and in the following year Castlereagh played an important role in crushing the Irish uprising. Castlereagh and Pitt became convinced that the best way of dealing with the religious conflicts in Ireland was to unite the country with the rest of Britain under a single Parliament. The policy was unpopular with the borough proprietors and the members of the Irish Parliament who had spent large sums of money purchasing their seats.

Castlereagh appealed to the Catholic majority and made it clear that after the Act of Union the government would grant them legal equality with the Protestant minority. After the government paid compensation to the borough proprietors and promising pensions, official posts and titles to members of the Irish Parliament, the Act of Union was passed in 1801. George III disagreed with Pitt and Castlereagh's policy of Catholic Emancipation . When Pitt discovered that the king had approached Henry Addington to become his prime minister, he resigned from office. Although Pitt had been paid £10,500 a year as prime minister, he was now deeply in debt and for a while he feared that he would be declared bankrupt. A group of friends agreed to help but it was only after selling his family home that he was able to satisfy his creditors. In May 1804 Henry Addington resigned from office and once again William Pitt became prime minister. Lord Castlereagh was appointed Secretary for War but many leading politicians, including Charles Fox , refused to serve under Pitt. Out of the twelve man cabinet, only Pitt and Castlereagh were from the House of Commons .

With Napoleon planning to invade England, Pitt quickly formed a new coalition with Russia, Austria and Sweden. When the French were defeated at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805, Pitt was hailed as the savior of Europe. However, Napoleon fought back and in December, 1805 he triumphed over the Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz . Pitt was devastated by the news of Napoleon's victory and soon after was taken seriously ill. William Pitt died on 16th January, 1806. He was so heavily in debt that the House of Commons had to raise £40,000 to pay off his creditors. BBC - History - Historic Figures: Pitt the Younger (1759 - 1806) z William Pitt © Pitt the Younger was British prime minister during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars and helped to define and strengthen the office of the prime minister. William Pitt was born on 28 May 1759 in Kent, the son of the earl of Chatham (William Pitt the Elder), himself a famous statesman. Pitt studied at Cambridge University, graduating when he was 17.

In early 1781, he was elected to parliament aged 21. In 1782, he became chancellor of the exchequer. The following years were marked by the battle between George III and the radical Charles Fox, whom the king detested. Matters deteriorated when Fox forged an alliance with the previously loyal Lord North. The two men defeated the government and George was forced to ask them to take control. Fox became Pitt's lifelong political rival. In December 1783, George III dismissed their coalition and asked Pitt to form a government. He was, at 24, the youngest man to become prime minister. He was immediately defeated in parliament but refused to resign. George III was prepared to abdicate rather than let Fox in again. In 1784, parliament was dissolved for a general election, which Pitt won. His government worked to restore public finances, severely strained by the cost of the American War of Indepence and later by war with France. Pitt imposed new taxes - including Britain's first income tax - and reduced both smuggling and frauds. He also simplified customs and excise duties. His other concerns were imperial and foreign policy.

The India Act of 1784 asserted increased government power over the East India Company and the vast areas of India it controlled. But revolutionary France remained the greatest concern and in 1793, the French declared war on Britain. In 1798, there was a rebellion in Ireland, influenced by the ideas of the French Revolution. Pitt had long felt that union of the two countries was necessary and brought in an Act of Union which came into effect in January 1801. Yet fierce royal opposition to his attempt to abolish restrictions on Catholicism in Ireland forced his resignation in 1801. Three years later, with Napoleon threatening invasion, the king was forced to ask Pitt to form a government and he became prime minister again in May 1804. Thanks to Pitt's efforts, Britain joined the Third Coalition against France (made up of Austria, Russia and Sweden) and in 1805 the British inflicted a serious defeat on the French navy at the Battle of Trafalgar. However the Coalition collapsed and this imposed a severe strain on Pitt's already weakened health. He died on 23 January 1806 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

British Prime Ministers: William Pitt, the Younger William Pitt, the Younger 1783-1801, 1804-06 TORY Son of William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham, this William Pitt is the youngest prime minister on record, winning the post at the tender age of 24 in 1783. As prime minister he is remembered for his tough policies against corruption, fiscal reform, shifting power toward the House of Commons and the union with Ireland. Pitt was precocious, entering Cambridge at 14 and Parliament at 22. He was chancellor of the Exchequer in the government of William Petty, Earl of Shelburne (1782-83). The Tories and friends of George III helped him become prime minister. Unlike his father, Pitt the Younger had a talent for finance. He restructured Britain's finances, negotiated new tariffs with France and faired well in office until 1793 when France declared war - the beginning of years of conflict. In 1798 the Irish revolted against his policies. His solution, the Act of Union 1800, included Catholic emancipation which was rejected by the king.

Pitt resigned in protest in 1801. Returning as prime minister in 1804, he gained the support of the Austrian, Russian and Swedish leaders in an attempt to defeat Napoleon's armies. The news of Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz in 1806 is said to have caused Pitt's death. PHOTO CREDIT: Detail of painting in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Perspective 1783 - Britain recognizes the independence of America with the Peace of Versailles. 1784 - The Brighton Pavilion is built. The first school for the blind in opened in Paris. The East India Company is brought under control of the British government. 1785 - The seismograph is introduced for the measurement of earthquakes. Blanchard and Jeffries cross the English Channel by balloon. 1786 - Lord Cornwallis is named Governor-General of India. Rebellion of Daniel Shays in Massachusetts. Ezekiel Reed (American) invents a machine to manufacture nails. Charleston, NC Golf Club is founded. 1787 - Constitution of United States is signed. American Federal government is established. Pennsylvania becomes a state. Turkey declares war on Russia.

John Fitch launches a steamboat on the Delaware River. The dollar is introduced in America. In England the Marylebone Cricket Club is formed and moves to Lord's. 1788 - Bread riots in France. Lord Byron is born. First cigar factory opened in Germany. New York is named as capital of the United States. New Hampshire ratifies the U.S. Constitution as ninth state. George III has attack of mental illness; crisis of power in England. 1789 - The French Revolution begins. Paris mob storms the Bastille. Lafayette becomes commander of National Guard. French feudal system is abolished. French King moves court from Versailles to Paris. Declaration of the Rights of Man issued. George Washington is elected president of the United States without opposition. 1790 - William Pitt refuses to recognize Belgium. Benjamin Franklin dies. Philadelphia is recognized as the capital of United States. First U.S. patent law is in force. Washington D. C. is founded. Jews in France are granted civil liberties. 1791 - U.S. Bill of Rights is ratified. Vermont becomes a state. Canada is divided into two provinces.

Thomas Paine publishes "The Rights of Man." John Wesley, founder of the Methodists dies. The waltz becomes the dance in England. The first "English Stud Book" is published. Motion for the abolition of slave trade passed Parliament. 1792 - Mary Wollstonecraft, British feminist and writer, publishes "Vindication of the Rights of Women," the first feminist manifesto. George Washington is re-elected president of the United States without opposition. Construction on The White House is begun. The French Republic is proclaimed. The first guillotine in Paris. 1793 - Louis XVI is executed and the Reign of Terror in France begins. Queen Marie Antoinette is executed. Holy Roman Empires declares war on France. U.S. proclaims neutrality. Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin. 1794 - The Commune of Paris abolished. Robespierre executed. Jacobin Club is closed. U.S. Navy is created. The first telegraph is in Paris. Slavery is abolished in the French colonies. 1795 - Napolean appointed commander-in-chief in Italy. 1796 - George Washington refuses a third term as president.

Napoleon marries Josephine de Beauharnais. he defeats Austrian army at Lodi; establishes two republics. John Adams is elected president of the United States. British capture Elba. Spain declares war on Britain. Peking forbids the importation of opium into China. France adopts the metric system. 1797 - Napoleon defeats Austrians at Rivoli and moves on to Vienna. He founds the Ligurian Republic of Genoa. Peace is instituted between France and Austria. Napoleon is appointed to lead troops in invasion of England. He arrives in Paris. Admiral Nelson and Jervis defeat the Spanish fleet at Cape St. Vincent. British sailors mutiny over poor conditions and low pay on the "Solent" at Spithead near Portmouth. John Adams is inaugurated as U.S. president. 1798 - The French take Rome and proclaim the Roman Republic; Pope Pius VI leaves the city. The French take Geneva and Bern in Switzerland and annex the left bank of the Rhine. Napoleon advances into Egypt, takes Malta, occupies Alexandria and with the winning of the Battle of the Pyramids becomes master of Egypt.

The French fleet is destroyed by Nelson in Abukir Bay. The French land in Ireland. King Ferdinand IV of Naples declares war on France. The French overrun his Kingdom. In England, a 10 percent tax on incomes over ï¿½200 is introduced to help pay for the cost of war. In Germany, Aloys Senefelder invents the lithographic method of printing. 1799 - Napoleon and his troops invade Syria, defeats the Turkish army at Abukir, and leaves Egypt. Austria declares war on France and is victorious in battle at Stockach, Magnano and Zurich. French win at Bergenop-Zoom, but are defeated at Cassano. The Russians enter Turin. Britain joins the Russian-Turkish alliance. In America, George Washington dies. In Egypt the Rosetta Stone is found. In Siberia, a preserved mammoth is found in the ice. In France, Honore de Balzac, novelist, and Ferdinand Delacroix, painter, are born. 1800 - Napoleon's armies are victorious against the Turks at Helipolis, and the Austrians advancing toward Vienna. The British capture Malta. A plot to kill Napoleon is uncovered in Paris.

In America, the capital is moved to Washington D. C. from Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson is elected president of the United States. Eli Whitney makes muskets with interchangeable parts. Infrared solar rays are discovered by WIlliam Herschel. In London, The Royal College of Surgeons is founded. 1801 - Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland. Peace between Austria and France marks the end of the Holy Roman Empire. Thomas Jefferson inaugurated as U.S. President. Russian Czar Paul is assassinated. Nelson claims victory over Danish navy off the coast of Copenhagen. In France, Alexandre Dumas is born. In London, "Peerage" is published. Horse racing is introduced at Goodwood by the Duke of Richmond. Second Ministry 1804 - Napoleon is proclaimed emperor in Paris and is crowned in the presence of Pope Pius VII. War in India between East India Company and Holkar of Indore. Spain declares war on England. Aaron Burr kills Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Benjamin Disraeli is born. Thomas Jefferson re-elected president of the United States.

After a year of planning, the Lewis and Clark expedition heads west, exploring the valleys of the Missouri and Mississippi, over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. "History of British Birds" is finished by Thomas Bewick. 1805 - Napoleon crowned King of Italy. Wins over Austrian and Russian troops in Battle of Austerlitz. Austria and France make peace. Country of Egypt is established, Mehemet Ali is pasha. Britain and America in conflict over trade in the West Indies. Mungo Park embarks on second expedition to the Niger River. Morphine is isolated by F. W. A. Sarturner. Paganini, violinist extraordinaire, begins touring Europe. Copyright ©2007 Britannia.com, LLC BBC - History - British History in depth: Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline On This Day Prime Ministers and Politics Timeline Do you know which prime minister brought 'fallen women' to 10 Downing Street? Or which one fought a duel? Or who was known as 'the Goat'? Take a political journey through nearly 300 years of high ideals and low cunning, from Gordon Brown to the first man to hold prime ministerial powers, Robert Walpole.

Margaret Thatcher Conservative, 1979 - 1990 Britain's first female prime minister came to power with the country descending into industrial and economic chaos. A relatively inexperienced politician, she nonetheless adopted a personal style of indomitable self-confidence and brooked no weakness in herself or her colleagues. Derisively dubbed the 'Iron Lady' by the Soviet press, she wore the moniker with pride. Her government's free-market policies included trade liberalisation, deregulation, sweeping privatisation, breaking the power of the unions, focus on the individual and the creation of an 'enterprise culture'. 'Thatcherism' has had a profound and lasting economic and social impact on Britain, and still sharply divides opinion to this day. The first PM to serve three consecutive terms (including two 'landslide' victories) she was eventually toppled by her own party following the disastrous imposition of a 'poll tax'. Nonetheless, she is generally considered to be one of the best peace time prime ministers of the 20th Century. James Callaghan Labour, 1976 - 1979 Callaghan inherited the office of prime minister following the surprise resignation of Harold Wilson.

With only a tiny parliamentary majority to support him, he faced an increasingly one-sided confrontation with organised labour in the form of rampant strike action. Things came to a head in the so-called 'Winter of Discontent', a phrase from Shakespeare borrowed by Callaghan himself to describe the events leading up to February 1979. Britain was 'strikebound', with public servants staging mass walk outs, leaving food and fuel supplies undelivered, rubbish uncollected and - most notoriously - bodies unburied. Things became so bad in Hull it was dubbed 'the second Stalingrad'. The tabloid press has since been accused of overstating the severity of the situation (and wrongly quoting him as saying 'Crisis? What Crisis?') but it was enough at the time to sound the death knell for Callaghan's government later in the same year. Harold Wilson Labour, 1974 - 1976 In March 1974, Wilson became prime minister for the third time at the head of a minority government, following the first hung parliament (one where no party holds a majority) for 45 years.

Often described as a wily fixer and negotiator, it took all of his skills to hold on to power in the face of economic and industrial turmoil. His party was also sharply divided, with many Labour members of parliament (MPs) bitter about Wilson's manoeuvring against his colleagues. He called another general election in October 1974, thereby ending the shortest parliament since 1681, and was returned to office with a majority of just three seats. He presided over a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), and a collapse in the value of the pound which prompted a humiliating 'rescue operation' by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Exhausted, Wilson resigned saying 'politicians should not go on and on'. Edward Heath Conservative, 1970 - 1974 Heath succeeded in taking Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC), the precursor to the European Union, despite two previous failed attempts by Britain to gain entry, in 1961 and 1967. But his government was dogged by torrid industrial relations and recurrent economic crises.

Things came to a head in January 1974, when industry was put on a 'three-day week' to conserve fuel. Fuel was in dangerously short supply following a combination of domestic industrial action (coal miners on 'work-to-rule') and a quadrupling of prices by Middle Eastern oil exporting nations in the wake of Israel's victory in the Yom Kippur War. In March 1974, Heath called a general election on the question of 'who governs Britain?' - the unions, or the elected representatives of the people. To his surprise the result was a hung parliament (one where no party holds a majority) and he was ousted. Harold Wilson Labour, 1964 - 1970 In 1964, 'Good old Mr Wilson' - an avuncular, pipe-smoking figure - came to power amid much excitement and optimism. He had promised a 'new Britain' forged in 'the white heat of a second industrial revolution'. In reality, his administration never escaped from a cycle of economic crises, vainly battling against further devaluations of the pound.

Wilson won a second general election in 1966 (the year England lifted the football World Cup) making him the first Labour PM to serve consecutive terms. In 1967, the government failed in its application for membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) and was also finally forced to devalue sterling. The electorate became disillusioned with Wilson, who lost narrowly to the Conservatives in the 1970 election. Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Conservative, 1963 - 1964 In 1963, a change in the law allowed hereditary peers to disclaim (or 'drop') their titles, which in turn meant they were able to become members of parliament (MPs). The only peer ever to do so and become prime minister was Douglas-Home, formerly the 14th Earl of Home, who assumed the office when Harold Macmillan retired due to ill health. He was the first prime minister in the post-war period not to win his own mandate (be elected or re-elected by popular vote).

Harold Macmillan, Conservative, 1957 - 1963 Macmillan came to power at a time when Britain was confronting its loss of world-power status and facing mounting economic troubles. Nonetheless, he successfully associated the Conservatives with a new age of affluence and the burgeoning consumer revolution. But his oft-quoted assurance 'You've never had it so good' actually finishes 'What is beginning to worry some of us is, is it too good to be true?'. His government is principally remembered for the so-called 'Profumo Affair', a sex scandal that erupted in 1963 and contributed to the Conservatives' defeat at the general election the following year. Secretary of State for War John Profumo had been having an affair with a showgirl who was also seeing the Soviet naval attaché to London - a serious transgression at the height of the Cold War. After lying to the House of Commons, Profumo admitted the truth in June 1963 and resigned in disgrace. Macmillan resigned due to ill health in October the same year.

Sir Anthony Eden, Conservative, 1955 - 1957 When Sir Winston Churchill retired due to ill health, Eden took over as prime minister. Many years before, Churchill had anointed Eden as his successor, but later acknowledged he had made 'a great mistake'. His opinion was born out as the new PM blundered into the Suez Crisis. Following Egypt's decision to nationalise the Suez canal, Britain (the principal shareholder), France and Israel invaded in October 1956 to near-universal condemnation and the threat of nuclear strikes by the Soviet Union. Within a week, Britain was forced into an embarrassing climb-down. Humiliated and in ill-health, Eden left the country for a holiday at the Jamaican home of James Bond author, Ian Fleming. He returned in mid-December to the sarcastic newspaper headline: 'Prime Minister Visits Britain'. He resigned on 9 January 1957. Sir Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1951 - 1955 Churchill's desire to return to power, despite his assured place in history, had much to do with his belligerent refusal to accept that the British public had rejected him in 1945.

Now the electorate was seeking to put behind it the hardships and privations of the post-war years under Clement Atlee and return to a more traditional idea of society - so-called 'housing and red meat' issues. Churchill tried - and failed - to recreate the dynamism of his wartime administration, and he struggled to adjust to the political realities of the Cold War, preferring direct action and personal diplomacy to proxy wars and cabinet consensus. His refusal to retire, despite suffering a stroke, caused mounting frustrations among his colleagues. At the age of 80, he finally conceded to his failing health and stepped down, although he continued to serve as an MP. Clement Attlee, Labour, 1945 - 1951 World War Two had sharply exposed the imbalances in Britain's social, economic and political structures. For a population that had sacrificed so much, a return to the pre-war status quo was simply not an option. In 1942, a report by Sir William Beveridge, chairman of a Ministry of Health committee, had advocated a system of national insurance, comprehensive welfare for all and strategies to maintain full employment.

The 'Beveridge Report' formed the basis of Labour pledges in the 1945 election and resulted in a landslide victory. Attlee's government successfully harnessed the wartime sense of unity to create the National Health Service, a national insurance scheme, a huge programme of nationalisation (including the Bank of England and most heavy industries) and a massive building programme. He also made Britain a nuclear-armed power. These sweeping reforms resulted in a parliamentary consensus on key social and economic policies that would last until 1979. But by 1951, a row over plans to charge for spectacles and false teeth had split the cabinet. Party disunity and a struggling economy contributed to Attlee - cruelly dubbed by Churchill 'a modest man with much to be modest about' - losing the next election. Winston Churchill, Conservative, 1940 - 1945 By the time Churchill was asked to lead the coalition government in 1940, he had already enjoyed colourful and controversial careers as a journalist, soldier and politician.

He had twice 'crossed the floor' of the House of Commons, the first time defecting from Conservative to Liberal and serving as First Lord of the Admiralty during the early years of World War One. Demoted in the wake of the slaughter at Gallipoli, he preferred to resign and take up a commission fighting on the Western Front. Despite standing against the Conservatives in a 1924 by-election, Churchill was welcomed back into the party that same year and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer for five years under Stanley Baldwin. But personal disagreements and his vehement anti-Fascism would lead to nearly a decade in the political wilderness. Following Neville Chamberlain's resignation in 1940, Churchill finally realised his 'destiny' and accepted the office of prime minister. Promising nothing more than 'blood, toil, tears and sweat', he almost single-handedly restored Britain's desire to fight on in adversity. Despite Churchill's enormous personal popularity, by 1945 the electorate no longer wanted a war leader and the Conservatives lost by a landslide.

Neville Chamberlain, Conservative, 1937 - 1940 Rarely has the hyperbole of politicians been as resoundingly exposed as when Neville Chamberlain returned from his 1938 negotiations with Adolf Hitler, brandishing his famous 'piece of paper' and declaring the agreement it represented to be 'peace for our time'. Within a year, Germany had invaded Poland and Britain was plunged into World War Two. With his policy of 'appeasement' towards Hitler utterly bankrupted, Chamberlain resigned in 1940. He was replaced by Winston Churchill. When the issue of honours was discussed, he stated that he wanted to die 'plain Mr Chamberlain, like my father'. His father, Joseph Chamberlain, was the politician who split the Conservatives in 1903 by pushing for tariffs on imported goods. It was this very issue that convinced Churchill to defect to the Liberals, with whom he first achieved high office. Chamberlain died six months after resigning. Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1935 - 1937 When Baldwin returned to power in 1935, the financial crisis sparked by the Wall Street Crash six years before appeared to be over.

It was to be swiftly replaced by a constitutional crisis brought about by Edward VIII's desire to marry a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson. Baldwin advised Edward that Mrs Simpson would not be accepted as Queen by the public, and that the king could not condone divorce as head of the Church of England. The king proposed a 'morganatic' marriage, whereby Mrs Simpson would become his consort, but not Queen. The government rejected the idea and threatened to resign if the king forced the issue. The story then broke in the press, to general disapproval by the public. Rather than break the engagement, Edward abdicated on 11 December 1936. Credited with saving the monarchy, Baldwin is also condemned for failing to begin re-arming when it became clear that Nazi Germany was building up its armed forces. Ramsay MacDonald, Labour, 1929 - 1935 MacDonald began his second term at the head of a minority government (one that does not have an outright majority) and with the economy in deep crisis. Britain was still in the grip of the Great Depression and unemployment soon soared to two million.

With fewer people able to pay tax, revenues had fallen as demand for unemployment benefits had soared. Unable to meet the deficit, by 1931 it was being proposed that benefits and salaries should be cut. Labour ministers rejected the plan as running counter to their core beliefs. MacDonald went to the king, George V, to proffer his resignation. George suggested MacDonald to try and form a 'national government' or coalition of all the parties. (This is the last recorded direct political intervention by a British monarch.) The National Government was formed, with MacDonald as prime minister, but Stanley Baldwin, leader of the Conservative Party, the de facto 'power behind the throne'. MacDonald is still considered by many in the Labour Party as their worst political traitor. Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1924 - 1929 In May 1926, the Trades Union Congress called for a general walkout in support of a coal miners' protest against threatened wage cuts. It was the first and, to date, only general strike in British history. The strike affected key industries, such as gas, electricity and the railways, but ended after just nine days due to lack of public backing and well-organised emergency measures by Baldwin's government.

Far from succeeding in its aims, the General Strike actually led to a decline in trade union membership and the miners ended up accepting longer hours and less pay. It also gave impetus to the 1927 Trade Disputes Act, which curtailed workers' ability to take industrial action. Baldwin's government also extended the vote to women over 21 and passed the Pensions Act, but eventually fell as a result of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and the Depression that followed. Ramsay MacDonald, Labour, 1924 In 1924, MacDonald briefly became the first Labour prime minister, ending two centuries of Conservative - Liberal domination of British politics. It was the first party to gain power with the express purpose of representing the voice of the 'working class'. An MP since 1906, MacDonald was respected as a thinker, but criticised by many within his own party as insufficiently radical (despite appointing the first female cabinet minister, Margaret Bondfield, in 1929). His opposition to World War One had made him deeply unpopular and he continually suffered a torrid time at the hands of the press.

The publication by two newspapers of the 'Zinoviev letter' did much to damage his chances in the run up to the 1924 election. The letter (which he had seen but decided to keep secret) purported to be from Soviet intelligence and urged British communists to commit acts of sedition. He lost by a wide margin. The letter is now widely accepted to be a fraud. Stanley Baldwin, Conservative, 1923 During his very brief first term as prime minister, Stanley Baldwin bumped into an old school friend on a train. Asked what he was doing these days, Baldwin replied: 'I am the prime minister.' Having come to power following Andrew Bonar Law's resignation, he called an election in the hope of gaining his own mandate (election by popular vote), but lost. Andrew Bonar Law, Conservative, 1922 - 1923 Branded the 'unknown prime minister' by his bitter political rival HH Asquith, Canadian-born Bonar Law is principally remembered for a single speech he made in 1922. The Conservatives had been part of a coalition under the Liberal prime minister, David Lloyd George, since 1916.

Many were considering joining Lloyd George permanently, but Bonar Law's speech changed their minds. Instead, the Conservatives withdrew from the coalition and Lloyd George was forced to resign. The king, George V, asked Bonar Law to form a new government. Reluctantly he accepted, despite still grieving two sons killed in World War One and - as it turned out - dying of throat cancer. He held office for 209 days before resigning due to ill health. He died six months later and was buried at Westminster Abbey, upon which Asquith commented: 'It is fitting that we should have buried the Unknown Prime Minister by the side of the Unknown Warrior.' David Lloyd George, Liberal, 1916 - 1922 Lloyd George guided Britain to victory in World War One and presided over the legislation that gave women the vote in 1918, but he is remembered as much for his private life as his public achievements. Nicknamed the 'Welsh Wizard', he was also less kindly known as 'The Goat' - a reference to his countless affairs.

(Scandalously, he lived with his mistress and illegitimate daughter in London while his wife and other children lived in Wales.) The first 'working class' prime minister, Lloyd George had risen to prominence by solving the shortage of munitions on the Western Front. It was his desire to get to grips with the requirements of 'total war' that led to his split with then Liberal Prime Minister HH Asquith. It also brought him closer to the Conservatives, with whom he formed a new coalition government when Asquith resigned. That coalition would disintegrate six years later in the midst of a scandal. Serious allegations were made that peerages had been sold for as much as £40,000. (One list even included John Drughorn, who had been convicted for trading with the enemy in 1915.) Lloyd George resigned in October 1922. HH Asquith, Liberal, 1908 - 1916 Asquith's government had shown great longevity, but disintegrated in the face of the unequalled disasters of the Somme and Gallipoli. With World War One going badly, fellow Liberal David Lloyd George had seized his chance and ousted Asquith.

But in the preceding eight years, the two politicians had together overseen one of the greatest constitutional upheavals of the 20th Century and ushered in some of the predecessors of the Welfare State. Old Age Pensions were introduced and Unemployment Exchanges (job centres) were set up by then Liberal minister Winston Churchill. But when Lloyd George attempted to introduce a budget with land and income taxes disadvantageous to the 'propertied' classes, it was thrown out by the House of Lords. Lloyd George branded the Lords 'Mr Balfour's poodle' (a reference to Conservative leader AJ Balfour's supposed control over the peers). The stand-off resulted in two general elections during 1910, the second of which the Liberals won with a 'peers against the people' campaign slogan. The budget was passed and, in 1911, the Parliament Act became law. The Act stated that the Lords could only veto a Commons bill twice, and instituted five-yearly general elections.

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal, 1905 - 1908 Arthur James Balfour, Conservative, 1902 - 1905 The nephew of the Marquess of Salisbury, Balfour had none of his uncle's political skills despite a long period of mentoring. He was instead something of a philosopher, publishing several weighty books, including 'A Defence of Philosophic Doubt', 'The Foundations of Belief', and 'Theism and Humanism'. Following a cabinet split Balfour resigned, gambling that the Liberals would be unable to form a government and that he would be returned to power. He was wrong. Marquess of Salisbury, 1895 - 1902, Conservative Salisbury came to power for the third and final time when the weak Liberal government of the Earl of Rosebery fell. The political climate was one of rising resentment among the lower and middle classes, who demanded better conditions, social reforms and proper political representation. Bitterly divided, the Liberals would nonetheless experience a revival as they sought reforms of the squalid, disease-ridden British 'concentration camps' used in the Boer War.

But it was the founding of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) on 27 February 1900 that signalled a quiet, yet highly significant sea-change in British politics. This coalition of socialist groups would win two seats in the 1900 general election and 29 seats in 1906. Later that same year, the LRC changed its name to the Labour Party. Despite failing health, Salisbury agreed to stay on to help Edward VII manage the transition following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria. He resigned in favour of his nephew, AJ Balfour, in the first months of the new King's reign. (Notably, he was the last serving prime minister to sit in the Lords.) Earl of Rosebery, Liberal, 1894 - 1895 Rosebury reluctantly became prime minister on the insistence of Queen Victoria, despite still mourning the loss of his wife. Desperate to have a minister she actually liked, Victoria had taken the unusual step of not consulting the outgoing PM, William Gladstone, about his successor. Rosebery, who always loved horseracing more than the 'evil smelling bog' of politics, was gratefully allowed to resign a year later.

Notably, he is the only prime minister to have produced not one, but three Derby winners, in 1894, 1895 and 1905. (Despite his aversion to politics, Rosebery was no stranger to scandal. The Prince of Wales had reputedly once intervened to prevent him from being horsewhipped by the Marquess of Queensbury, with whose son Rosebery was believed to be having an affair. Queensbury's other son was Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover.) William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1892 - 1894 Gladstone's fourth term as prime minister was completely overshadowed by his insistence on introducing a third bill on the subject of 'Home Rule' for Ireland. The Conservative-dominated House of Lords threw the bill out and generally obstructed Liberal attempts to pass legislation. With his cabinet split and his health failing, the 'Grand Old Man' stepped down for the last time. The public was, in any case, exhausted with Home Rule and instead wanted reforms to working conditions and electoral practices.

(Meanwhile, out on the political fringe, the Independent Labour Party had been set up under Keir Hardie to represent the working class and 'secure the collective ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange'. Leading figures in the party included George Bernard Shaw and Ramsay MacDonald.) Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative, 1886 - 1892 William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1886 Gladstone came to power for the third time with 'Home Rule' (devolution) for Ireland still the dominant issue. A bitter election battle had seen the Conservative government fall after Irish Nationalist members of parliament sided with the Liberals to defeat them. Instead, the Liberals formed a government in coalition with the Irish Nationalists and Gladstone tried to push through his second attempt at a Home Rule bill. The bill split the Liberals and Gladstone resigned. He lost the general election when the 'Liberal Unionists' - those who wanted Ireland to be ruled from Westminster - broke away from Gladstone's Liberals to fight the next election as a separate party.

Most Liberal Unionists were of the 'Whig' or propertied faction of the party, which meant that when they went, they took most of the money with them. Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative, 1885 - 1886 William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1880 - 1885 Having failed to force Gladstone to serve under Lord Hartington, Queen Victoria reluctantly accepted 'that half-mad firebrand' as prime minister for the second time. He had only lately returned to politics from retirement after his so-called 'Midlothian Campaign', in which he spoke to large crowds - a practice considered by polite Victorian society to be 'undignified'. His campaign did much to discredit Disraeli's government and had clearly struck a chord with a public eager for social and electoral reform. The Ballot Act in 1872 had instituted secret ballots for local and general elections. Now came the Corrupt Practices Act, which set maximum election expenses, and the Reform and Redistribution Act, which effectively extended voting qualifications to another six million men. There were other burning issues.

The United States had just overtaken Britain as the world's largest industrialised economy, and 'Home Rule' (devolution) for Ireland continued to dominate. In seeking support for Home Rule, James Parnell's Irish Nationalists sided with the Conservatives to defeat a Liberal budget measure. Gladstone resigned and was replaced by the 'caretaker government' of the Marquess of Salisbury. Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative, 1874 - 1880 After a brief taste of power in 1868, it had taken Disraeli six years to become prime minister again. He wasted no time in bringing about the social reforms he had envisaged in the 1840s as a member of the radical Young England group. His Acts included measures to provide suitable housing and sewerage, to protect the quality of food, to improve workers rights (including the Climbing Boys Act which banned the use of juveniles as chimney sweeps) and to implement basic standards of education. In 1876, Disraeli was made the Earl of Beaconsfield, but continued to run the government from the Lords.

He persuaded Queen Victoria to take the title 'Empress of India' in 1877 and scored a diplomatic success in limiting Russian influence in the Balkans at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. He retired in 1880, hoping to spend his remaining years adding more novels to his already impressive bibliography, but died just one year later. William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal, 1868 - 1874 Upon taking office for the first time Gladstone declared it his 'mission' to 'pacify Ireland' - a prize that was always to elude him. Nonetheless, Gladstone was to become the dominant Liberal politician of the late 19th Century, serving as prime minister four times despite earning Queen Victoria's antipathy early in his career. (She famously complained that 'he always addresses me as if I were a public meeting'.) He had started his career as an ultra-conservative Tory, but would end it as a dedicated political reformer who did much to establish the Liberal Party's association with issues of freedom and justice. But Gladstone also had his idiosyncrasies.

He made a regular habit of going to brothels and often brought prostitutes back to 10 Downing Street. In an era when politicians' private lives were very private, his embarrassed colleagues nonetheless felt it necessary to explain his behaviour as 'rescue work' to save 'fallen women'. Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative, 1868 On being asked to become prime minister following the resignation of the Earl of Derby, Disraeli announced: 'I have reached the top of the greasy pole'. He immediately struck up an excellent rapport with Queen Victoria, who approved of his imperialist ambitions and his belief that Britain should be the most powerful nation in the world. Unhappily for the Queen, Disraeli's first term ended almost immediately with an election victory for the Liberals. Despite serving as an MP since 1837 and twice being Chancellor of the Exchequer, Disraeli's journey to the top was not without scandal. In 1835, he was forced to apologise in court after being accused of bribing voters in Maidstone. He also accrued enormous debts in his twenties through speculation on the stock exchange.

Disraeli suffered a nervous breakdown as a result, but eventually paid off his creditors by marrying a rich widow, Mary Anne Wyndam Lewis, in 1839. Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1866 - 1868 The introduction of the 1867 Reform Act made Derby's third term as prime minister a major step in the true democratisation of Britain. The Act extended the vote to all adult male householders (and lodgers paying £10 rental or more, resident for a year or more) living in a borough constituency. Simply put, it created more than 1.5 million new voters. Versions of the Reform Act had been under serious discussion since 1860, but had always foundered on Conservative fears. Many considered it a 'revolutionary' move that would create a majority of 'working class' voters for the first time. In proposing the Reform Act, Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative Leader of the House of Commons, had warned his colleagues that they would be labelled the 'anti-reform' party if they continued to resist. The legislation was passed, and also received the backing of the Liberals under their new leader, William Gladstone.

Earl Russell, Whig, 1865 - 1866 Viscount Palmerston, Liberal, 1859 - 1865 Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1858 - 1859 The property qualification - the requirement that a man must own property in order to stand as a member of parliament - was finally abolished during Derby's second term as prime minister. It meant that members of parliament (MPs) were no longer drawn exclusively from the 'propertied' classes and could realistically be 'working class'. This fulfilled one of the six conditions set out by the Chartists - supporters of the Third Chartist Petition, written in 1838. It demanded universal male suffrage (votes for all adult men), secret ballots (rather than traditional open ballots), annual parliamentary elections, equal electoral districts (some had less than 500 voters, while others had many thousands), the abolition of a property qualification for MPs, and payment for MPs (which would allow non-independently wealthy men to sit in parliament).

Viscount Palmerston, Liberal , 1855 - 1858 Earl of Aberdeen, Tory, 1852 - 1855 It was something of a cruel irony that Aberdeen came to be blamed for blundering into the dreadful Crimean War. As plain George Hamilton Gordon he had made a successful career as a diplomat and had done much to normalise Britain's relationships with its powerful neighbours. Vivid reports from the front by WH Russel of the Times have since led to the Crimean being styled the first 'media war'. His reports publicised the squalor and disease that were claiming more soldiers' lives than the fighting, and inspired Florence Nightingale to volunteer and take the first 38 nurses out to treat the wounded. In 1855, Aberdeen conceded to his critics and resigned. Earl of Derby, Conservative, 1852 Earl Russell, Whig, 1846 - 1851 Confronted by the Irish Potato Famine, declining trade and rising unemployment, Russell still managed to push through trade liberalisation measures and limits on women's working hours.

A dedicated reformer, he nonetheless presided over the rejection of the Third Chartist Petition. Set out 1838, it demanded universal male suffrage (votes for all adult men), secret ballots (rather than traditional open ballots), annual parliamentary elections, equal electoral districts (some had less than 500 voters, while others had many thousands), the abolition of a property qualification for members of parliament (MPs), and payment for MPs (which would allow non-independently wealthy men to sit in parliament). Already rejected once by parliament in 1839, the petition had gathered 5 million signatures by 1848. Presented to parliament a second time, it was again rejected. The Chartist movement slowly petered out, even as revolutions blazed across Europe, but many of its aims were eventually realised. Sir Robert Peel, Tory, 1841 - 1846 Peel's second term as prime minister was nothing short of tumultuous. Economic depression, rising deficits, Chartist agitation, famine in Ireland and Anti-Corn League protests crowded in. A raft of legislation was created to stabilise the economy and improve working conditions.

The Factory Act regulated work hours (and banned children under eight from the workplace), the Railway Act provided for cheap, regular train services, the Bank Charter Act capped the number of notes the Bank of England could issue and the Mines Act prevented women and children from working underground. But a failed harvest in 1845 provided Peel with his greatest challenge. There was an increasing clamour for repeal of the Corn Laws, which forbade the import of cheap grain from overseas. Powerful vested interests in the Tory Party opposed such a move, but in the end Peel confronted them and called for repeal. After nearly six months of debate, and with the Tories split in two, the Corn Laws were finally repealed. Defeated on a separate issue, Peel resigned the same day, but was cheered by crowds as he left the Commons. (The 'Peelite' faction of the Tories is widely recognised as the foundation of the modern Conservative.) Viscount Melbourne, Whig, 1835 - 1841 Sir Robert Peel, Tory, 1834 - 1835 Invited by William IV to form a new government, Peel immediately called a general election to strengthen his party.

Campaigning on his so-called 'Tamworth Manifesto', Peel promised a respectful approach to traditional politics, combined with measured, controlled reform. He thereby signalled a significant shift from staunch, reactionary 'Tory' to progressive 'Conservative' politics. Crucially, he pledged to accept the 1832 Reform Act, which had recently increased the number of people eligible to vote. Peel won the election, but only narrowly. He resigned the following year after several parliamentary defeats. (Peel is probably best remembered for creating the Metropolitan Police in 1829 while Home Secretary in the Duke of Wellington's first government. The nickname 'bobbies' for policemen is derived from his first name.) Duke of Wellington, Tory, 1834 Viscount Melbourne, Whig, 1834 In a bid to repress trade unions, Melbourne's government introduced legislation against 'illegal oaths'. As a result, the Grand National Consolidated Trades' Union failed. In March of the same year, six labourers were transported to Australia for seven years for attempting to provide a fund for workers in need. They became known as the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs'. Melbourne himself was notoriously laid back.

When first asked to become prime minister he declared it 'a damned bore'. Having accepted, he would often refuse to allow his cabinet colleagues to leave the room, insisting 'I'm damned if I know what we agreed on. We must all say the same thing.' Earl Grey, Whig, 1830 - 1834 In June 1832, the Reform Act finally passed into law after 15 torrid months of debate. It extended the vote to just 7% of the adult male population, based on a series of lowered property qualifications. Introduced in March 1831, the bill scraped through the Commons by a single vote, but was thrown out at the committee stage (when the bill is debated in detail - sometimes called the 'second reading'). Parliament was dissolved and the general election was fought on the single issue of the Reform Act - an unprecedented event in British political history. The Whigs won the election and passed the bill, but the House of Lords (with a majority of Tories) threw it out, sparking riots and civil disobedience across the country.

With the spectre of France's bloody revolution clearly in mind, William IV eventually agreed to create 50 Whig peers to redress the balance in the Lords if the bill was rejected again. The Lords conceded and the Act was finally passed into law. After all his efforts, Earl Grey is principally remembered for giving his name to a fragrant blend of tea. Duke of Wellington, Tory, 1828 - 1830 Wellington's first term in office was dominated by the thorny subject of Catholic emancipation. Catholics were permitted to vote, but were not allowed to sit as members of parliament (MPs) and had restrictions on the property they could own. Initially, the 'Iron Duke' was staunchly in favour of the status quo, but soon came to realise that emancipation might be the only way to end conflict arising from the Act of Union between Britain and Ireland in 1801. He became such an advocate that he even fought a duel with the 10th Earl of Winchilsea over the issue. The Earl had accused him of plotting the downfall of the 'Protestant constitution', but then backed down and apologised.

They still had to go through the ritual of the duel at Battersea Fields, with both men deliberately firing high and wide. Wellington eventually drove the legislation through, opening the way for Catholic MPs. Viscount Goderich, Tory, 1827 - 1828 George Canning, Tory, 1827 Canning finally became prime minister after a long career in politics, only to die of pneumonia 119 days later. He had famously fought a duel in 1809 with his bitterest political rival, Lord Castlereagh, and was shot in the thigh. Castlereagh committed suicide with a penknife in 1822, after becoming depressed about his falling popularity. Earl of Liverpool, Tory, 1812 - 1827 Liverpool is the second longest serving prime minister in British history (after Robert Walpole), winning four general elections and clinging on to power despite a massive stroke that incapacitated him for his last two years in office. Liverpool became PM at a time when Britain was emerging from the Napoleonic Wars and the first rumblings of 'working class' unrest were just beginning to be felt.

Staunchly undemocratic in his outlook, Liverpool suppressed efforts to give the wider populace a voice. He was unrepentant when, in 1819, troops fired on a pro-reform mass meeting at St Peter's Fields in Manchester, killing eleven - the so-called 'Peterloo Massacre'. Trade unions were legalised by the 1825 Combination Act, but were so narrowly defined that members were forced to bargain over wages and conditions amid a minefield of heavy penalties for transgressions. (Liverpool's one concession to popular sentiment was in the trial of Queen Caroline on trumped up adultery charges. The legal victimisation of George IV's estranged wife, who was tried in parliament in 1820, brought her mass sympathy. Mindful not to provoke the mob in the wake of Peterloo, the charges were eventually dropped.) Spencer Perceval, Tory, 1809 - 1812 Perceval bears a dubious distinction as the only British prime minister to be assassinated. As chancellor of the exchequer he moved in to 10 Downing Street in 1807, before rising to the office of prime minister two years later.

His 12 young children - some born while he was in office - also lived in the PM's crowded residence. Against expectations, he had skilfully kept his government afloat for three years despite a severe economic downturn and continuing war with Napoleon. He was shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons on 11 May 1812 by a merchant called John Bellingham who was seeking government compensation for his business debts. Perceval's body lay in 10 Downing Street for five days before burial. Bellingham gave himself up immediately. Tried for murder, he was found guilty and hanged a week later. Duke of Portland, Tory, 1807 - 1809 Lord Grenville, Whig, 1806 - 1807 William Pitt 'the Younger', Tory, 1804 - 1806 Faced by a fresh invasion threat from Napoleon, George III once again turned to Pitt. A shadow of his former self due to failing health and suspected alcoholism, Pitt nonetheless accepted.

He made alliances with Napoleon's continental rivals - Russia, Austria and Sweden - then, in 1805, Admiral Lord Nelson shattered French invasion hopes at the Battle of Trafalgar. Pitt did not have long to savour victory before Napoleon defeated both Russia and Austria to stand astride the whole of Europe. Heartsick, utterly exhausted, penniless and unmarried, Pitt died on 23 January 1806 at the age of 46. Henry Addington, Tory, 1801 - 1804 Addington secured the Peace of Amiens with France in 1802, but would see Britain plunge into war with Napoleon again just two years later. He also passed the first Factory Act into law. The Act was the earliest attempt to reform working conditions in factories. It set a maximum 12 hour working day for children and addressed issues like proper ventilation, basic education and sleeping conditions.

(Notably, his government also awarded Edward Jenner £10,000 to continue his pioneering work on a vaccine for smallpox.) But he was generally poorly regarded, prompting the satirical rhyme 'Pitt is to Addington, as London is to Paddington' - a reference to his distinguished predecessor as prime minister, William Pitt. William Pitt 'the Younger', Tory, 1783-1801 Pitt 'the Younger' was the youngest prime minister in British history, taking office at the tender age of just 24. But his youth did not seem to disadvantage him as he threw himself into the manifold problems of government, holding on to the top office for 17 years - fifteen years longer than his father, Pitt 'the Elder'. His first priority was to reduce the National Debt, which had doubled with the loss of the American colonies in 1783. George III's mental illness then threw up the spectre of a constitutional crisis, with the transfer of sovereignty to the erratic Prince of Wales only narrowly averted by the king's recovery.

Further threats to the monarchy emanated from across the Channel, with the bloody French Revolution of 1789 and subsequent war with France in 1793. War increased taxes and caused food shortages, damaging Pitt's popularity to the extent that he employed bodyguards out of fear for his safety. In a bid to resolve at least one intractable conflict, he pushed through the Act of Union with Ireland in 1800, but the related Emancipation of Catholics Bill was rejected by the king a year later. Having lost George III's confidence, Pitt was left with no option but to resign. Duke of Portland, Tory, 1783 Earl Shelburne, Whig, 1782 - 1783 Marquess of Rockingham, Whig, 1782 Lord North, Tory, 1770 - 1782 North is chiefly somewhat unfairly remembered as the prime minister who lost the American colonies. Groomed by George III to lead his parliamentary supporters, North was fiercely loyal to his king, whose policy it had been to 'punish' the American colonials.

The American War of Independence, reluctantly entered into by both sides, had been prosecuted at the king's behest in retaliation for their refusal to pay more towards their own defence. As hostilities progressed, North's blundering and indecision worsened an already difficult situation, and by 1782 it was clear that the outcome was likely to be a disaster. He begged George III to be allowed to resign, but the king refused to release him until the war was over. North has since become the yardstick for prime ministerial mediocrity, with later PMs being criticised as 'the worst since Lord North'. Duke of Grafton, Whig, 1768 - 1770 An unremarkable prime minister, Grafton had a quite remarkable appetite for extra-marital affairs and openly kept several mistresses. He scandalised polite society in 1764 by leaving his wife and going to live with his mistress, Anne Parsons, also known as 'Mrs Houghton'. (Horace Walpole referred to her derisively as 'everybody's Mrs Houghton'.) Popular opinion had disapproved of Grafton's behaviour, until his wife did something even more shocking.

She eloped with the Earl of Upper Ossory and had a child by him. Grafton divorced her in 1769, then abandoned Mrs Houghton and married Elizabeth Wrottesley, with whom he had 13 children. The Mrs Houghton ended up marrying the king's brother. This unsuitable union gave impetus to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which decreed that the monarch had to give permission for all royal weddings. Earl of Chatham, Pitt 'The Elder', Whig, 1766 - 1768 Pitt 'the Elder' is widely credited as the man who built the British Empire, although much of this was done in the role of secretary of state under the governments of the Duke of Newcastle. He chose his fights carefully, conducting military campaigns where conditions were best suited to British merchants. Pitt added India, West Africa, the West Indies and the American colonies to Britain's overseas possessions, and was persistently belligerent towards colonial rivals like France and Spain. His relentless imperialism kept the merchants happy but infuriated men like Newcastle who counted the financial cost of his wars.

Pitt was a superb public speaker and a master of the devastating put-down, but his career was dogged with recurrent mental illness and gout. Ironically, it was during his term as prime minister that he was at his least effective, often struggling to build support. He collapsed in the House of Lords in October 1768 and died four days later. (Pitt was the MP for a 'burgage borough' - an empty piece of land with no-one living on it. His constituency, Old Sarum, was a mound in Wiltshire. On polling day, seven voters met in a tent to cast their votes.) Marquess of Rockingham, Whig, 1765 - 1766 George Grenville, Whig, 1763 - 1765 Grenville is one of the few prime ministers to have been sacked by the monarch. He was fired after a row with George III over who should rule in his place if his mental health continued to deteriorate. Earl of Bute, Tory, 1762 - 1763 Bute was one of Britain's more unpopular prime ministers.

Things came to a head when he failed to lower the taxes he had raised to fight France in the American colonies. Rioting erupted, his effigies were burnt and the windows in his house were smashed. Bute was generally disliked by colleagues and public, and was lampooned for his 'fine pair of legs', of which he was reputed to be extremely proud. His close relationship with the Prince of Wales's widow, the Dowager Princess Augusta, was also the subject of much scurrilous gossip. The nickname 'Sir Pertinax MacSycophant' was a contemptuous reference to the Roman Emperor Publius Helvius Pertinax, who was murdered three months after his meteoric assent by his own bodyguard. Unable to muster support in parliament, Bute resigned in 1763. Duke of Newcastle, Whig, 1757 - 1762 Newcastle healed his rift with Pitt 'the Elder' by inviting him to serve in his government as secretary of state. Effectively a power-sharing coalition of two powerful men, the relationship gave birth to the British Empire.

Their government eventually fell as a result of the new king, George III's hostility to Pitt, who had sought to restrict the influence of the monarch in political matters. Duke of Devonshire, Whig, 1756-1757 Duke of Newcastle, Whig, 1754 - 1756 Newcastle became PM after his brother, Henry Pelham, died in office. It is the only instance of two brothers serving as prime minister. Newcastle enraged Pitt 'the Elder' by refusing to promote him in the new government, then compounded the insult by sacking him. Henry Pelham, Whig, 1743 - 1754 Earl of Wilmington, Whig, 1742 - 1743 Sir Robert Walpole, Whig, 1721 - 1742 Walpole is widely acknowledged as the first prime minister, although he never actually held the title. He was also the longest serving, lasting 21 years. But Walpole's first stint in government, as secretary of war, had ended inauspiciously with a six month spell in the Tower of London for receiving an illegal payment.

Undeterred, he rose to power again on the back of a collapsed financial scheme in which many prominent individuals had invested. Walpole had the foresight (or luck) to get out early, and as a result was credited with great financial acumen. George I invited him to become chancellor and gave him the powers that came to be associated with the office of prime minister. His owed his longevity in office (and the incredible wealth he accumulated) to a combination of great personal charm, enduring popularity, sharp practice and startling sycophancy. The accession of George II saw him temporarily eclipsed, but he worked hard to win over the new monarch. He was rewarded with both the new King's trust and 10 Downing Street, which remains the official residence of the prime minister to this day. Walpole was eventually brought down by an election loss at Chippenham and died just three years later.

Question: In 1799, which British Prime Minister introduced a new Income Tax to help finance the war against France?
Answer: WILLIAM PITT (the younger)