Parliament and Politics from George I to the Reform Act of 1832
The accession of George I in 1714 marked a change in the ruling
house of Great Britain, bringing to the throne the elector of
the north German state of Hanover. This transition, the
Hanoverian succession, caused a collapse in the political
fortunes of the Tory government of Lord Oxford and a revival for
their opponents, the Whigs. The Court Whigs, as the ruling
oligarchy was known, dominated successive administrations for
most of the next century. But Parliament, which had met in
annual session uninterruptedly for the previous 25 years,
continued to play an authoritative role under the Hanoverian
kings. Under Robert Walpole and Henry Pelham, who occupied the
position of first or ‘prime’ minister for a total of 30 years
between 1722 and 1754, Britain enjoyed a long period of internal
stability and economic prosperity, in marked contrast to the
partisan politics and European wars of the 30 years to 1715.
Apart from the bursting of the South Sea bub