Key People- Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845)

Charles Grey was a Whig politician who became Prime Minister in 1830 for four years. He was well known for his feud with King George IV. He consistently advocated for Parliamentary reform and Catholic Emancipation. After the ascension of William IV, he was invited back to Parliament to form a government. He is usually credited with kick-starting the development of democracy in Britain. Grey was also a Foxite Whig (follower of James Charles Fox- rival of William Pitt)

Before

• Took office under Grenville in 1806 very early on in his political career as MP for Northumberland
• Formed the Society of the People in 1792 in response to the French Revolution to encourage the lower and middle classes to demand for Parliamentary reform 
• This was considered very radical and split the Whigs- the younger politicians, like Grey, supported it 
• He put forward a reform bill in 1797 but it failed greatly 
• It was after this that he withdrew from politics all together 
• He continued to support Catholic Emancipation and a more liberal Britain 
• Grey replaced Fox as foreign secretary in 1806
• Because of the sympathy he displayed for Catholics, he lost his seat as MP fro Northumberland in 1807 
•  He was concerned at the political instability of Britain caused by the slow recovery from war and the levels of discontent felt people under Liverpool's government 
• He thought the way forward was to create a reform bill under the Whigs which satisfied everyone (i.e. helped those who needed it, but was conservative enough to be accepted by the aristocracy)
• In 1829 Catholic Emancipation was granted which paved the way for Grey and the Whigs to take up office in 1830

His Premiership and Its Demise

• Grey was a popular choice and backed by many- the middle classes gave him a vote of confidence and he landed a large majority in the House of Commons 
• Talked of plans to reform the voting system early on to make it more representative 
• His proposed reforms were still deemed too radical for most- even those who supported it and found himself in conflict with the new King, William IV when he asked for new peers who would support the bill because of this  
• The rest of the country supported his bill and because of this it won a majority vote in the House of Commons 
• Reform Act 1832- improved the voting system- had a knock on effect which helped improve the democracy in Britain for the next century 
• It was an outstanding victory for the Whigs which would impact the country for generations to come
• His Government introduced factory reforms, the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, reform of the Poor Law and reforms of the banking system  
• However some of his ideas for reform were still seen as too extravagant- politicians did not appreciate his ideas to change legislation relating to the church and state 
• He also helped pass legislation which restricted employment of children, and helped abolish slavery in the British Empire
• The instability in his cabinet which all these proposed reforms put too much of a strain on Grey, he was exhausted and resigned in 1834
• Grey did not stay in politics after retiring as MP