Key People- Frederick Robinson, Viscount Goderich (1782- 1828)

Robinson became Prime Minister in 1827, however it is generally accepted that neither he nor Parliament were happy with this. Whilst the rest of his political career was successful and untarnished, his premiership was chaotic and difficult; Robinson himself lacked the necessary leadership skills and was generally uncomfortable in the position. He was ultimately forced out of office because of this, before ever even meeting with Parliament.  

Before His Premiership

• Robinson was educated in Cambridge and seemed to be heading towards law as his career, however his uncle (who was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland) managed to get him a job as his private secretary in 1804, and then a parliamentary seat in 1806. 
• Thus, Robinson's political career had began. 
• He was then elected as a Member of Parliament in 1807 (thanks to another relative). 
• Robinson had a talent for public speaking, and quickly became an associate of Lord Castlereagh, both of which aided his success at Parliament. 
• He served Castlereagh as an under-secretary in the War office in 1809, and then joined Spencer Preceval's administration in 1810. 
• He was promoted to Vice-President of the Board of Trade in 1812. 
• However, it was then up to Robinson to introduce the intensely controversial Corn Laws, which were received very negatively, by the lower classes especially (evident from the amount of civil unrest they caused). Whereas some revisionists and the upper classes of the time seem to support the government's decision. 
• It was after this that he began emerging as an integral member of the Liberal Tories, a contradictory action to the passing of the Corn Laws. 
• As the President of the Board of Trade in 1818 and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1823, Robinson took a much more liberal approach to economics which saw a fall in taxation by £8 million in 3 years. 
• However, he resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1826 due to the strain in the economy which weakened his reputation. 

His Premiership

• Robinson's continual support and work for the abolition of slavery and Catholic Emancipation, and his close professional relationship with George Canning (as Colonial Secretary and Leader in the Lords) is most likely why King George IV saw him as the most eligible person to take over as PM when Canning died in 1827. 
• The King hoped Robinson would lead in a coalition between the Whigs and Tories, and his liberal, forward thinking attitudes seemed to be very promising. 
• He was officially made Prime Minister in August 1827. 
• Robinson had high hopes for his Premiership, he planned to completely reshape politics in Britain by taking it in a less traditional direction; he put in place liberal MPs, proposed taxation reforms, planned to make peace with Ireland. 
• However, these new policies were not popular among those who mattered- most importantly the King. 
• George IV had very different political ideals to Robinson and did not like the direction he was taking the government in. 
• Robinson himself had very little faith in the actions he was taking, he doubted his decisions, and was, quite simply, not cut out for the rather large job of Prime Minister- and he knew this. 
• All this, coupled with the deteriorating health of both him and his wife (which was making his job harder) meant that only 5 months later the King was looking for different options. 
• As this news became public the government only became more chaotic due to the uncertainty it presented. 
• It was in early January 1828 that Robinson's doom was confirmed in an interview with the King. 
• He asked Robinson to make arrangements to find his own replacement- a humiliating task for him. This must have been a very emotional prospect for Robinson as some reports say it left him in tears.

Robinson's Political Career After His Premiership

• Whilst Robinson's departure form office was an unfortunate one, he managed to bounce back into politics quickly and without too much trouble. 
• He stood by his liberal values which helped him in the long term as British politics began moving in that direction later on in the 19th century. 
• He served under Lord Grey when he was PM as Lord Privy Seal. 
• In 1834 he resigned over the government's policies in the Irish Church and two years later joined the Conservative Party. 
• However, he returned to government after fellow Liberal Tory, Robert Peel was elected. 
• A month before he resigned from politics for good, the Corn Laws were abolished- a seemingly fit end to his political career 

For more on Robinson and other Liberal Tories click here

For more on the Corn Laws click here