Key People- George Canning (1770- 1827)

• George Canning was an ambitious politician, inspired the Premiership of William Pitt, and who spent just five months as a Tory Prime Minister in 1827- the shortest time of any PM. 
• He became PM following the the resignation of Lord Liverpool 
• He was renowned in Britain for his talent in public speaking. 
• He was ahead of his time in that he was one of the first MPs to campaign in the country, conducting speeches separate from Parliament. 
• Unlike Pitt he was against parliamentary reforms but different from many of his predecessors, he advocated for Catholic emancipation. 
• In 1807 he was put in place as Foreign secretary, and was successful in this position. 
• His most influential moment at this time was against Napoleon in the War. 
• However, Canning was removed from office in 1809 after falling out with the War Minister, Viscount Castlereagh. 
• Following this disagreement, Canning duelled Castlereagh after being challenged. Canning lost the duel as he had never used a pistol, but managed to leave with just an injured leg. 
• Both politicians resigned shortly afterwards. 
• In the weeks following the incident, Spencer Perceval was elected as PM, much to Canning's disappointment and he retaliated by turning down the opportunity to have a high profile post in Perceval's administration. 
• He was briefly put in place as ambassador to Portugal but soon returned to the government as president of the Board of Control. 
• In 1822 he returned as Foreign Secretary, replication Castlereagh after he had committed suicide. 
• He kept up his reputation in this role, as he was once again successful- most notably defending the colonies in South America from France. 
• Canning was much more liberal as Foreign Secretary and he opted to a different approach in economic policy and social reforms. 
• All these roles meant Canning was able and experienced enough to be eligible for PM

The Premiership of Canning

• It was after this that Canning served his short Premiership, replacing Lord Liverpool in April 1827 after his resignation. He attempted to form a coalition with the Whigs and seemed to be very promising. 
• He was hated by half of his Cabinet (including Wellington and Peel) as his advanced ideas made him untrustworthy to some- most notably his support Catholic Emancipation and liberal liberal foreign policy 
• The Whigs generally supported him in Parliament  
• Five months later, on the 8th of August 1827, Canning died suddenly from pneumonia. 
• He was succeeded by Robinson, Viscount Goderich 

Conclusion 

• Some see him as a lost leader and speculate what could have happened supposing he had survive- half his government did not like him and refused to serve under him which is what prompted him to invite four Whigs to his Cabinet 
• He was generally regarded negatively by the Tory bourgeoisie for have too advanced ideas, but it is now thought that this was also due to him not being born into aristocracy and yet being allowed to be PM. This is proof of the prejudice the upper classes showed towards the middle and working classes when it came to politics. 
• However he did not have many long term influences
• In fact, it was the middle class which most favoured Canning's ministry. 
• He was instrumental in taking the Tory party from traditionalist to more liberal, despite being strictly against Parliamentary reforms.   

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