Reflecting his rise. Pitt’s ability to dominate politics was mainly due to the respect that the
king had for him as a Prime Minister. Which later exhilarated into the House of Parliament
. Due to reasons such as: his early indications of ‘independence’ from the hated Fox-North
coalition. He developed his own policies, presented them honestly and authoritatively to the
commons and expected good preparation and lucid presentation to sway the House to support
his government. Practical politics, which is what Pitt, was aiming to achieve required support
of the king and some support in both houses of parliament. This had major advantage to Pitt
due to his relationship with the king. Pitt gained followers within the parliament who called
themselves ‘Pittites’ this escalated his ability to Dominate politics due to popularity as a
Prime Minister. Through Pitts triumph in dominating Politics he was able to achieve great
things without infringing the rights of the king and therefore his respect for the king rights
had been one of the principal ingredients in explaining his success up to and within power.
The general election of 1784 was another reason as to why Pitt was able to dominate politics
within Britain for this period of time. Due to Fox and his allies still holding a substantial
parliamentary majority he believed that his own brand of reform would prove more palatable
then that of Mr Pitt. The list of Pitt’s ministers did not inspire confidence either, looking weak
among the House. But due to the absence of Shellbourne Pitt was able to rapidly turn this
around. It meant that Pitt could be his own man becoming an independent PM. Pitts strategy
in the early months of 1784 was to demonstrate capability and authority in parliament despite
majorities against him. This showed his ambitious leader ship skills. And although Fox lost
the general election and many people through this hated Pitt he soon was able to show his true
political ability and therefore the positive aspects as to why he had won general election. His
dominance in politics seemed an endorsement of traditional values. The manner in which he
bore himself in triumph confirmed the belief of backbencher MP’s that the body politic was
sound and that in Pitt the nation had a first minister who could be trusted to make the
traditional system work.
Pitt’s political ideas were another key factor, which enabled Pitt to dominate within the whole
of British politics. His ideas for ‘national revival’ after the crisis that was the American war
which left Britain suffering from long term growth in Gross National Product from the start of
the century, the 1770s witnessed fall in the real value of Britain’s industrial and commercial
production. At the same time, the value of exports fell by 12% and national debt was on the
increase leading to just under 250 million by 1783.The annual interest on this debt amounted
to just under 9 million. Due to such a situation on Pitts arrival he was able to use his political
skills and the foundations of what and already been laid for him in order to form financial
administrative reforms. He came up with methods by which Pitt could hope to master the
situation giving him huge support due to people putting all there hope in to Pitt. He aimed to:
target smuggling increasing trade and expanding revenue, introducing a range of new taxes,
increasing efficient collection of existing taxes. He came up with ‘the sinking fund’ to tackle
the problem of the massively increased national debt, to reduce government expenditure
through increasing administrative efficiency, through a process of rationalisation and lastly to
design a commercial policy to stimulate increased overseas trade. But his first objective was
the restoration of national finances. As political and economic stability is so closely related,
Pitt also had the broader aim of restoring confidence in the British government and political
system. Within this framework his first priority was to raise revenue. All this reflected Pitt’s
political intelligence, and therefore gained support within parliament and among the people.
Even those that where unhappy with Pitts actions could se the admiration was true to the
mainstream of conventional thinking.
Overall these factors show how Pitt was able to Dominate politics between 1783 and 1793.
His leadership skills are reflected greatly in his onward battle to domination within British
politics. His support from the King was a major advantage to period in which Pitt was in
power. It not only helped him to get to where he was but it helped him maintain his position
due to the monarch playing a huge role in Britain in the 1700’s. Pitt was able to achieve things
without infringing on the rights of the monarch keeping to his own political strategies.
Gaining also support from hose that did not agree with him actions purely through his ability
to conquer such revivalry within Britain showing his great skills within Power.
