How do you account for the Whigs lack of political success in the period 1783-1815

Kings recovery the Whigs further distanced themselves from the monarchy and therefore their hopes of ever coming to office declined dramatically.

After the outbreak of revolution in France in 1792 the party faced the problem of split opinion amongst its members. Although the French revolution did further the divide between some members, many of the ideological differences existed prior to the outbreak and were simply exposed showing the party to be split and erratic. A split and erratic party would never be elected into office. The 'Friends of the people', established by Lord Gray also added to the lack of party unity.

Fox's own leadership of the Whig party must also be criticised for the lack of political success as he failed to provide its members with a firm leader, which was needed to resolve party issues. Fox failed to handle the Regency Crisis with care and resulted in the Whigs alienation from the King. Fox also could not control internal conflicts which determined him to be a poor leader. These internal arguments occurred mostly between the older, more conservative Whigs and the younger, more radical Whigs. By 1792 major Whig members such as Portland and Burke left the party saying they could no longer accept the Foxite view that the French revolution was the same as the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688 and its influence would not spread to Britain. With these important members leaving the party, the Whigs lost support and strength which also became a reason as to why the Whigs suffered a lack of political success between the years 1792-1815.

The lack of success by the Whig party was also attributed due to the strength of Pitt and his party. As Pitt had proved during his years in office, he was an astute, clever character. He had brought political and economic stability to the country and also resolved the India issue which no other ministry (including the Fox-North) had been able to achieve. After the edict of Fraternty was issued in 1792, Pitt recognised the true threat posed by the French Revolution on Britain and set about with aims to surpress radicalism and maintain peace and order within the country. Members of the propertied elite who had been part of the Whigs realised that if Fox won an election into power, all their land and property would be taken from them. A hasty move to Pitt's party by many of the more conservative, wealthy Whigs added strength and economic funding to the party, contributing to its success. Pitt, who as mentioned was astute, did not just admit these men to the back bench seats but offered them prestigious places as ministers in his cabinet. This subsequently caused a further disintegration of the Whig party in politics between the period 1783-1815.

To conclude, the Whigs lack of political success cannot be blamed on an individual issue. A series of events after the start of the 1780's led to Whig party splits and a lack of unity. Unity within the party was essential to take office. The French revolution was a major contributor to the Whigs lack of political success as it ont only weakened the party due to loss of members but also due to the exposure internal party problems. Unable to recover after the events between 1783 and 1815 the Whig party, in contrast to Pitt's success posed no competition to challenge the Tory office.