Grenville and Lauderdale: Two British Statesmen and Political Economy, 1780s–1830s

Grenville and Lauderdale were both important figures of British political life at the turn of the nineteenth century. Both of them were particularly interested in the emerging science of political economy, and were amongst the few politicians of this rank to write extensively on this topic. While they were raised in the same Whig political tradition, they chose opposite sides when William Pitt seceded from the party to become prime minister in 1783. This article examines how Lauderdale and Grenville wove economic arguments into their political discourse to defend their positions on varied issues: the war with France, the funding system and the sinking fund, the fiscal policy and the introduction of an income tax, the Corn Laws, the gold standard and the resumption of cash payments. Grenville and Lauderdale’s views gradually converged as they collaborated in Grenville’s Ministry of all the talents. Both took their distance from the Whig party in the 1820s, which was increasingly influenced by the radicals, to adopt a more conservative stance. This raises the question of their relationship towards ‘Christian political economy’, displaying the specific position occupied by these Whig Statesmen of the eighteenth century in the new industrial world. See more