The Whigs were a political party in the parliaments of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom.
The Whigs' start was in constitutional monarchism and disagreement with absolute monarchy. Between the 1680s and 1850s, they tried to win power over their rivals, the Tories. The British prime minister was usually from one of the two parties.
Whigs | |
---|---|
Founded | 1678 |
Dissolved | 1868 |
Preceded by | Country party |
Succeeded by | Liberal Party Peelites |
Ideology | Whiggism, Constitutional monarchism, Radicalism, Laissez-faire, Classical liberalism, Rule of law, Anti-Catholicism |
International affiliation | None |
Colours | orange; buff and blue |
The Whigs played a central role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and were the enemies of the Stuart kings and pretenders, who were Roman Catholic. The Whigs took full control of the government in 1715. They held it until King George III, coming to the throne in 1760, allowed Tories back in.
When they held power, the Whigs got rid of the Tories from all major jobs in government, the army, the Church of England, the legal jobs and local officials.
Their most famous leader was Robert Walpole, who kept control of the government from 1721 to 1742.
Later on, many of their ideas were adopted by the Liberal Party in the later 19th century.
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