Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828), was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming prime minister he had been foreign secretary, home secretary and secretary of state for war and the colonies. He held the constituency of Rye from 1790 until 1803, when he was elevated to the House of Lords, where he was Leader 1803–1806 and 1807–1827.

Liverpool's fifteen years as prime minister saw his guiding Britain to victory in the Napoleonic Wars and ushering in a lasting postwar peace, but also produced unrest and radicalism at home. During the first part of his premiership, repressive measures were taken to restore order at home, the Corn Laws were introduced and income tax was repealed. In the 1820s his leadership became more liberal, and the period saw a reform of the criminal law and prisons. Throughout his tenure as prime minister, Liverpool sought a compromise over the issue of Catholic emancipation. He resigned following a stroke in February 1827. Important events during Liverpool's premiership included the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the Congress of Vienna, the 1812–1814 war with America, the Peterloo massacre, the failed Cato Street Conspiracy and the Queen Caroline affair.

Liverpool, known as Jenkinson until 1803 and as Hawkesbury from 1803 to 1808, was the son of Tory politician Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool. He was educated at Charterhouse School and Christ Church, Oxford. Twice married, he had no children; on his death the earldom passed to his younger half-brother.

Early life

Jenkinson was born on 7 June 1770, the son of politician Charles Jenkinson (who was later created the first Earl of Liverpool) and his first wife, Amelia Watts. Jenkinson's 19-year-old mother, who was the daughter of senior East India Company official William Watts and his wife Frances Croke, died one month after his birth. Through his mother's maternal grandmother, Isabella Beizor, Jenkinson was descended from Portuguese settlers in India, and he may also have had Indian ancestors. He was baptised on 29 June 1770 at St. Margaret's, Westminster.

Cabinet

Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary

Hawkesbury, as he now was, obtained his first Cabinet position in 1801 when he became Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in Henry Addington's administration and was responsible for negotiating the Treaty of Amiens with France. In 1803 he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Hawkesbury in order to support the government against Lord Grenville's attacks. As a result of Portland's weakness, the departments were left to themselves while the government was without a higher authority to smooth down differences between departments and arbitrate disagreements between ministers. The real figures of importance were a foursome of Pittites, consisting of Viscount Castlereagh, George Canning, Spencer Perceval and Lord Hawkesbury. The government was soon torn apart from inner disputes and rivalries. After the duel between Castlereagh and Canning, the government collapsed.

War Secretary

Liverpool accepted the position of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies when Spencer Perceval formed a ministry in November 1809. During his time in office, he ensured that the Cabinet gave sufficient support to the Peninsular War. After poor harvests led to rising bread prices, riots broke out in East Anglia in 1816. In Littleport a rioter was killed when troops opened fire and five rioters were subsequently executed. There was also a revival of Luddite activity. In November and December 1816, followers of Thomas Spence organised two meetings at Spa Fields in London at which the radical Henry Hunt was invited to speak. The second meeting was followed by the Spa Fields riots and an unsuccessful attempt to seize the Tower of London and Bank of England. The following month, the Prince Regent's carriage window was broken in a possible assassination attempt. In response to these incidents, a measure to temporarily suspend habeas corpus was passed by both Houses of Parliament.

On 16 August 1819, between 20,000 and 60,000 people gathered at St Peter's Fields, Manchester, to hear Henry Hunt and other speakers demand parliamentary reform in the form of universal suffrage and annual parliaments. Against the advice of home secretary Sidmouth, local magistrates ordered troops to disperse the crowd and arrest the speakers. Eleven people were killed and hundreds injured in what became known as the Peterloo Massacre. Later that year, after the Whigs had tried to make political capital out of the Peterloo Massacre, parliament passed the Six Acts, which were designed to curtail disturbances of the peace while preserving traditional liberties. Later in 1822, following the suicide of Castlereagh, Canning became foreign secretary and leader of the House of Commons, while two of his followers were promoted, F. J. Robinson to the Chancellorship of the Exchequer and William Huskisson to the Presidency of the Board of Trade.

Legacy

Lord Liverpool's reputation was poor in the 19th century and has steadily grown since the 1930s. Norman Gash argues that as prime minister he gave the nation stable leadership for 15 years (1812–1827), a tenure behind only to Walpole (1721–1742) and Pitt the Younger (1783–1801 and 1804–1806). Liverpool skillfully held together a fractious Tory party and a cabinet of strong personalities (especially Castlereagh and Canning). He guided the nation to victory over Napoleon and managed the difficult post-war transition, including massive debt reduction and economic stabilization. He led the transition to "Liberal Toryism" in the 1820s, which introduced important economic, legal, and criminal justice reforms.

Historian Robert William Seton-Watson in 1937 summed up Liverpool's strengths and weaknesses:

Recently Martin Hutchinson has hailed him as "Britain's Greatest Prime Minister." argues:<blockquote>Lord Liverpool was a better military strategist than Churchill or Lloyd George, ran the economy better than Pitt, Gladstone or Thatcher, dealt with post-war debt and poverty better than Attlee and won more elections than any of them. That is why Lord Liverpool, who beat Napoleon and presided over the Industrial Revolution, was Britain’s Greatest Prime Minister.</blockquote>

John W. Derry in 2020 says Jenkinson was:

Liverpool entered the top office at the age of 42 years, younger than all of his successors. He served as prime minister for a total of 14 years and 305 days, making him the longest-serving prime minister of the 19th century. As of 2025, none of Liverpool's successors has served longer.

In London, Liverpool Street and Liverpool Road, Islington, are named after Lord Liverpool. In Australia, the Hawkesbury River and the Liverpool Plains, both in New South Wales, and the Liverpool River in the Northern Territory were named for him. Likewise the city of Liverpool, New South Wales.So too was the Canadian town of Hawkesbury, Ontario.

Lord Liverpool was portrayed by American actor Gilbert Emery in the 1934 film The House of Rothschild.

Lord Liverpool's ministry (1812–1827)

thumb|Lord Liverpool by Thomas Lawrence, c.1827

  • Lord Liverpool – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Lords
  • Lord Eldon – Lord Chancellor
  • Lord Harrowby – Lord President of the Council
  • Lord Westmorland – Lord Privy Seal
  • Lord Sidmouth – Secretary of State for the Home Department
  • Lord Castlereagh (Lord Londonderry after 1821) – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the House of Commons
  • Lord Bathurst – Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
  • Lord Melville – First Lord of the Admiralty
  • Nicholas Vansittart – Chancellor of the Exchequer
  • Lord Mulgrave – Master-General of the Ordnance
  • Lord Buckinghamshire – President of the Board of Control
  • Charles Bathurst – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  • Lord Camden – minister without portfolio

Changes

  • Late 1812 – Lord Camden leaves the Cabinet
  • September 1814 – William Wellesley-Pole (Lord Maryborough from 1821), the Master of the Mint, enters the Cabinet
  • February 1816 – George Canning succeeds Lord Buckinghamshire at the Board of Control
  • January 1818 – F. J. Robinson, the president of the Board of Trade, enters the Cabinet
  • January 1819 – The Duke of Wellington succeeds Lord Mulgrave as Master-General of the Ordnance. Lord Mulgrave becomes minister without portfolio
  • 1820 – Lord Mulgrave leaves the cabinet
  • January 1821 – Charles Bathurst succeeds Canning as President of the Board of Control, remaining also at the Duchy of Lancaster
  • January 1822 – Robert Peel succeeds Lord Sidmouth as Home Secretary
  • February 1822 – Charles Williams-Wynn succeeds Charles Bathurst at the Board of Control. Bathurst remains at the Duchy of Lancaster and in the Cabinet
  • September 1822 – Following the suicide of Lord Londonderry, George Canning becomes Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons
  • January 1823 – Vansittart, elevated to the peerage as Lord Bexley, succeeds Charles Bathurst as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. F. J. Robinson succeeds Vansittart as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He is succeeded at the Board of Trade by William Huskisson
  • 1823 – Lord Maryborough, the Master of the Mint, leaves the Cabinet. His successor in the office is not a Cabinet member

Arms

References

Further reading

  • "Earl of Liverpool" by Prime Minister's Office (archived 12 November 2008)