Hi - Looking at your page, a few questions. First, should the Cabal be listed? The most important thing about that period is that there really wasn't a single chief minister. Arlington was probably the closest, as he was basically running foreign affairs, but none of them was dominant in domestic affairs. Second, I think that a lot of the men you list were not really the chief minister - specifically Godolphin 1684-1685, Belasyse, Montagu 1694-1699, Pembroke 1699-1702, Halifax 1714-1715, Carlisle, and Walpole 1715-1717. I don't think you'll find any reliable source that considers any of those men to have been the chief minister at those times. I think the indisputable cases of single chief ministers before 1730 (I don't think Walpole really qualifies even in the 1720s, given that Townshend was essentially his equal, and had full control of foreign policy) are Clarendon 1660-1667, Danby 1674-1679, Godolphin 1702-1710, and Harley 1710-1714. The rest are all arguable. I think that some consideration should be given to the people I listed in my original post. In the period after 1714, I think the situation is actually pretty clear, but doesn't fit a table all that well. From George I's arrival until 1716, Townshend was effectively the chief minister, even though he was being undermined for most of 1716 by Stanhope. Then, after a period of some confusion and uncertainty when there wasn't really a single leader, between early 1717 to early 1721, Stanhope and Sunderland were effectively joint leaders. Your 1718 switching point seems wrong to me. Yes, they exchanged offices that year, but the idea that Sunderland was serving under Stanhope from 1717 to 1718, and then Stanhope was serving under Sunderland from 1718 to 1721 can't really be defended.
On the whole, I think it would be good to both extend this list to earlier periods - people like Strafford, Buckingham, the Cecils, Northumberland, and Wolsey seem at least as deserving of listing as the later ones, and certainly more worthy of listing than someone like Belasyse or Carlisle, who weren't chief ministers any more than the Earl of Iddesleigh and William Henry Smith were prime ministers. I think there should also be much less of an effort to fill every gap. This was an unofficial post, and there were gaps. There's a useful list in a 1923 book by Viscount Mersey, who was an early 20th century politician and judge. He gives us, in the period in question, only Clarendon, Danby/Carmarthen twice (in 1673-1678 and again 1692-1695), Godolphin from 1702-1710, and Harley. For anyone beyond that, we should find sources. john k ( talk) 00:31, 5 September 2011 (UTC)
__The above copied here from another talk page. BartBassist ( talk) 22:39, 17 May 2012 (UTC) __
Hi - Looking at your page, a few questions. First, should the Cabal be listed? The most important thing about that period is that there really wasn't a single chief minister. Arlington was probably the closest, as he was basically running foreign affairs, but none of them was dominant in domestic affairs. Second, I think that a lot of the men you list were not really the chief minister - specifically Godolphin 1684-1685, Belasyse, Montagu 1694-1699, Pembroke 1699-1702, Halifax 1714-1715, Carlisle, and Walpole 1715-1717. I don't think you'll find any reliable source that considers any of those men to have been the chief minister at those times. I think the indisputable cases of single chief ministers before 1730 (I don't think Walpole really qualifies even in the 1720s, given that Townshend was essentially his equal, and had full control of foreign policy) are Clarendon 1660-1667, Danby 1674-1679, Godolphin 1702-1710, and Harley 1710-1714. The rest are all arguable. I think that some consideration should be given to the people I listed in my original post. In the period after 1714, I think the situation is actually pretty clear, but doesn't fit a table all that well. From George I's arrival until 1716, Townshend was effectively the chief minister, even though he was being undermined for most of 1716 by Stanhope. Then, after a period of some confusion and uncertainty when there wasn't really a single leader, between early 1717 to early 1721, Stanhope and Sunderland were effectively joint leaders. Your 1718 switching point seems wrong to me. Yes, they exchanged offices that year, but the idea that Sunderland was serving under Stanhope from 1717 to 1718, and then Stanhope was serving under Sunderland from 1718 to 1721 can't really be defended.
On the whole, I think it would be good to both extend this list to earlier periods - people like Strafford, Buckingham, the Cecils, Northumberland, and Wolsey seem at least as deserving of listing as the later ones, and certainly more worthy of listing than someone like Belasyse or Carlisle, who weren't chief ministers any more than the Earl of Iddesleigh and William Henry Smith were prime ministers. I think there should also be much less of an effort to fill every gap. This was an unofficial post, and there were gaps. There's a useful list in a 1923 book by Viscount Mersey, who was an early 20th century politician and judge. He gives us, in the period in question, only Clarendon, Danby/Carmarthen twice (in 1673-1678 and again 1692-1695), Godolphin from 1702-1710, and Harley. For anyone beyond that, we should find sources. john k ( talk) 00:31, 5 September 2011 (UTC)
__The above copied here from another talk page. BartBassist ( talk) 22:39, 17 May 2012 (UTC) __