ABSTRACT
William Pitt was out of office from March 1801 to May 1804, during which time Henry Addington held the office of Prime Minister. Pitt hoped that the political transition would be smooth and he had no intention of criticising the incoming ministry. He took comfort from the fact that the new government contained a number of his own men, who intended to follow broadly ‘Pittite’ policies. Pitt’s period on the backbenches was brief but eventful. Pitt’s public judgement was rapidly proved wrong, of course. Britain returned to war with France in May 1803 and, from that point, the clamour grew for him to return and lead the nation. The resumption of hostilities with France quickly weakened the Addington administration. The Grenvilles continued to scheme for Addington’s downfall, and moved ever closer to an alliance with Fox and his supporters in order to achieve this objective. John Ehrman calls Pitt’s last administration ‘An Impaired Ministry’.
