Unionist government, 1895–1905

A coalition of the Conservative and Liberal Unionist parties took power in the United Kingdom shortly before the 1895 general election. Conservative leader Lord Salisbury was appointed Prime Minister and his nephew, Arthur Balfour, became Leader of the House of Commons, but various major posts went to the Liberal Unionists, most notably the Leader of the House of Lords, the Liberal Unionist Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire, who was made Lord President, and his colleague in the Commons, Joseph Chamberlain, who became Colonial Secretary. It was this government which would conduct the Second Boer War from 1899–1902, which helped them to win a landslide victory at the 1900 general election.

The government consisted of three ministries, the first two led by Salisbury (from 1895–1902) and the third by Balfour (from 1902 onwards).

The office of Prime Minister

File:Joseph ('Joe') Chamberlain; Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour by Sydney Prior Hall.jpg

Joseph Chamberlain and Arthur Balfour by Sydney Prior Hall

Lord Salisbury was the second and last person to be head of government while not simultaneously holding the title of First Lord of the Treasury. It was said that there were some attempts to distinguish between the two offices, but in the century or more since, they have remained one and the same.

Trade reform

Balfour succeeded Salisbury as prime minister in 1902. Eventually, the Unionist government would falter after Chamberlain proposed his scheme for tariff reform, whose partial embrace by Balfour led to the resignation of the more orthodox free traders in the Cabinet.

Chinese miners in South Africa

File:Punch 1903 - Chinese Paul.jpg

Punch cartoon, 1903. The Rand mine-owners' employment of Chinese labour on the Transvaal gold mines in British-controlled South Africa was controversial and contributed to the 1906 Liberal landslide.

After the conclusion of the Boer War, the British government sought to rebuild the South African economy which had been devastated by the war. An important part of the rebuilding effort was to get the gold mines of the Witwatersrand, the richest in history and a major cause of the war, back in production as soon as possible. Because the government decreed that white labour was too expensive and black labourers were reluctant to return to the mines,Template:Sfn the government decided to import over 60,000 contracted workers from China.Template:Sfn

This was deeply unpopular at the time, as popular opinion in much of the Western world, including Britain; was hostile to Chinese immigration. It also happened at a time when poverty and unemployment amongst working-class British people was at very high levels.Template:Sfn On 26 March 1904, a demonstration against Chinese immigration to South Africa was held in Hyde Park and was attended by 80,000 people. The Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Union Congress then passed a resolution declaring that:

That this meeting consisting of all classes of citizens of London, emphatically protests against the action of the Government in granting permission to import into South Africa indentured Chinese labour under conditions of slavery, and calls upon them to protect this new colony from the greed of capitalists and the Empire from degradation.

— Template:Comma separated entries

Fall from power

With his majority greatly reduced and defeat in the next election seeming inevitable, Balfour resigned as prime minister in December 1905, leading to the appointment of a minority Liberal government under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. In the general election which followed in 1906, all but three members of Balfour's cabinet lost their seats, including Balfour himself.

Cabinets

Salisbury ministry

November 1900 to July 1902

In November 1900, the Cabinet was reformed for the first time.

Balfour ministry

Changes

• May 1903Template:SndLord Onslow succeeds Robert William Hanbury at the Board of Agriculture.
• September to October 1903Template:Snd
  • Lord Londonderry succeeds the Duke of Devonshire as Lord President. Londonderry remains President of the Board of Education.
  • Lord Lansdowne succeeds Devonshire as Leader of the House of Lords. Lansdowne remains Foreign Secretary.
  • Lord Salisbury succeeds Arthur Balfour as Lord Privy Seal.
  • Austen Chamberlain succeeds Charles Ritchie at the Exchequer. Chamberlain's successor as Postmaster General is not in the Cabinet.
  • Alfred Lyttelton succeeds Joseph Chamberlain as Colonial Secretary.
  • St John Brodrick succeeds Lord George Hamilton as Secretary for India.
  • H. O. Arnold-Forster succeeds Brodrick as Secretary for War.
  • Andrew Graham-Murray succeeds Lord Balfour of Burleigh as Secretary for Scotland.
• March 1905Template:Snd
  • Walter Hume Long succeeds George Wyndham as Irish Secretary.
  • Gerald Balfour succeeds Long at the Local Government Board.
  • Lord Salisbury succeeds Balfour at the Board of Trade. Salisbury remains Lord Privy Seal.
  • Lord Cawdor succeeds Lord Selborne at the Admiralty.
  • Ailwyn Fellowes succeeds Lord Onslow at the Board of Agriculture.

List of ministers

Office	Name	Date
Prime ministerTemplate:Efn	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyTemplate:Efn	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Arthur BalfourTemplate:Efn	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
Template:Ubli		Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir Michael Hicks Beach, 9th Baronet	Template:Dts
	Charles Ritchie	Template:Dts
	Austen Chamberlain	Template:Dts
Template:Ubli	Sir William Walrond	Template:Dts
	Sir Alexander Acland-Hood	Template:Dts
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	Robert William Hanbury	Template:Dts
	Austen Chamberlain	Template:Dts
	William Hayes Fisher	Template:Dts
	Arthur Elliot	Template:Dts
	Victor Cavendish	Template:Dts
Junior Lords of the Treasury	Henry Torrens Anstruther	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	William Hayes Fisher	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Edward Stanley, Baron Stanley	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Ailwyn Fellowes	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Henry Forster	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	David Lindsay, Baron Balniel	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Lord Edmund Talbot	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
Lord Chancellor	Hardinge Giffard, 1st Baron HalsburyTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts
Lord President of the Council	Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of DevonshireTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts
	Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry	Template:Dts
Lord Privy Seal	R. A. Cross, 1st Viscount Cross	Template:Dts
	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury	Template:Dts
	Arthur BalfourTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts
	James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury	Template:Dts
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Sir Matthew White Ridley, 5th Baronet	Template:Dts
	Charles Thomson Ritchie	Template:Dts
	Aretas Akers-Douglas	Template:Dts
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	Jesse Collings	Template:Dts
	Thomas Cochrane	Template:Dts
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury	Template:Dts
	Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of LansdowneTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	George Curzon	Template:Dts
	St John Brodrick	Template:Dts
	James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount CranborneTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts
	Henry Percy, Earl Percy	Template:Dts
Secretary of State for War	Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne	Template:Dts
	St John Brodrick	Template:Dts
	H. O. Arnold-Forster	Template:Dts
Under-Secretary of State for War	St John Brodrick	Template:Dts
	George Wyndham	Template:Dts
	George Somerset, 3rd Baron Raglan	Template:Dts
	Albert Yorke, 6th Earl of Hardwicke	Template:Dts
	Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 6th Earl of Donoughmore	Template:Dts
Financial Secretary to the War Office	Joseph Powell Williams	Template:Dts
	Edward Stanley, Baron Stanley	Template:Dts
	William Bromley-Davenport	Template:Dts
Secretary of State for the Colonies	Joseph Chamberlain	Template:Dts
	Alfred Lyttelton	Template:Dts
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies	William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne	Template:Dts
	William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow	Template:Dts
	Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough	Template:Dts
Secretary of State for India	Lord George Hamilton	Template:Dts
	St John Brodrick	Template:Dts
Under-Secretary of State for India	William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow	Template:Dts
	Albert Yorke, 6th Earl of Hardwicke	Template:Dts
	Henry Percy, Earl Percy	Template:Dts
	vacant	Template:Dts
	Thomas Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath	Template:Dts
First Lord of the Admiralty	George Goschen	Template:Dts
	William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne	Template:Dts
	Frederick Campbell, 3rd Earl Cawdor	Template:Dts
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty	William Ellison-Macartney	Template:Dts
	H. O. Arnold-Forster	Template:Dts
	E. G. Pretyman	Template:Dts
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	Austen Chamberlain	Template:Dts
	E. G. Pretyman	Template:Dts
	Arthur Lee	Template:Dts
President of the Board of Agriculture	Walter Long	Template:Dts
	Robert William Hanbury	Template:Dts
	William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow	Template:Dts
	Ailwyn Fellowes	Template:Dts
President of the Board of Education	Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire	Template:Dts
	Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry	Template:Dts
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education	Sir William Anson, 3rd Baronet	Template:Dts
Chief Secretary for Ireland	Gerald Balfour	Template:Dts
	George Wyndham	Template:Dts
	Walter Long	Template:Dts
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland	George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan	Template:Dts
	William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley	Template:Dts
Lord Chancellor of Ireland	Edward Gibson, 1st Baron Ashbourne	Template:Dts
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	R. A. Cross, 1st Viscount Cross	Template:Dts
	Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford	Template:Dts
	Sir William Walrond	Template:Dts
President of the Local Government Board	Henry Chaplin	Template:Dts
	Walter Long	Template:Dts
	Gerald Balfour	Template:Dts
Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board	Thomas Russell	Template:Dts
	John Lawson	Template:Dts
	Arthur Frederick Jeffreys	Template:Dts
Postmaster General	Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk	Template:Dts
	Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of LondonderryTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts
	Austen Chamberlain	Template:Dts
	Edward Stanley, Baron Stanley	Template:Dts
Secretary for Scotland	Alexander Bruce, 6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh	Template:Dts
	Andrew Murray	Template:Dts
	John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow	Template:Dts
President of the Board of Trade	Charles Ritchie	Template:Dts
	Gerald Balfour	Template:Dts
	James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury	Template:Dts
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade	William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley	Template:Dts
	Bonar Law	Template:Dts
First Commissioner of Works	Aretas Akers-Douglas	Template:Dts
	Robery Windsor-Clive, 14th Baron Windsor	Template:Dts
Vice-President of the Committee on EducationTemplate:Efn	Sir John Eldon Gorst	Template:Dts
Paymaster General	John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun	Template:Dts
	Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough	Template:Dts
	Sir Savile Crossley	Template:Dts
Attorney General	Sir Richard Webster	Template:Dts
	Sir Robert Finlay	Template:Dts
Solicitor General	Sir Robert Finlay	Template:Dts
	Sir Edward Carson	Template:Dts
Lord Advocate	Sir Charles Pearson	Template:Dts
	Andrew Murray	Template:Dts
	Charles Dickson	Template:Dts
Solicitor General for Scotland	Andrew Murray	Template:Dts
	Charles Dickson	Template:Dts
	David Dundas	Template:Dts
	Edward Theodore Salvesen	Template:Dts
	James Avon Clyde	Template:Dts
Attorney-General for Ireland	John Atkinson	Template:Dts
Solicitor-General for Ireland	William Kenny	Template:Dts
	Dunbar Barton
	George Wright	Template:Dts
	James Campbell	Template:Dts
Lord Steward of the Household	Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke	Template:Dts
Lord Chamberlain of the Household	Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl of Lathom	Template:Dts
	John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun	Template:Dts
	Edward Villiers, 5th Earl of Clarendon	Template:Dts
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Ailwyn Fellowes	Template:Dts
	Sir Alexander Acland-Hood	Template:Dts
	Frederick Glyn, 4th Baron Wolverton	Template:Dts
Master of the Horse	William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland	Template:Dts
Treasurer of the Household	George Osborne, Marquess of CarmarthenTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts
	Richard Curzon, Viscount Curzon	Template:Dts
	Victor Cavendish	Template:Dts
	James Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton	Template:Dts
Comptroller of the Household	Lord Arthur Hill	Template:Dts
	Arthur Annesley, 11th Viscount Valentia	Template:Dts
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	Henry Strutt, 2nd Baron Belper	Template:Dts
Template:Ubli	William Pery, 3rd Earl of Limerick	Template:Dts
	William Waldegrave, 9th Earl Waldegrave	Template:Dts
Master of the BuckhoundsTemplate:Efn	George Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry	Template:Dts
	Charles Cavendish, 3rd Baron Chesham	Template:Dts
Mistress of the Robes	Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch	Template:Dts
Lords-in-Waiting	Victor Spencer, 3rd Baron Churchill	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	George Harris, 4th Baron Harris	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	John Henniker-Major, 5th Baron Henniker	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	John Lawrence, 2nd Baron Lawrence	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Uchter Knox, 5th Earl of Ranfurly	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	William Waldegrave, 9th Earl Waldegrave	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Edward Villiers, 5th Earl of Clarendon	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Algernon Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	William Bagot, 4th Baron Bagot	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Rudolph Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Richard Curzon, 4th Earl Howe	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Lloyd Tyrell-Kenyon, 4th Baron Kenyon	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts
	Charles Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll	Template:DtsTemplate:SndTemplate:Dts