Talk:Perceval ministry

Point in time where lists start
I note that the Junior Secretary and Junior Lords of the Treasury are shown from November or December 1809, while the Ministry is said to have started on 4th October. Likewise the Home Secretary and Secretary for War and the Colonies are shown from 1st November. I propose to either: -

1. List their predecessors as having continued in office until those dates, or

2. Reconsider the date on which the Ministry started.

Alekksandr (talk) 23:04, 30 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't see why. Quite often the new Prime Minister took weeks even to form the Cabinet, so it follows that the more junior posts took time to allocate, and can be considered vacant in the meantime. Opera hat (talk) 23:17, 30 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I've just had a look at this in more detail. Following the Duke of Portland's resignation and Spencer Perceval's appointment on 4 October 1809, most of the ministers continued in the same offices, with some exceptions:
 * The outgoing Second Secretary to the Treasury, William Huskisson, had expected to become Chancellor the Exchequer under Canning and refused to serve under Perceval.
 * The Lords Commissioners of the Treasury remained unchanged, except that Spencer Perceval (previously Second Lord) became First Lord (replacing the Duke of Portland), and Lord Desart made up the number of commissioners to six. Desart had been offered the position in October 1809 but the new commission was not formally appointed until December.
 * The outgoing Secretary of State for the Home Department, Lord Liverpool, became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies on 1 November.
 * The outgoing Chief Secretary for Ireland, Robert Dundas, eventually refused office under Perceval.
 * The outgoing First Secretary to the Admiralty, William Wellesley-Pole, replaced Dundas as Chief Secretary for Ireland in October.
 * The former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, George Canning and Lord Castlereagh, had resigned following their famous duel on 21 September and had not yet been replaced.
 * Most of these could not be said to have continued in their previous offices following Portland's resignation, so I think it's best the article is left as it is. Opera hat (talk) 00:49, 31 October 2011 (UTC)