Editing Whigs (British political party) (section)

==== Whig Supremacy ====
[[File:Portrait of John Somers, Baron Somers.jpg|thumb|A {{circa|1705}} portrait of [[John Somers, 1st Baron Somers]] by [[Godfrey Kneller]].]]
With the succession of [[Prince-elector|Elector]] [[George I of Great Britain|George Louis]] of [[Hanover]] as king in 1714, the Whigs returned to government with the support of some [[Hanoverian Tories]]. The [[Jacobite rising of 1715]] discredited much of the [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] party as treasonous [[Jacobitism|Jacobites]], and the [[Septennial Act 1716|Septennial Act]] ensured that the Whigs became the dominant party, establishing the Whig oligarchy. Between 1717 and 1720 the [[Whig Split]] led to a division in the party. Government Whigs led by the former soldier [[James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope|James Stanhope]] were opposed by [[Robert Walpole]] and his allies. While Stanhope was backed by George I, Walpole and his supporters were closer to the [[George II of Great Britain|Prince of Wales]]. Following his success in defeating the government over the [[Peerage Bill]] in 1719, Walpole was invited back into government the following year. He was able to defend the government in the Commons when the [[South Sea Company|South Sea Bubble]] collapsed. When Stanhope died unexpectedly in 1721, Walpole replaced him as leader of the government and became known as the first [[Prime Minister]]. In the [[1722 British general election|1722 general election]] the Whigs swept to a decisive victory.

Between 1714 and 1760, the Tories struggled as an active political force, but always retained a considerable presence in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. The governments of Walpole, [[Henry Pelham]] and his older brother the [[Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle|Duke of Newcastle]] dominated between 1721 and 1757 (with a brief break during the also-Whig [[Carteret ministry]]). The leading entities in these governments consistently referred to themselves as "Whigs".<ref>{{cite book |first1=Basil |last1=Williams |first2=C. H. |last2=Stuart |title=The Whig Supremacy, 1714–1760 |year=1962 |publisher=Clarendon Press |oclc=827608 }}</ref>