Editing William Pitt the Younger (section)

==== Electoral victory ====
[[File:George-Romney-xx-William-Pitt-the-Younger-xx-Tate-Britain.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|William Pitt in 1783, by [[George Romney (painter)|George Romney]]]]
Pitt gained great popularity with the public at large as "Honest Billy" who was seen as a refreshing change from the dishonesty, corruption and lack of principles widely associated with both Fox and North. Despite a series of defeats in the House of Commons, Pitt defiantly remained in office, watching the Coalition's majority shrink as some Members of Parliament left the Opposition to abstain.{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=166}}

In March 1784, Parliament was dissolved, and a [[1784 British general election|general election]] ensued. An electoral defeat for the government was out of the question because Pitt enjoyed the support of King [[George III]]. [[Patronage]] and bribes paid by the Treasury were normally expected to be enough to secure the government a comfortable majority in the House of Commons, but on this occasion, the government reaped much popular support as well.{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=173}} In most popular constituencies, the election was fought between candidates clearly representing either Pitt or Fox and North. Early returns showed a massive swing to Pitt with the result that many Opposition Members who still had not faced election either defected, stood down, or made deals with their opponents to avoid expensive defeats.{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=170}}

A notable exception came in Fox's own constituency of [[Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)|Westminster]], which contained one of the largest electorates in the country. In a contest estimated to have cost a quarter of the total spending in the entire country, Fox bitterly fought against two [[Pittite]] candidates to secure one of the two seats for the constituency. Great legal wranglings ensued, including the examination of every single vote cast, which dragged on for more than a year. Meanwhile, Fox sat for the Scottish pocket borough of [[Tain Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)|Tain Burghs]]. Many saw the dragging out of the result as being unduly vindictive on the part of Pitt and eventually the examinations were abandoned with Fox declared elected. Elsewhere, Pitt won a personal triumph when he was elected a [[Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency)|Member for the University of Cambridge]], a constituency he had long coveted and which he would continue to represent for the remainder of his life.{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=170}} Pitt's new constituency suited him perfectly as he was able to act independently. Sir James Lowther's pocket borough of Appleby, which had been Pitt's previous constituency, had strings attached. Now Pitt could really be the 'independent Whig' he identified as. <ref>Alter 'Pitt' Volume 1 (2024) ''pp''51-2</ref>