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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Lord Liverpool
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(Robert Jenkinson, 1770–1828, 2nd earl of Liverpool 1808) Tory politician who was prime minister (1812–1827) during a fraught period in British history. His time in office included the end of the *Napoleonic Wars and the subsequent years of internal unrest which saw the *Peterloo massacre and an increasing need for the *Reform Act. A modest and cautious man with a wealth of experience (foreign secretary 1801–4, home secretary 1807–9, secretary for war and the colonies 1809–12), he came to office after the assassination of Spencer *Perceval. His skill lay in holding together a party which included others more talented and more temperamental than himself (among them *Canning, *Castlereagh and *Peel). *Disraeli described him in Coningsby as 'the Arch-Mediocrity' – unjust, but the label stuck.
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