William Pitt Pittite William Pitt Pittite The 1790 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707.

The Prime Minister since 1783, William Pitt the Younger, led a coalition of Whig and Tory politicians.

The principal opposition to Pitt was a faction of Whigs led by Charles James Fox and the Duke of Portland.

The returning officer in each county or parliamentary borough fixed the precise date (see hustings for details of the conduct of the elections).

It was hoped that the change would reduce the enormous expense of most contested county elections.