The members in office in Great Britain at the end of 1800 continued to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom (1801–02).

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

The principal opposition to Pitt was a relatively weak faction of Whigs, led by Charles James Fox.

For four years after 1797 opposition attendance at Westminster was sporadic as Fox pursued a strategy of secession from Parliament.

Only a small group, led by George Tierney, had attended frequently to oppose the ministers.