The Whigs were divided over their response to growing social unrest and the introduction of the Corn Laws.

At the time of the general election, the Earl Grey was the leading figure amongst the Whig peers.

The last Whig Prime Minister, the Lord Grenville, had retired from active politics in 1817.

The Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, until his death in 1817, was George Ponsonby, Lady Grey's uncle.

About a year after Ponsonby's death, George Tierney reluctantly became the recognised Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons.