John Crewe, 1st Baron Crewe

He was never opposed for Cheshire, and presumably was highly regarded locally: the Dictionary of National Biography records that he was "an enlightened agriculturalist and a good landlord".

In the factional politics of the Whig Party, Crewe was initially a friend and follower of the Duke of Grafton, but later became a particular supporter of Charles James Fox, apparently subsidising him to the tune of £1,200 a year.

[1] Crewe rarely spoke in the House of Commons, and more than half his recorded contributions concerned a single measure, the Parliament Act 1782 which thereafter bore his name.

The scale of the problem may be judged by Prime Minister Rockingham's statement that 11,500 officers of customs and excise were electors, and that 70 Commons seats were decided chiefly by such votes.

This measure had not reached the statute book, but Crewe introduced a bill with the same object in 1780 and again in 1781, succeeding on the latter occasion in passing it into law.