Prime Factors - Ranking UK Prime Ministers

Facing threats from the Jacobites in the north and the French to the south, Henry Pelham faced off against George II… and the king blinked. He balanced competing factions and an empty treasury as Britain’s third Prime Minister. Recorded on location at the Pelham Public Library in Pelham, New Hampshire.

Born the "spare" second son of Baron Pelham, Henry watched his brother bask in the glow of wealth and titles. With the seat in Parliament his brother bought for him, Henry found his own voice, teamed up with Robert Walpole, and zoomed up the political ranks. Stepping out from his sibling's shadow, Henry Pelham soon stood tall as Britain’s third Prime Minister.Recorded on location at the Pelham Public Library in Pelham, Massachusetts.

From his humble birth in the Compton family castle, Spencer Compton rose to become a "dull, important Lord" in Parliament. Walpole out-maneuvered in 1727 to steal the top job from him, but Spencer Compton, the Earl of Wilmington, would get his revenge and (eventually) become Prime Minister. Recorded on location at the Wilmington Memorial Library in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Our first rating! We discuss how Robert Walpole rose from the disaster of the South Sea Company bubble to control all the levers of power in Parliament, his near-loss to Spenser Compton after the death of George I, and his eventual decline and defeat thanks to a disagreement with Spain over a severed left ear.Recorded on location in Walpole, Massachusetts in the Stone Room at the Walpole Public Library.

We have to start somewhere! Abram and I look at Robert Walpole from birth to 1721, the traditional start of his time as prime minister. We cover his early elections, his rise in the Whig party, his stint in the Tower of London for corruption, and how he rose in power to become the dominant force in British politics of his day. (Hint: It involved family connections and bribery.)

Our pilot episode! Abram and I discuss the history of the UK Parliament from the Saxons up to 1721 and the beginning of the idea of a "prime minister".