Political career, 1857-1885
Almost immediately after leaving Cambridge Spencer was elected to parliament for South Northamptonshire as a Liberal, before departingfor a tour of North America. He returned in December 1857, and withina few days his father died, leaving him as the new Earl Spencer. Hewas sworn of the Privy Council in 1858 and made a Knight of the Garterin 1864. Spencer split from other whiggish aristocratic Liberals in1866 on the issue of Russell's reform bill, which he supported, and his loyalty was rewarded by his appointment as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland when Gladstone returned to power in 1868. Ireland came to be a major preoccupation of the remainder of Spencer's long political career. In this first tenure as Lord Lieutenant, he had to deal with implementation of the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in1869 and of the Irish Land Act of 1870, both of which measures he strongly supported. Spencer, in fact, went further than most of hisministerial colleagues, including Gladstone himself, in arguing forthe setting up of government tribunals to enforce fair rents on Irish landlords.
Spencer, along with the successive Chief Secretaries, Chichester Fortescue and Spencer's own cousin, Lord Hartington, supportedcoercive legislation to deal with the increase in agrarian crime, butat the same time supported a policy of releasing Fenian prisoners when possible. Spencer also had to deal during his tenure with Gladstone'sIrish Universities Bill. In spite of Spencer's efforts to secure the support of the Catholic hierarchy for the bill, they opposed it, and it went down to defeat in the commons in March 1873. The government lingered on for a further year, until the election defeat of February1874, when Spencer found himself out of office. When Gladstone returned to power for his second government in 1880, Spencer joinedthe Cabinet as Lord President of the Council, having responsibilityfor education policy, and was partially responsible for several major educational reforms of the period. The increasingly tense situation inIreland, however, commanded an increasing portion of Spencer's time. In May 1882, Gladstone's decision to release the Irish Nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell from prison led to the resignation ofthe hardline Chief Secretary for Ireland, W. E. Forster. As a result, Spencer, while retaining his seat in the cabinet and position as Lord President, was again appointed Lord Lieutenant to take charge of the government's Irish policy.
Spencer and his new chief secretary, Gladstone's nephew andHartington's brother Lord Frederick Cavendish, crossed to Ireland on 5 May, but Cavendish and the permanent under-secretary Thomas Henry Burke, were murdered by extremist Irish nationalists the next day inPhoenix Park, Dublin, while walking to the Viceregal Lodge where Spencer was staying. Spencer, assisted by George Trevelyan, his new secretary, was now faced with the difficult task of pacifying Ireland. Spencer acted quickly to reform the Irish police forces and destroy the secret societies which had been responsible for the murders. He attracted some criticism for his handling of a group of murders inMaamtrasna - one of the supposed criminals, Myles Joyce, had been hanged while still proclaiming his innocence, leading to a great dealof condemnation of Spencer from Irish Nationalist sources. The end of Spencer's second tenure as viceroy saw the successful visit of thePrince and Princess of Wales to Ireland, but Spencer's efforts to get the Queen to agree to the creation of a royal residence in Irelandwere unsuccessful.
Political career, 1885-1905
John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (1835-1910)By 1885, Gladstone'ssecond government was in a very weak position, largely as a result ofthe death of Charles Gordon, and Spencer's efforts to renew the Irish Crimes Act and secure passage of a land purchase bill ran into opposition from the radicals in the Cabinet - Joseph Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke - who hoped to use the opportunity of thelegislation to pass a greater measure of local self-government forIreland. The issue remained up in the air when Gladstone's governmentfell in early June. During the interval between the fall of Gladstone's second government and the beginning of his third, in February 1886, Spencer became a convert to Irish Home Rule, unlikemost of the other leading Whigs, who deserted to Liberal Unionism.Spencer would serve as Lord President in Gladstone's third government, and was instrumental in the formulation of Gladstone's home rulelegislation. After the defeat of the bill, Spencer joined his chief inopposition. Spencer's position on home rule led to his socialostracism by other members of his class, including the Queen herself,and spent much of his period in opposition getting his personal finances in order. He also acted from 1888 as chairman of theNorthamptonshire county council, and continued to work with Gladstoneand other liberal leaders in determining the shape of a home rule bill in the next liberal government.
When the Liberals returned to power in August 1892, Spencer wasappointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Gladstone's opposition toSpencer's policy, following the recommendations of the sea lords, ofnaval expansion, led to Gladstone's final resignation in March 1894.Gladstone himself nonetheless hoped that Spencer would be his successor, but the Queen did not seek his advice, and chose Lord Rosebery instead. Spencer continued to serve under Rosebery, and wentout when the Liberal government fell in June 1895. In his later years,Spencer remained active in politics. Spencer was a key support for theLiberal leader in the Commons, Henry Campbell-Bannerman (who hadpreviously been Spencer's Chief Secretary at the end of his secondvice-regency) during the Boer War, holding to the Liberal leader'smiddle course between the active anti-war position of the Radicals andthe pro-war position of Rosebery's Liberal Imperialists. Following Lord Kimberley's death in 1902, Spencer was elected Liberal leader inthe House of Lords. Despite health problems, he was rumored as late as February 1905 to be a potential candidate for Liberal prime ministe rshould the Liberals soon return to power, as by then seemed likely asa result of the Unionist split over tariff reform. However, on October11 of that year he suffered a major stroke which ended his political career, only two months shy of the Liberals' return to power.
Other public appointments
In 1865 Spencer chaired a royal commission on cattle plague, alongsideLord Cranborne, Robert Lowe and Lyon Playfair, and served in 1867 on aspecial committee set up by the War Office to investigate breech-loading rifles.
Courtier
Spencer served, for most of the period from 1859 to 1866, in the royalhousehold, as a groom first to Prince Albert and then to the Prince ofWales. In 1876 he hosted the Austrian empress Elisabeth who had cometo Northamptonshire for a hunting party. The empress stayed at EastonNeston, which she rented through her sister, ex-queen Maria of the TwoSicilies.
Personal life
Charlotte, Countess Spencer (1835-1903) (Louis William Desanges)LordSpencer married Charlotte Seymour, daughter of Frederick Charles William Seymour and granddaughter of Lord Hugh Seymour, on 8 July1858. The marriage was childless. Lady Spencer died in October 1903,aged 68. Spencer died at Althorp in August 1910, aged 74, and wassucceeded by his half-brother, Charles.
References
1. Spencer, John Poyntz, Viscount Althorp in Venn, J. & J. A., AlumniCantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922-1958.
Gordon, Peter, 'Spencer, John Poyntz, fifth Earl Spencer (1835-1910),'Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004-2007.