Tackers

'Tackers' was the name given to High Tory Members of Parliament who in 1704 tried to attach ('tack') an Occasional Conformity Bill to money bills in order to pass it through the House of Lords and into law.^[1]

The Tackers ultimately failed in their efforts, however their actions proved highly polarising in the English general election, 1705. While there were some successful Whig campaigns to unseat Tacker MPs, in some parts of the country the Tory party successfully campaigned under the rallying cry of 'Church in Danger', with the Tackers' efforts being positively seen as an effort to protect the established Church of England from nonconformists and Dissent.

References

1. James Richards, Party Propaganda Under Queen Anne: The General Elections of 1702-1713, (Charlotte, 1972), p. 56.