Elections
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Breaking the Political Mould: a new 18th-century political party
With a multiple of parties vying for your vote in the 2024 General Election, the Whig and Tory monopoly of the 18th Century would have presented a much more limited choice for Georgian voters. However, in today’s blog for the…
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Winchester v. Winchester: rivalries and election-rigging in 1560s Hampshire
Whatever the outcome of a modern election, the process of voting is predictable, reliable, and well-understood. However, in the sixteenth century, the picture was a lot more complicated, and sometimes corrupt, as Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Elizabethan Lords section…
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Hustings and leadership debates 18th-century style
Leadership debates, as experienced in modern elections, were not a feature of 18th-century contests. However, as Dr Robin Eagles shows in the latest post for the Georgian Elections Project, that does not mean that there was not plenty of opportunity…
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Chairing successful candidates
As the results of the 2024 General Election start to come in, successful candidates will have different ways to celebrate their win- but it is unlikely that these newly-elected MPs will be hoisted in the air in a traditional ‘chairing’…
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‘Abuse and scurrility’? Press reporting of 18th-century elections
As newspapers and television broadcasts continue to be filled with daily news from the 2024 General Election, in today’s blog for the Georgian elections project Dr Robin Eagles turns his attention to the role of the press in 18th century…
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The ups and downs of a London election: examining London poll books
As pollsters look for constituencies across the country to act as representatives of how the wider nation may vote in the upcoming election, in the 18th century you might have looked to the capital city. Here Dr Robin Eagles explores…
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Political Grandstanding in the 18th Century
In an age of social media and immediate news coverage, publicity opportunities have become a central part of political strategy- particularly in the run up to a General Election. But even in the 18th century politicians looked for ways to…
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Parliamentary Elections in the Fifteenth Century
As the UK prepares to go to the polls for the 2024 General Election, modern politicians continue their campaigns across the nation, in an attempt to persuade electors to vote for them on July 4. However, for much of the…
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To reform or not to reform: Party manifestos
As many modern political parties announce their manifestos this week Dr Robin Eagles from our House of Lords 1715-1790 project looks back at the decisions around flagship policies that could make or break parties and alliances in the 18th century,…
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The rules governing lengths of parliaments in the 18th century
Despite all of the political events of recent years, the upcoming General Election is the first time that the nation has gone to the polls since late 2019- nearly reaching the five year term limit, as determined by the Dissolution…
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Two anniversaries, two impeachments and an election
In 2024 the tercentenaries of the deaths of two important 18th-century figures the fell within weeks of each other. Dr Charles Littleton compares the contrasting careers of Robert Harley, earl of Oxford, and Dr Henry Sacheverell, who both suffered impeachment…
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Tory to Whig and back again
In recent weeks the factional nature of political parties has become apparent, with previous members speaking out against their leaders and news of MPs defecting to other parties. But in the 18th century the line between the main political groups…