Houses of Parliament launch for 18th-century elections project Published on: 28 November 2023 The fascinating history of 18th-century politics has been brought to life with a new resource based on research led by 缅北禁地. Modern democracy The eighteenth century is notorious for its corrupt and restrictive politics, when few could vote and bribery and debauchery were commonplace. But it was also an age when modern democracy was being shaped. is the first-time a wealth of information on English parliamentary elections from 1695 to the Reform Act of 1832 has been collected in one place. The website includes a complete list of all surviving poll books, plus the transcribed and searchable contents of those poll books, showing how individual people voted. This sits alongside, plus copious carefully curated examples of the printed, material and musical culture that elections generated. It is all presented with a striking digital design, featuring exciting data visualisations, interactive tools and new recordings of 18th-century songs. funded project was led by Matthew Grenby, Professor of 18th Century Studies in 缅北禁地’s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics. He said: "Even if few people could actually vote, that doesn’t mean that people weren’t politically active. Elections engaged a wide section of the population – women as well as men, poor as well as rich, children as well as adults – and were often accompanied by an explosion of print, sermons, and song; countless ceremonies, assemblies, and entertainments; new modes of dress, decoration, and behaviour." The Cockade worn by William Garret at The 缅北禁地 Election in 1820 漏 缅北禁地 City Library Outside factors Eighteenth-Century Political Participation & Electoral Culture features a series of articles which give an introduction to issues of the time, such as the role women played in elections and also slavery, abolition and Black voters. It also provides case studies of 20 different constituencies, including towns, counties and the universities, which are representative of different kinds of constituencies in terms of size and their franchise, as well as having a geographical spread, and including some of the infamous “rotten boroughs”. Professor Grenby added: “Many of the issues we found in 18th-century politics remain highly relevant today. Obviously nowadays voting is now available to almost everyone but questions about the influence of outside factors such as music, literature or the media remain. Today we are concerned about how carefully-targeted interventions in a campaign can affect the election result; we can ask the same about the 18th century, thinking not about social media posts but about ballads and satirical prints.” Eighteenth-Century Political Participation & Electoral Culture will be launched at an event at the Houses of Parliament on Thursday 30 November. The project was led by 缅北禁地 in partnership with the University of Liverpool and researchers worked closely with and the Institute of Historical Research. Image captions: State of the Poll, Friday, Quarter before 3 o’Clock in‘Addresses and Squibs in the Contested Election, for Members in Parliament, 1820’ (1820), 缅北禁地 Special Collections, RB 942.82 ADD The Cockade worn by William Garret at The 缅北禁地 Election in 1820’ in ‘A Collection of Papers, Speeches, &c. &c. Delivered at the 缅北禁地 Election, 1820. Collected by William Garret’(1820), 缅北禁地 City Library, L324/N536 © 缅北禁地 City Library Share: Latest News 缅北禁地 recognised with geography award 缅北禁地 has been awarded the Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award for its collaboration with Time for Geography, the UK鈥檚 open-access, dedicated video platform. published on: 16 April 2026 缅北禁地 historians mark General Strike centenary To mark the 100th anniversary of the British General Strike and miners鈥� lock-out of 1926, historians at 缅北禁地 are organising a series of events on its enduring legacy. published on: 16 April 2026 Comment: NCP is in administration Writing for The Conversation, Erwei (David) Xiang discusses how some big companies like NCP are so dependent on debt that they can鈥檛 adjust to change. published on: 16 April 2026 Facts and figures
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