English MPs

Legislators and Servants of their Constituents, 1750-1800

Michael W. McCahill

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9781350332270
• eBook ISBN:
  9781350332300
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Histoire
• Subtopic: Histoire moderne de la Grande-Bretagne

What was the role of elected legislators? Was it to represent the opinions of constituents or to vote according to their informed opinions reflecting the needs of the kingdom? Most authorities have accepted Edmund Burke's depiction of 18th-century MPs, insisting it was their right to form their opinions without reference to the instructions of constituents. This study provides answers to these important questions and, in doing so, reveals that Burke's vision does not represent how the House of Commons functioned during the last two decades of the 18th century.

Rather than focusing on specific issues or demographic groups, English MPs brings to the fore the legislative activity of a broad segment of late 18th-century English MPs. This book shows they were diligent legislators who attended to the needs of constituents, in the process developing strong connections with them. It demonstrates that these connections did not rest on shared beliefs in reformist ideologies except in, and around, the metropolis. Instead, they grew out of the members' timely and effective tending, session after session, to the host of measures brought forward by constituents and neighbours. McCahill explores, in fascinating detail, the consequences of this bond.

In this book, McCahill draws from an impressive array of primary sources and secondary literature to combine a structural analysis with broad surveys and detailed case-studies. The result is an illuminating and a comprehensive account of the House of Commons between 1760 and 1790.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgements
• 1 MPs and Legislation in Late Eighteenth-Century Parliaments
• 2 Knights of the Shire
• 3 Contentious Constituencies: Plymouth, Kingston-upon-Hull, Bristol and their MPs
• 4 Successful and Less Significant Legislators: Blackstone, Newdigate and Windham
• 5 Thomas Gilbert: Legislator Par Excellence
• 6 Essex Imbroglios
• 7 Interest Groups: The West India Interest
• 8 Lobbies: Birmingham, The Chamber of Manufacturers and the Fisheries
• 9 Parliamentary Reform: Instructions and Representation
• 10 The Commons and the Lords: A Legislative Partnership?
• 11 Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index
• Copyright