Aristocratic Faction and Reformist Politics in Eighteenth-Century Hampshire: The Election of December 1779

Abstract

David Underdown examines the 1779 parliamentary election in the English county of Hampshire. He explores the political context—the rivalry between the two dukes, of Bolton and of Chandos, and how their conflict was transformed in the 1770s by events in America. Bolton’s candidate, Clarke Jervoise, made a populist appeal to middle-class voters who were sympathetic to the Americans, and also demanded reform of the allegedly corrupt political system in England.Worsley, Chandos’candidate, in contrast, supported Prime Minister North’s policies on both counts: tough coercion against the American rebels, and a firm denial that the parliamentary system needed any kind of reform. Through an analysis of newspaper reports, election pamphlets, and ballads, the significance of the reformers’electoral victory is explained, as well as its place in the wider national debate over political reform in Britain. aristocratic faction and reformist politics 629 77. The tracts and songs from 1790 are printed in “Hampshire Whig Garland”[1790]. For the April 1797 county meeting, see Hampshire Repository, 1:11–13. That a recognizable Bolton interest still held together is apparent from the voting in the contested election of a County Treasurer at the Midsummer Quarter Sessions in 1796. Bonham, Russell, Thomas Ridge, and Charles Powlett were all on one side; the Tory m.p.s Heathcote and Chute, John Penton of Winchester, and several of the more conservative clergy on the other; ibid., 2:38–39. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.230 on Tue, 07 Jun 2016 05:34:53 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms This content downloaded from 157.55.39.230 on Tue, 07 Jun 2016 05:34:53 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms