8 - Hard-Fought Elections
from PART II - ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL CHOICE
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
Summary
By the late seventeenth century, parliamentary selections were dominated by competition. Patrons competed for nominations in boroughs, gentlemen competed for precedence in shires, and the Court competed for both. Competition intensified every element of the selection process, from planning to polling. Aspirants launched their campaigns at the first hint of a vacancy or a session. Only days after Charles II unexpectedly dissolved the first parliament of 1679, a mad scramble had already begun. “At Buckingham, those that stand began on Friday, for Sir Peter Tyrell having notice of the dissolution … came immediately to the town and stayed most part of that night … spending money.” The early birds were seldom alone: “Mr. Chaplyn uses his best endeavors for Sir Richard Temple; Lord Latimer has likewise sent; and so hath the Duke of Buckingham. So there is like to be a great contest.” The candidates competed for victory. They nurtured their interests in boroughs or their influence in shires in preparation for the battle for seats.
As we have seen, the most obvious manifestation of the competitive element in parliamentary selection was the rise of contests. They pervaded the process as much by threat as by actuality. If an election was not the result of every selection, it was the expected result. Candidates had to anticipate contests when announcing their intentions and when planning their strategy.
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- Parliamentary SelectionSocial and Political Choice in Early Modern England, pp. 192 - 224Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1986