Offers an examination of major changes in political behaviour in 19c Cornwall, with implications for the country as a whole.

This detailed case-study offers a penetrating analysis of the changing political culture in Cornwall up to and after the introduction of the 1832 electoral system. It spans a century in which the county's parliamentary over-representation and notorious political corruption was replaced by a politicised electorate for whom issues and principles were usually paramount. Several models of electoral behaviour are tested; in particular, the continuous political activism of Cornwall's farmers stands out. Despite remnants of the unreformed electoral system lingering into the mid-Victorian era, Cornwall developed a powerful Liberal tradition, built upon distinctive patterns of non-conformity; the Conservatives, split by dissension, saw their pre-reform ascendancy disappear. Professor Edwin Jaggard lectures in history at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia.

Economy, society, politics
county politics and parliamentary reform
change in the unreformed boroughs
county politics and change, 1830-1841
reform and dissent, 1830-1841
landlords, farmers, and influence, 1841-1868
parties, organization, and issues, 1847-1868
party management and public opinion, 1868-1885.