PETER JUPP, Professor of British History in The Queen's University, Belfast, and has taught there since 1964. He is the author of British and Irish Elections, 1784-1831 and Lord Grenville, 1793-1795, and has recently edited The Letter Journal of George Canning, 1793-1795. The author of numerous articles on aspects of British and Irish politics in the late Hanoverian period, he has recently completed a study of the historical works of Benjamin Disraeli.

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction The Monarchy Wellington as Prime Minister The Cabinet The Departments of State Parliament: Legislation Parliament: Debates, Committees, Petitions and 'Returns' Parliament: Parties Parliament and Public Opinion Parliament, the Government and Popular Politics Summary and Conclusion Bibliography Index

'...a seminal book that will be essential reading for specialists and students alike and which lays the foundation for future work on the subject.' - E.A. Smith, former Reader in Modern History, University of Reading 'A distinguished and authoritative study that is considerably weightier in its significance that the title suggests. It is not less than a comparable account of the political order at the eve of reform, comparable in many ways to Sir Lewis Namier's Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III.' - Frank O' Gorman, Professor of History, University of Manchester 'The other great virtue of his book is that it draws together the conclusions reached by a wide array of more specialist studies...an indispensable reference book for many years to come.' - Norman Gash, Times Literary Supplement