Democracy and the Vote in British Politics, 1848-1867

Dr Robert Saunders is Lecturer in Modern British History at Queen Mary, University of London.

• Introduction: Democracy and the Vote in British Politics; Chapter 1 Reform and Revolution, 1848–1852; Chapter 2 Peelites, Protectionists and Popular Toryism; Chapter 3 The Coalition and the Crimea, 1852–1855; Chapter 4 Grasping the Nettle: The Reform Bills of 1859 and 1860; Chapter 5 Democracy in Practice: France and America; Chapter 6 ‘The Liberal Dilemma’; Chapter 7 The Liberal Collapse; Chapter 8 The Accidental Revolution: The Making of the Second Reform Act;

'This study, Robert Saunders's first book, is a comprehensive, well-written, subtle and incisive discussion of the mid-Victorian parliamentary Reform debate. It is a major contribution to our historical understanding of the discussions about the nature of the franchise and the extension of the vote, which culminated in the 1867 Reform Act. As now the best and most authoritative guide available to the Reform debates of the period, it explores the questions of why governments felt compelled to legislate on Reform and what it was they hoped to achieve. [...] His important, lucid and richly rewarding study places our understanding of the mid-Victorian Reform debates on a new, secure and sophisticated footing.' English Historical Review