There has always been a tendency to view British politics before the 1832 reform act as though the parties in parliament were clumsy, embryo versions of the later Conservatives and Liberals - their every act interpreted as being either as further striving towards modernity or a relapse into more primitive patterns of behaviour. This can be helpful to students in disentangling some very complex factional material, but for much of the time the 19th and 20th century party labels simply do not make any sense at all in this earlier period. A good, clear account of what exactly was meant by 'party' and how the different parliamentary groupings evolved from the Restoration to the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars has long been needed, and Brian Hill, who has studied this issue for many years, has at last provided such an account.

This long-awaited second edition sees this classic text by a leading scholar given a new lease of life. It comes complete with a wealth of original material on a range of topics and takes into account the vital research that has been undertaken in the field in the last two decades. The book considers the development of the internal structure of Britain and explores the growing sense of British nationhood. It looks at the role of religion in matters of state and society, in addition to society's own move towards a class-based system. Commercial and imperial expansion, Britain's role in Europe and the early stages of liberalism are also examined. This new edition is fully updated to include: - Revised and thorough treatments of the themes of gender and religion and of the 1832 Reform Act - New sections on 'Commerce and Empire' and 'Britain and Europe' - Several new maps and charts - A revised introduction and a more extensive conclusion - Updated note sections and bibliographies The Long Eighteenth Century is the essential text for any student seeking to understand the nuances of this absorbing period of British history.

A reflective analysis of the contests for power between landowners and representatives of manufacturing and trading capital at the time of the great Reform Act and the repeal of the Corn Laws. The text aims to prove that this rivalry led to the modern British party system.

This is an interpretative study of the idea of Britain, examining the transformation of a sectarian concept into an imperial ideology forged during a period of sustained warfare in Europe and ever-expanding areas beyond Europe during the second half of the Eighteenth century. It seeks to examine constitutional history from a non-Anglocentric perspective and to relocate it to historiographical developments in Social History and the History of Ideas. Based on more than 25 years of research, it seeks to examine critically a concept which increasingly has come under public debate during the past decade.

The three volumes weave together the histories of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales and their peoples. Volume II includes the formation of the nation-state, the industrialization of the British economy and the emergence of Victorian society.

By the end of the nineteenth century, reform and development of the British electoral system had inaugurated a new style of mass politics which fundamentally transformed the face of the British party system. This book traces the evolution of recognisably modern parties from their roots in the 1880s through half a century of dramatic change in organisational structure, electoral competition and constitutional thought. In the House of Commons the Labour Party replaced the Liberals as the radical answer to the Conservative Party. In the country at large the complex web of Victorian social, regional and religious allegiances gave way to a cruder but more dynamic model of modern political loyalties. The transformation at Westminster and in the constituencies is surveyed in relation to changes to the franchise (including the vote for women), class consciousness, political organisation and doctrine. The comprehensive account explains the varying fortunes of the parties in the face of mass democracy, collectivism, the First World War and economic uncertainty. It also provides a critical insight into the debates and conflicts of interpretation which surround this pivotal period in British political history.