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Electing Our Masters
The Hustings in British Politics from Hogarth to Blair
Jon Lawrence
344 pages
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19 black and white halftones
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234x156mm
978-0-19-955012-8
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Hardback
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26 March 2009
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- Covers the history of British electioneering from the eighteenth century right up to the present
- Highlights the continuities in the relationship between British politicians and their public over this period and also the important changes that have taken place, especially in the television age
- Looks at what the current state of electioneering in Britain implies for the future and asks how the media can shape that future
In this engagingly written history of electioneering in Britain from the eighteenth century to the present, Jon Lawrence explores the changing relationship between politicians and public. Throughout this period, he argues, British politics has been characterized by bruising public rituals intended to bestow legitimacy on politicians by obliging them to face an often irreverent public on broadly equal terms.
Face-to-face interaction was central both to the disorderly civic rituals of eighteenth-century politics, and to the Victorian and Edwardian election meeting.
Perhaps surprisingly, it also survived in pretty rude health between the wars, despite the emergence of the new mass communication media of radio and cinema. But the same cannot be said of the post-war era and the rise of television. Today most politicians are content merely to offer the semblance of meaningful engagement - walkabouts, canvassing and meetings are all designed to ensure that most senior politicians come into contact only with the smiling faces of that dwindling band, the 'party faithful'. Lloyd George and Churchill might have relished the rough and tumble of a tumultuous public meeting, but their modern counterparts tend to be more risk-averse (and not without reason, given that the cameras are always present to capture their mishaps).
But this is
not another nostalgic lament for a lost 'golden age'. On the contrary, Electing Our Masters argues that politicians frequently still crave the kudos to be derived from bruising encounters with an irreverent public - hence Tony Blair's so-called 'masochism strategy' in the 2005 election campaign, with its succession of gruelling sessions before live studio audiences. As Lawrence points out, the vital question for today is: can we persuade our broadcasters that such encounters must form a staple of modern, mediated politics?Readership: Those interested in the history of British politics and the history of British elections in the 19th and 20th centuries
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Jon Lawrence, Lecturer in Modern British History, University of Cambridge, and fellow of Emmanuel College
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"A work that should be the first port of call for those interested in the history of electioneering." - Steven Fielding, 20th Century British History, "A lively and stimulating history of electoral campaigning." - Times Higher Education Supplement "A book rich in insight...wearing its learning lightly because Lawrence writes so well... This is an important and timely book." - John Ramsden, History Today "[an] expert study of hustings from the 18th century to the present day...provocative" - Sarah Richardson, BBC History Magazine "In Electing Our Masters: The Hustings in British Politics from Hogarth to Blair, Jon Lawrence has written a stimulating
account of this aspect of political life." - Keith Simpson MP Summer Reading List, 2009' "Electing our Masters is highly recommended reading...contribute[s] significantly to our understanding of the dynamics of modern democratic politics." - Benjamin Schröder, H-Soz-u-Kult "[a] readable and scholarly survey of British electoral practice from the eighteenth century to the present day" - Martin Pugh, English Historical Review
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Introduction: The Spirit of the Hustings
1: John Bull at the Hustings: Electoral Politics from the Ancien Regime to the Second Reform Act
2: The Fall of the Hustings and the Rise of the Platform
3: Money, Men, and Mayhem: Electoral Politics before the First World War
4: War, Women, and the 'Silent Majority'
5: Towards the New Jerusalem
6: The Decline of the Platform
7: The Local Campaign in the Television Age
8: Broadcasting Politics
9: The Public Banished?
Bibliography
Index
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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