British 'non-elite' MPs, 1715-18201995

In the eighteenth century the considerable degree of social mobility in British society, especially between the upper and middling ranks, was arguably one of the most important factors contributing to political and social stability. The extent of that mobility among the members of the nation's legislature was particularly important in this regard. The primary purpose of this book is to identify and quantify that element in the eighteenth-century House of Commons which did not belong by family background and parent's style of life to the traditional elite conventionally regarded as predominant in the House; and to examine what distinctive contribution that section of the House's membership made to the handling of the nation's affairs. The study draws extensively on, but also effectively supplements, the findings of the official History of Parliament.