Preston

 

Preston was a cotton-manufacturing town in Lancashire. Preston had first been represented in Parliament in 1295. Unlike most boroughs, the right to vote in parliamentary elections had been granted to all inhabitants of Preston. Although Lord Derby, a supporter of the Whigs, controlled one of the seats, the other MP was often someone freely elected by the people of Preston. This created the possibility of Radical candidates being victorious.

In 1830, Henry 'Orator' Hunt, the most prominent Radical in England, was elected to represent Preston. In the House of Commons, Hunt often spoke on the subject of radical reform. However, Hunt was opposed the 1832 Reform Act as it did not grant the vote to working class males. Instead he proposed what he called the Preston-type of universal suffrage, "a franchise which excluded all paupers and criminals but otherwise recognized the principle of an equality of political rights that all who paid taxes should have the vote."

 

Cotton factories in Preston in 1835

 

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