The London Letters of Samuel Molyneux, 1712–13 – Edited by Paul Holden
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue 3, p. 486-488
ISSN: 1750-0206
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In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue 3, p. 486-488
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s1, p. 80-107
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue 3, p. 482-484
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s1, p. 142-144
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s1, p. 187-196
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s1
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s1, p. 301-307
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue 3, p. 354-377
ISSN: 1750-0206
Benjamin Disraeli described Thomas Attwood as a 'provincial banker labouring under a financial monomania'. The leader of the Birmingham Political Union, Attwood's Warwickshire accent and support for a paper currency were widely derided at Westminster. However, the themes of Attwood's brief parliamentary career were shared by the other men who represented Birmingham in the early‐ and mid‐Victorian period. None of these MPs were good party men, and this article illuminates the nature of party labels in the period. Furthermore, it adds a new dimension to the historical understanding of debates on monetary policy and shows how local political identities and traditions interacted with broader party identities. With the exception of Richard Spooner, who was a strong tory on religious and political matters, the currency men are best described as popular radicals, who consistently championed radical political reform and were among the few parliamentary supporters of the 'People's Charter'. They opposed the new poor law and endorsed factory regulation, a progressive income tax, and religious liberty. Although hostile to the corn laws they believed that free trade without currency reform would depress prices, wages and employment. George Frederick Muntz's death in 1857 and his replacement by John Bright marked a watershed and the end of the influence of the 'Birmingham school'. Bright appropriated Birmingham's radical tradition as he used the town as a base for his campaign for parliamentary reform. He emphasized Birmingham's contribution to the passing of the 1832 Reform Act but ignored the currency reformers' views on other matters, which had often been at loggerheads with the 'Manchester school' and economic liberalism.
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s1
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s1, p. 280-300
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s2
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s2, p. 11-21
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s2
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s2, p. 95-108
ISSN: 1750-0206
In: Parliamentary history, Volume 31, Issue s2, p. 141-259
ISSN: 1750-0206