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Wilkes and Radical Politics

Thomas R. Knox

This article discusses the electoral results in Newcastle upon Tyne in the years 1769–1785 to discover the true strength of Wilkite radicalism. The author claims that other historians have overemphasized electoral results and have, consequently, failed to accurately assess the impact of popular radicalism upon the parliamentary politics of the town. By examining previously neglected archival sources, newspapers, a Wilkite petition of 1769 and the poll books, John Brewer gives a dissenting assessment, which emphasizes and confirms the strength of Wilkite radicalism.

Nonelectoral evidence confirms Brewer's thesis as it directly validates the existence of a popular political consciousness grounded in the Wilkite perception of the role of representatives as the delegates of the people. This doctrine had previously not been found in Newcastle earlier in the century. When we analyze the electoral returns for the period, it is seen that the defeat of radical candidates was primarily caused by the votes of nonresident electors, and that radicals received much support from the local retailers and craftsmen. Finally electoral and non-electoral evidence creates a strong presumption that radical opinion transcending local issues accounted for the uncharacteristically divisive political struggles in Newcastle.