Introduction

Liverpool was at the forefront of the changes in the social, economic and demographic relations that marked England at the turn of the eighteenth century. Immigrants from all over Britain and Ireland poured into the city. Though some made fortunes, the majority struggled to secure stable employment. In Liverpool, the different classes and nationalities tended to live segregated lives divided not only by varying wealth but by antagonistic religious allegiances. The primary group loyalties in Liverpool’s political combat, was assured without reference to the participants’ places on the economic ladder. The city had experienced unprecedented growth in a short time and living conditions for most of its inhabitants were very severe. The municipal reform was greeted by its supporters in Liverpool as a recognition of the rights of the respectable citizen and as another acknowledgement of the equality of religious belief.