ABSTRACT
In the space of 200 years, the British polity moved from 'oligarchy' to 'democracy'. The fact that it was a Labour government which introduced the above measure seemed to confirm that at length 'the people' had triumphed. On the other hand, the House of Lords, with a membership restricted to hereditary peers and certain Anglican bishops, was still in existence. Anglican bishops had their place as befitted a Church which was still established. King George VI sat securely on the throne, the very model of a constitutional monarch. George's expressed remark that 'in this country Ministers are Kings' has been seen as self-pitying and not even accurate. The House of Lords resisted the Reform Bill with the encouragement of the Crown. The Radicals who formed the Revolution Society argued that the principles of 1688 had been betrayed by the practice of subsequent decades.
