ABSTRACT
Local and central government in England naturally reflected the social dominance of a landed aristocracy. The importance of patronage in central government has received much greater attention but it was in most respects the natural outworking of principles at work in the shires. In 1780 it is doubtful if one Englishman in eight could vote; elsewhere in Britain the proportion was much lower. The south, and particularly the south-west where the government controlled many small-port 'revenue boroughs', was grossly over-represented. The importance of patronage in central government has received much greater attention but it was in most respects the natural outworking of principles at work in the shires. The most homogeneous social group was probably the sons of peers nominated to seats on their fathers' influence. Between 1780 and 1830 they comprised pretty steadily a fifth of the members, a far higher proportion than early in the eighteenth century.
