Apr
1784
middlesex
Contested
GENERAL ELECTION
Poll book data from:
Citation: Copy of the poll... 1784 ([London, 1784])
Source: John Sims (ed.), A Handlist of British Parliamentary Poll Books (Leicester, 1984); Jeremy Gibson and Colin Rogers (eds.), Poll Books, 1696–1872: A Directory of Holdings in Great Britain (4th edn., Bury, 2008).
Timeline & Key Statistics
Contexts & Remarks
Transcription completed by the London Electoral History 1700-1850 project, undertaken by Penelope J. Corfield, Edmund M. Green, and Charles Harvey.
Dates: Thursday 22 Apr.-Friday 23 Apr. 1784.
Poll book reference: Copy of the poll... 1784 ([London, 1784]).
Candidates: William Mainwaring (Pittite Tory), John Wilkes (Pittite Tory), and George Byng (Foxite Whig).
William Mainwaring was a lawyer and chairman of the Middlesex and Westminster quarter sessions. His campaign was supported by the Treasury, which contributed £1000 towards his election expenses.
Mainwaring ran in harnessin harness with radical John Wilkes, who after his tumultuous service in Middlesex in the 1760s and his tenure as Lord Mayor of London, once again turned his attention to the county. Running alongside a government candidate meant that Byng's campaign was able to use his formerly radical slogans against him.
George Byng was supported by the duke of Portland in his campaign. He was a returning candidate, having been elected for the county in 1780.
The election returned Mainwaring and Wilkes and Knights of the Shire for Middlesex.
Poll Book
Below is a digitised version of the poll book for this election:
