John Wilkes Triumphal return 1725 1797 English radical journalist politician Member Parliament voting vote voters American War
John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical, journalist and politician. He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives. In 1771 he was instrumental in obliging the government to concede the right of printers to publish verbatim accounts of parliamentary debates. In 1776 he introduced the first Bill for parliamentary reform in the British Parliament. During the American War of Independence he was a supporter of the American rebels adding further to his popularity with American Whigs. In 1780, however, he commanded militia forces which helped put down the Gordon Riots damaging his popularity with many radicals. Wilkes's increasing conservatism as he grew older caused dissatisfaction among radicals and was instrumental in the loss of his Middlesex seat at the 1790 general election. At the age of 65, Wilkes retired from politics and took no part in the growth of radicalism in the 1790s following the French Revolution. During his life he earned a reputation as a libertine.
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