Representatives in Parliament
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Parliament evolved over many years from the Saxon Witenagemot and the Norman Curia Regis which were groups of noblemen and churchmen who advised the Sovereign. until about 1240 when the term parliament came into use. All Shires were required to send Knights of the Shire to parliament although it still had advisory powers only. By 1265 an elected parliament was in place with freeholders with land valued at 40 shillings being entitled to vote for shire and borough representatives. By 1295 two parliaments were created called the model parliament - one for the Lords and Bishops and the other for Knights and Commoners. Over the next few hundred years Parliament grew in power taking more and more powers until it became the controlling force in the country. Parliaments were of no fixed length and so some ran for a few months and some for many years. Until 1700's there were no political parties although groups such as the puritans and cavaliers dominated various parliaments and set the agenda. Many of the people representing Maldon were ' carpetbaggers' ie they lived away from Maldon with no real local connections but bought some land or bought the freedom of the Borough to entitle them to stand. Many never even visited Maldon expect for polling day. Contested elections were often decided by the liberal amount of favours that candidates favoured on the small number of electors or of course influence brought to bear by the influential members of the community.In the 1826 election the votes of 3,200 freemen were polled despite the male adult population being 1,859. In 1852 the Parliamentary Commission reported that 'At Maldon the bribery oath was taken by all the electros without hesitation and merely added perjury to the political immorality of the inhabitants.' Returns for this election showed that the candidates expenses for drinks in the public houses at Maldon came to £5,000 with the cost of beer drink at Maldon and heybridge alone amounting to £2,150. Quentin Dick fought and won 3 elections during which he had spent £30,000 of gifts and a corrupt loan system where electors received loans in exchange for their votes.This system meant that the money was often recouped by advantages taken in London from being a MP and perhaps explains why a number of MP's were arrested for embezzlement and theft. East Essex is a major part of the Maldon Constituency which has had several names and constituency area but has always included the Town of Maldon and the East Essex area of the Dengie 100. Records are difficult to trace and so listed are some Members of Parliament for Maldon in the early years and a complete listing from 1885. From 1689 MP's often represented political parties although the alliance was less formal than the party politics system seen today.
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