MPs and political communication in the eighteenth century

New ideas and forms of communication between representatives and the public and a thickening of the early media landscape created challenges and opportunities for MPs throughout the 18th century. Faced with increased scrutiny on a local, regional, and national level, MPs observed the observations made about them or their constituencies in different media. This paper will examine how they learned to filter information through the distinct eyes of a Westminster parliamentarian, while at the same time becoming actively engaged in the creation and dissemination of new genres for their own personal and political purposes.  

Maria Tauber is a fourth-year PhD student at Warwick University, funded by the Wolfson Foundation. She has completed her BA in History and English at the Universities of Kiel and Aberdeen followed by a History MA at the University of Constance. In her MA thesis and a subsequent article, which will be published in 2023, she worked on communication in early modern witch-trials. Her PhD continues to focus on a communication and media approach while shifting the subject matter to Early Modern English politicians.