The ''Cobbett's Weekly Political Register'', commonly known as the ''Political Register'', was a weekly

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

-based

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

founded by

William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restrain foreign ...

in 1802. It ceased publication in 1836, the year after Cobbett's death.

History

Originally propounding

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

views, and costing a shilling, Cobbett changed his editorial line to embrace radicalism, such as advocating widening the suffrage. It had a large circulation for the time of 6,000 copies. The government was alarmed by its radicalism and tried to prevent mass circulation by adding stamp duty on all newspapers, putting them out of reach of all but the wealthiest. From November 1816, Cobbett also published the ''Register'' in a cheap 2d. pamphlet, which kept political comment but evaded stamp duty by excising news. The price of the paper gave it the nickname "Two-Penny Trash;" nevertheless, it soon gained a circulation of 40,000. Cobbett began publishing ''Parliamentary Debates'' as a supplement to his ''Political Register'' in 1802. At the time it was illegal to report the proceeding of Parliament, only its ultimate decisions. He eventually extended his reportage back in time with the ''Parliamentary History''. Cobbett's reports were printed by

Thomas Curson Hansard Thomas Curson Hansard (6 November 17765 May 1833) was an English pressman, son of the printer Luke Hansard. Life In 1803, he established a press of his own in Paternoster Row. In the same year, William Cobbett, a newspaperman, began to print t ...

from 1809. In 1812, with his business suffering, Cobbett sold the ''Debates'' section to Hansard. Historical copies of ''Cobbett's Weekly Political Register'', dating back to 1802, are available to search and view in digitised form at The British Newspaper Archive.Digitised copies of the ''Cobbett's Weekly Political Register''
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References

External links

William Cobbett & The Political Register - UK Parliament - Living Heritage
at The British Library website. Accessed May 2009 {{Authority control Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom Defunct weekly newspapers Publications established in 1802 Publications disestablished in 1836 1802 establishments in the United Kingdom 1836 disestablishments in the United Kingdom