In 1875, Liberal MP John Bright remarked that he did not like working men being fast-tracked as election candidates. When a Joseph Hulme of Burslem wrote to scold him for class prejudice, Bright replied that all he had said was that he thought MPs should be chosen for their character and politics, not for the socio-economic label affixed to them.

To make sure he had been rightly understood this time, Bright repeated his point, adding that such class favouritism was highly damaging to the party and to democracy itself. As for his correspondent’s election hopeful, Bright gave his assurance that Mr Walton could count on his support, and with that he signed off courteously.

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