Facing defeat in the General Election of 1812, Henry Brougham appealed to the voters of Liverpool, declaring that the result rested on their own determination to fight for freedom. He himself was not the kind of man to lose heart in the face of a little opposition, he assured them, as his record in Parliament clearly showed.

Brougham reminded his listeners of his role in getting the slave trade banned, of his successful campaign against a damaging trade war with France and the USA, of his continued progress with Parliamentary reform and of his efforts for peace in Europe. He would not desert Liverpool, he told them; Liverpool must not desert him.

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