Opposition to the war and to political prosecutions His inheritance included the family seat of
Foremarke Hall and "the hamlets of
Ingleby and
Foremark (sometimes referred to as a
manor) which were under his Lordship". In Parliament he soon became prominent as an opponent of
William Pitt the Younger, and as an advocate of popular rights. He denounced the
war with France, the suspension of the
Habeas Corpus Act, and the proposed exclusion of
John Horne Tooke from parliament, and quickly became the idol of the people. He had made the acquaintance of Tooke in 1797, becoming his pupil not only in politics but also in
philology. executed for treason, Burdett helped secure Catherine Despard a pension. In Paris, 1802, Burdett presented the radical writer
Thomas Paine with a gift of money to enable him to discharge his debts and return to the
United States.
Re-election and controversies , the mistress of the Duke of York, Prince Frederick, by
Isaac Cruikshank, published 15 March 1809. Frederick would resign as Commander-in-Chief 10 days later. At the general election of 1802 Burdett, assisted by the radical Irish journalist and publisher
Peter Finnerty, was returned as Member of Parliament for the county of
Middlesex, but his return was declared void in 1804 and he lost the ensuing by-election owing to the machinations of the returning officer. In 1805 this return was amended in his favor, but as this decision was again quickly reversed, Burdett, who had spent an immense sum of money over the affair, declared he would not stand for parliament again. He again attacked abuses, agitated for reform, and in 1810 came sharply into collision with the
House of Commons. The radical
John Gale Jones had been committed to prison by the House, and Burdett questioned the power of the House to take this step, and tried in vain to have him released. He then issued a revised edition of his speech on this occasion which was published by
William Cobbett in the
Weekly Register.
Reform '' by
Sir Martin Archer Shee, 1843 In parliament Burdett denounced corporal punishment in the army, and supported all attempts to check corruption, but his principal efforts were directed towards procuring a reform of parliament, and the removal of
Roman Catholic disabilities. In 1809 he had proposed a scheme of parliamentary reform, and returning to the subject in 1817 and 1818 he anticipated the
Chartist movement by suggesting
universal male suffrage, equal electoral districts, vote by ballot, and annual parliaments; but his motions met with very little support. He succeeded, however, in carrying a resolution in 1825 that the House should consider the laws concerning
Roman Catholics. This was followed by a bill embodying his proposals, which passed the Commons but was rejected by the
House of Lords. In 1827 and 1828 he again proposed resolutions on this subject, and saw his proposals become law in 1829. In 1821,
John Cartwright proposed to
Jeremy Bentham that they serve with Burdett as "Guardians of Constitutional Reform", their reports and observations to concern "the entire Democracy or Commons of the United Kingdom". The other "seven wise men" were to be Rev. William Draper;
George Ensor, Rev. Richard Hayes, Robert Williams, and
Matthew Wood.
Later career After the passing of the
Reform Act 1832, the ardour of the veteran reformer was somewhat abated, and a number of his constituents soon took umbrage at his changed attitude. Consequently, he resigned his seat early in 1837, but was re-elected. However, at the general election in the same year he forsook Westminster and was elected member for
North Wiltshire, which seat he retained, acting in general with the Conservatives, until his death. He was nicknamed "Old Glory" by fellow conservatives. == Death and descendants ==