Description:In 1761 Thomas Anson and Hugo Meynell stood as the Gower-Anson party candidates to represent Lichfield at the General Election.
Although the Gower-Anson party hoped to stand without opposition, rumours circulate that a man named John Levett intended to stand as an independent candidate. The problems didn’t end there for the Gower-Anson party. Alienated and outraged local publicans were causing trouble for the party angered by a series of unpaid bills for treating expenses.
In March 1761 John Levett publicly announced his intention to stand. He was joined by another independent candidate, Richard Dyott. Anne Kettle remarks that without the control of property votes that the Gower-Anson party enjoyed, the independent candidates resorted to bribery and intimidation to obtain votes. However, their efforts failed with Anson and Meynell winning the majority of the votes.
Following his defeat, John Levett ordered a scrutiny of the votes which caused uproar amongst Anson and Meynell’s agents Charles Simpson and Thomas Gilbert who refused to recognise the legitimacy of the scrutiny. The scrutiny revealed that Anson and independent candidate John Levett had actually secured the most votes, meaning that Meynell had to step down. However, the controversy didn’t end there. Meynell appealed to the House of Commons, claiming that the poll and scrutiny had been corrupt. After a long enquiry Meynell was elected in Levett’s place.
The 1761 General Election was a riotous affair with accusations of corruption made against all the candidates. The Sutherland Papers include a volume of observations made by a man named Mr. Goodwin on the 1761 election and scrutiny. This document provides an insight into voting practices, violence and corruption in the electoral process in Lichfield at this time.
Contextual information taken from Ann J. Kettle, ‘The Struggle for the Lichfield Interest: 1747-1768’, Collections for a History of Staffordshire, 4th Series, Volume 6 ‘Essays in Staffordshire History’, Edited by M. W. Greenslade, Staffordshire Record Society (1970)