Rejected Yarmouth bloater, 1873, Yarmouth

This poster, from 1873, features a "fishwife" casting away a "Yarmouth Bloater," a reference to debates about political corruption that occurred in 1866 and 1867. Prior to the passing of the Election Petitions and Corrupt Practices at Elections Act on July 31st, 1868, four constituencies, Great Yarmouth, Lancaster, Reigate, and Totnes, were considered guilty of the greatest political malpractices. Bribes up of to £200 for a vote were recorded as being offered in receipt of a sure vote in Totnes, and all four boroughs were disfranchised as a result. To poke fun at the practice, this cartoonist makes reference to a "Yarmouth bloater," a type of herring that is bloated in preparation for cooking and consumption. Though this cartoon hails from Norfolk, it is likely that residents in Totnes identified with the subject matter, and may well have seen the humour in the thought of a working-class woman being able to make a judgment on the corruption of local political candidates. Though the vote had extended in 1867, the Suffragettes campaign for Votes for Women would not achieve its aims of complete political equality until 1928, and in wider terms, the feeling across seaside communities was perhaps one of peripherality and disconnection from central Parliament. The message of this drawing, obscure to us now, is indicative of an important moment in politics, and a growing sense of the individual's right to question the political classes. 

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Political Posters