The Belgorod Brit talks about the possibility of change in a politically repressive society. In the film, he introduces us to three total pains in the arse, William Cobbett, Henry Hunt, and Richard Carlile. In the late 1810s, Britain had just been through 20 years of war, was suffering from economic depression, social dislocation, high rents, tariffs on imports, high food prices, and the impoverishment of its ex-servicemen and war-wounded, as well as an epidemic of petty theft and alcoholism that threatened violent revolution. The oligarchs were getting richer exponentially as the poor suffered, and had a stranglehold on Parliament and the law, dominated the judiciary and weaponised the militias to protect their property and privileges. Only 11% of men had the vote, and they were using the Treason Act of 1817 (an update of Sedition Act of 1661) to imprison anyone who they deemed to be troublesome, and for even mild criticism of public policy. They also used it to fine publishers out of business. Against all of this, our three heroes refused to back down on their principles.

In the podcast, BB explains what those principles were. They included universal suffrage, the right to a fair trial, the protection of women and children, and the right to free speech. Their argument was morally pure, and genuinely popular. In time, all of these ideas were taken up by British society as causes, some of which were enacted into enforced law. BB makes the point that when the government is at its most authoritarian, it is, in fact, desperate for a way out. As the crisis builds, and the masses start to become unruly, their fear dictates their actions, as they know that the current situation cannot continue. This is when new political movements are at their most potent.

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