Liberty and property! England was liberal from 1688. It became democratic (albeit a limited one) in the mid 19th c. and more thoroughly democratic with the extension of the franchise to the entire male population. The tension between liberal political practice and democracy was resolved in favour of the latter by Asquith, but now the democratic aspect is weakening and almost exhausted. The political choices of the masses are constrained by the administrative and corporate elites which have taken the political place once occupied by the aristocracy.
Liberty and property! England was liberal from 1688. It became democratic (albeit a limited one) in the mid 19th c. and more thoroughly democratic with the extension of the franchise to the entire male population. The tension between liberal political practice and democracy was resolved in favour of the latter by Asquith, but now the democratic aspect is weakening and almost exhausted. The political choices of the masses are constrained by the administrative and corporate elites which have taken the political place once occupied by the aristocracy.