Abstract
The question of parliamentary reform, which concerned the amendment and the extension of suffrage, was in Britain in different intensity an important topic from the 1760s. It was so-called extra-parliamentary movement, which endeavoured to reach its objective by means of petitions.
The topic of this article is focused on the British radical reform movement in the 1790s. However, the radical reformers in 90s who demanded a parliamentary reform differed from objectives from their predecessors.
The aim of the new radicals was annual parliament elections and universal suffrage. The radical societies, which were founded predominantly in the course of 1792, were not only inspired by French revolution events but also by the tradition of domestic extra-parliamentary movement.
Their objective was to achieve a parliamentary reform by a legal and constitutional way and they openly rejected a revolutionary and violent way. The membership consisted mainly of the working class and the entry to these strictly organized societies was unlimited.
The answer to a spread of radical societies was a creation of loyalist associations. The loyalists as well as the radicals published some resolutions and addresses to the people and had their own newspapers.
Illegal actions of loyalists were often directly or indirectly supported by the local magistrates and by the government. The radicals of 90s significantly influenced the Chartist movement in 19th century and working class movement, generally.
They were the first who turned to the lower class and refused any political exclusivity.