Prior to the advent of the popular vote in Britain, popular political sentiment had only one outlet - rioting . English history is littered with examples - for instance if bread prices where to rise beyond the customary level, a loaf tied with a black ribbon would be paraded round the streets on a pole and a mob would be got up to cause mayhem till the price of bread was lowered. Often such protests were associated with popular fairs and festivals as was the case with the Nottingham Cheese Riots where a rise in the price of cheese lead to a riot at the Nottngham Goose Fair where large cheese's were stolen by the mob,and then rolled down a steep hill pursued by crowds.

Of all these The London Mob a.k.a King Mob was the most feared by those in power. At a moments notice the word would go out through the more disreputable parts of London and a large crowd would appear and proceed to tear Lonodn apart until their demands were met. Some of the most notable actions of {the London Mob] include the Gordon Riots which included the Newgate Prison riots that inspired William Blake's The Tyger.

The history of the London Mob is extensively documented in E.P. Thompson's classic work 'The Making of the English Working Class - in particular the shift in its political make up from a populist conservative anti-catholic stance ('for king and country!' ) to a more overtly radical one.

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