Electing our Masters explores the changing relationship between politicians and public in Britain from the eighteenth century to the present. Jon Lawrence argues that, throughout this period, British politics has been characterized by bruising public rituals intended to bestow legitimacy on politicians by obliging them to face an often irreverent public on broadly equal terms. He goes on to argue that this situation has changed in the post-war era with
the advent of the television age, so that most politicians are now content merely to offer the semblance of meaningful engagement - walkabouts, canvassing and meetings designed to ensure that they come into
contact only with the smiling faces of the 'party faithful'. However, in spite of this, politicians today frequently still crave the kudos to be derived from bruising encounters with an irreverent public - hence Tony Blair's so-called 'masochism strategy' in the 2005 election campaign, with its succession of gruelling sessions before live studio audiences. As Lawrence points out, the vital question for today is: can we persuade our broadcasters that such encounters must form a staple of modern,
mediated politics?