 His foremost opponent, John Northampton, held the mayoralty for two years (1381–3) in succession to Walworth, but at the election of 1383 Brembre, who had been returned to parliament for the city at the beginning of this year, and who was one of the sixteen aldermen then belonging to the great Grocers' Company, ""ove forte main … et gñt multitude des gentz … feust fait maire"" William Stubbs calls attention to this forcible election as possessing "the importance of a constitutional episode," but wrongly assigns it to 1386.On the outbreak of John Northampton's riot in February 1384, Brembre arrested and beheaded a ringleader, John Constantyn, cordwainer.Our main knowledge of Brembre's conduct is derived from a bundle of petitions presented to parliament in October–November 1386 by ten companies of the rival faction, of which two (those of the mercers and cordwainers) are printed in the Rolls of Parliament, iii.