Rotten boroughs were defended by the successive Tory governments of 1807-1830, a substantial number of whose constituencies lay in rotten and pocket boroughs; but during this period they came under criticism from prominent figures such as Tom Paine and William Cobbett.
Rotten boroughs were defended by the successive Tory governments of 1807-1830, largely because a substantial number of their constituencies lay in rotten and pocket boroughs. It also marked a period in which they came under criticism from prominent figures such as Tom Paine and William Cobbett.