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Could Peterloo happen again?
After the massacre of peaceful protesters two centuries ago, the state has been wary of provoking a reaction by using deadly force on dissident assemblies – but this is not a guarantee, explains KEITH FLETT
A contemporary cartoon depiction of the Peterloo Massacre

ON Monday August 16 1819 in central Manchester, around 60,000 people gathered to protest for the right to vote, which few, if any of them, had. Most of the men or their descendants wouldn’t get the vote until 1918 and many of the women until 1928.

The yeomanry, local businessmen on horseback, rode into the protesters, on the order of Tory magistrate William Hulton, and cut them down with sabres. Tens were killed and thousands injured.

The reason for the attack remains unclear. It may be that the government had ordered it. It might be that the magistrates acted on their own — they were certainly supported by the government afterwards.

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