Brigg Blog's recent post about proposals to place the town in a new Parliamentary constituency, provisionally called South Humber, created plenty of interest, site 'stats' indicate.
We explained that Brigg has been a constant feature in the name of the local seat from 1885 through to today's Brigg & Goole.
Our post has also prompted a Brigg resident to turn back time with some interesting reflections on voting and local government in the past. Food for thought, he suggests...
FROM KEN HARRISON
The town of Brigg was a settlement that evolved in an enclave whose land was shared with 4 parishes....Broughton, Wrawby, Scawby and Kettleby (later Bigby).
It was in a very unusual situation with significant landowners owning various sectors of the town.
Consequently, to ease the problem of the governance of the town, created by factor of mixed ownership, it was decided to allow Brigg to create its own council, a selection of knowledgeable and professional gentlemen, collectively known as the Brigg Board.
The Board was allowed to create its own by-laws, tolls and taxes, for example.
Within this entrepreneurial fegime, it encouraged professionals and business folk to live and and work in the town.
In consequence, wealth, owning land and property qualified a high proportion of Brigg businessmen to be in a position to be part of the electorate when it came to parliamentary election.
Brigg, for example, in the earlier part of the C19th had 25 folk on the electoral register, compared with Elsham with 1....Corbett of Elsham Hall and the sole landowner in the parish.
Brigg boxed much higher than the size of the town suggested, but it become a heavyweight community in general elections and a deciding factor of the competing Tory vs Whig contests.
From that time, Brigg has retained it prominence with 'Brigg' being on the Parliamentary register.
