The common people have had representation in English political life since the establishment of Parliament, but it wasn’t until the sixteenth century that a ‘public sphere’ truly emerged outside of the halls of Westminster. The rise of the mercantile classes, particularly in London, gave the people a voice that governmental elites could no longer ignore. How did this system of accountability come into existence, though? In this week’s episode, Charlie Bowden, a second-year History student at Jesus College, interviews Dr Ellen Paterson, formerly Stipendiary Lecturer in History at Mansfield and Oriel Colleges and currently CMRS Career Development Fellow in Early Modern History at Keble College, about the advent of popular politics in early modern England.