What was the first year that England was governed by elected officials?

A personal view: We in UK are not, we are governed by the Civil Service, we may or may not vote to change or keep a political party in power, but the powers of the Civil Service are unchanged and unaffected by who we do or do not vote for. You might, as I suggest, tell me we have Democracy, well when our votes have power to influence who has political control in the nation state, or even at the most basic level, then I might agree. Quite when the election of MPs was achieved from a meaninful representation of the populace, now that's not easy to judge. Women over 21 only got the vote in parity with men in 1928, over 30 in 1918. Prior to that I believe men had to be property owners at some time or other, so quite when all men over 21 had the vote is sometime in the 19th century.... looks like its 1884 for property owners, and 1918 for all men. But that still doesn't establish the first time, it depends on the criterion needed really.

First answer by JRWADDY. Last edit by JRWADDY. Contributor trust: 176 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question]