Putney Debates
The Putney Debates, at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Putney, in the county of Surrey, started on October 28 1647 and lasted until November 11. They took place between other factions of the New Model Army and the Levellers, whose supporters, known as agitators, were elected from each regiment of the army to participate. The discussions, centred around the Agreement of the People; a written constitutional proposal drafted by civilian Levellers and endorsed by Army supporters; and The Heads of the Proposals, put forward by Henry Ireton, (son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell). It was a constitutional manifesto which included the preservation of property rights and maintaining the privileges of the gentry. Colonel Thomas Rainsborough (M.P for Droitwich) John Wildman, and Edward Sexby spoke for the Levellers and Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton and other officers spoke for the other side often referred to as the Grandees. Thus Rainsborough, for the Levellers:-
:For really I think that the poorest he that is in England have a life to live, as the greatest he: and therefore truly, sir, I think it's clear, that every man that is to live under a government ought first by his own consent to put himself under that government. And Ireton, for the 'Grandees':-
::no man hath a right to an interest or share in the disposing of the affairs of the kingdom... that hath not a permanent fixed interest in this kingdom. (Quotations as given by E. P. Thompson The Making of the English Working Class)
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