Why was Sir William Blackstone criticized for supporting John Wilkes’s expulsion from the House of Commons?

Sir William Blackstone was criticized for his support of the expulsion of John Wilkes from the House of Commons during the 1769 Middlesex election controversy because his stance was viewed as inconsistent with the legal principles he had previously established in his influential work, Commentaries on the Laws of England.1

Critics argued that by supporting the House's decision to set aside the rights of electors to choose their own representative, Blackstone contradicted the foundational legal doctrines he had articulated in his writings. While Blackstone described himself as a man of moderation, his active participation in this specific constitutional dispute drew significant scrutiny for appearing to compromise the very legal standards he helped define for English law.1