MPs of immigrant heritage are now prominent in the House of Commons, but this is not simply a recent development. Peter de Lannoy, who was elected in 1656 by inhabitants of the large and diverse borough of Southwark, was descended from Walloon refugees and baptised in a French-speaking church. A local dyer, engaged in a trade enriched by immigrants, he exemplifies both the gradual process of assimilation and a temporary widening of participation in Parliament in the mid-17th century ....