1.2 A wider franchise and debates over suffrage Flashcards
What is suffrage (or the franchise)?
The ability or right to vote in public elections - in the UK all adults over the age of 18 possess this right, provided they have registered to vote. Commonwealth citizens are allowed to vote, as are UK nationals who have lived abroad for under 15 years
Who are those excluded from voting?
- People aged under 18
- EU citizens (apart from those from the Irish Republic), although they can vote in local elections
- Member of the House of Lords
- Prisoners
- Those convicted of a corrupt or illegal electoral practice
- People who are compulsorily detained in a psychiatric hospital
What were the main anomalies in the UK’s electoral system?
- The right to vote was restricted to those who owned freehold property worth at least 40 shillings, or £2 in value
- The distribution of parliamentary seats had not kept pace with economic growth and population movement, so some tiny boroughs retained a historic right to return MPs - in many cases a wealthy patron effectively nominated the MP
- Plural voting allowed wealthy men, who owned property in more than one constituency, to vote more than once
- Women were excluded from voting
What was the Great Reform Act 1832?
- It abolished the separate representation of the most underpopulated ‘rotten boroughs’ and creating seats for urban areas, such as Manchester
- Granted the vote to some new categories of people in the counties, including tenant farmers and smaller property holders
- Created a standing qualification for the franchise in the boroughs, so it now applied to all male householders living in properties who paid a yearly rental of £10 or more
After the Great Reform Act 1832, what did the electorate increase to? (estimated)
650,000 equivalent to 5% of the adult population
Why was the vote extended further in a series of stages?
Because it became clear to the governing classes that gradual reform would not provoke violent revolution.
What were the stages of electorate increase?
1867 - borough householders enfranchised
1884 - Rural householders put on same footing as borough ones
1918 - all men over 21 and women over 30 enfranchised
1928 - terms for men and women equalised
1948 - end of plural voting
1969 - voting age reduced to 18
When was possession of the vote treated as a citizen’s right?
1918.
Why were women not allowed the vote before the 20th century?
It was assumed that married women were represented by the vote cast by their husbands. Women were allowed to vote in local elections, though.
Who led the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), and when was it founded?
Led by Millicent Fawcett, founded in 1897.
Who were ‘suffragists’?
Mainly middle-class women who believed in non-violent methods of persuasion such as peaceful demonstrations, petitions and lobbying MPs.
Who formed the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPC), and when?
Emmeline Pankhurst in 1903 - they were dubbed ‘suffragettes’ by the popular press.
What was the difference between the WSPC and NUWSS?
The WSPC (suffragettes) used more militant tactics than the NUWSS - its aim was to attract publicity and put pressure on parliament through attacks on well-known institutions and the disruption of political meetings and other prominent male-dominated public activities.
What did suffragette Emily Davison do in 1913?
Threw herself under the king’s horse at the Epsom Derby.
How was female enfranchisement introduced?
In the 1918 Representation of the People Act - which gave the vote the all women over 30 and all working class men
