1832 reform act Flashcards
Who resigned in 1827 due after 15 years of stable government?
Lord Liverpool
Who took over from Lord Liverpool?
The Duke of Wellington because Prime Minister in 1828 and managed to split the party into opposing factions
What did Wellington do as prime minister?
Wellington alienated the liberal “Canningite” faction by refusing to consider redistribution of Parliamentary seats (Penryn to Manchester and East Retford to Birmingham) so they resigned from the government
How did Wellington upset the Protestants?
Wellington also angered the protestant “Ultras” by supporting the Catholic Emancipation Act (1829) which allowed Catholics to be MPs for the first time. Wellington did this because of a fear that a civil war might breaking out in Ireland if this concession was not given due to the actions of O’Connell’s Catholic Association
Why was Wellington bad?
Wellington was therefore head of a divided party and in a weak position by 1830 although he had threatened the radicals by allowing the Catholic Emancipation Act to pass
Who opposed the whigs?
The Whigs had been opposed by both George III and George IV when they had tried to introduce reform bills in 1792, 1793 and 1797. The new king, William IV (brother to George IV) supported the Whigs invited Earl Grey to form a new Government in November 1830
What did the Whigs want?
The Whigs wanted a moderate reform and, whilst many were members of the elite (like the Tories) there were an increasing number from the middle classes
Who leaded the Whigs?
The Whig’s leader Earl Grey, wanted to include “men of property” in the running of the country and saw himself as `safe half-way house’ between the current system and radical extremism
What else did the Whigs want?
The Whigs also wanted to gain support by keeping a check on the `tyranny of the monarchy’ (when the king had previously vetoed reforms) and stop potential violence by including more people in the political system
What happened in June 1830?
In June 1830, there was a general election following the death of George IV. The results were inconclusive, and Wellington lost his majority
What happened in November 1830?
In November 1830, Lord Grey (Whig leader) announced he would introduce moderate reform and managed to win the support of the Tory Canningite faction and the Tory Ultras
What did the Canningates want?
The Canningates were keen for reform and the Ultras (who hated Catholics) believed that a broader electorate would illustrate the country’s hatred of Catholics.
As a result of this, William IV invited Earl Grey to form a new government, which he did, including several Cannigites and an Ultra Tory in the cabinet
What did the 1832 reform act do?
56 boroughs were disenfranchised with a further 30 losing one of their MPs.
42 new boroughs were created and 62 seats were given to English counties
Wales received five new seats, Scotland had eight and Ireland had five.
In the counties, the vote was given to adult males who owned land worth £10 a year or rented land worth £50 a year.
In the boroughs, votes were given to adult men who owned or rented property worth £10 a year providing they had owned it for a year and paid taxes.
Voters had to be registered and polling was limited to two days.
What did the 1832 reform act change?
The size of the electorate rose from 366,000 to 650,000 (approx. 18% of the male population).
The imbalance between rural and urban voters was redressed through the changes.
There was increased involvement in politics by the middle classes (due to the Municipal Corporations Act 1835), particularly in local government. Key figures emerged to represent the people in industrial areas because they had the right to vote and dealt with everyday issues such as education and public health.
The increased numbers of voters led to the development of permanent party organisations with agents who helped register voters.
Party discipline also began to increase which meant more politicians voted as their party wanted, not as they might have freely chosen (this was the beginning of our current system).
The limited role of the monarch in solving the crisis and the obstruction from the House of Lords bolstered arguments about the primacy of the House of Commons.
The passing of the bill gave hope to reformers that further change could be possible.
There was a significant increase in the number of contested seats (from 30% before 1832 to 50% after) which meant voters had a real choice at elections.
What stayed the same with the 1832 reform act?
After 1832, overall control of the political system was still in the hands of the landed elites.
The Whigs’ motive for passing the bill was to eventually gain support of the middle classes by extending the franchise but avoiding a revolution and so the changes were moderate.
It was too expensive to stand as an MP (had to have income of £600) for most people and many of the old corruptions still existed.
Voting was still public until 1872 and so bribery and intimidation continued.
There will still huge discrepancies in the size of constituencies. 73 boroughs had fewer than 500 electors and 31 had fewer than 300.
The south was still over-represented compared to the north and the midlands. In Leeds, only 5000 qualified for the vote from a population of 125,000 due to the £10 rule.
Very few middle class people joined Parliament. Of the 103 individuals who served in cabinets from 1830-66, only 14 were from the middle class.
There were still only two parties competing in elections.
The power of the House of Lords to veto legislation, and the power of the king, remained.
