25.) Development of British Democracy Flashcards
What did the Great Reform Act of 1832 do?
-Get rid of rotten boroughs
-One in five males can vote
What was the Second Reform Act of 1867?
-30% of men able to vote, mainly in cities
What was the Third Reform Act of 1884?
-Established uniform franchise: no more borough/county split
-60% of men could vote
What was the Representation of the People Act of 1918?
All men over 21 (19 for veterans) could vote and all women over 30 who owned property could
What was the Representation of the People Act 1928?
-Women votes equal to men
-All men and women over 21 can vote
-Property qualifications removed
What was the Representation of the People Act of 1969?
It reduced the voting age to 18 for all
What other measures helped democracy in the UK?
-Secret ballot introduction (1872)
-Direct bribery of voters banned (1883)
What was the name of the committee set up to investigate lowering the voting age to 18?
Latey Committee
Name an early vote reform group?
Chartists
When and what were the Chartists’ demands?
After the Great Reform Act of 1832, the Chartists demands were:
-All men have the vote
-Votes by secret ballot only
-Elections every year not every seven years (before 1911 GEs were fought every 7 years not 5)
-Equally sized constituencies
-MPs should be paid
-MP property qualification should be abolished
Name some key leaders of the Chartists?
-William Lovett
-Francis Place
-Feargus O’Connor
-Susanna Inge
-Anne Walker
What was the Chartists main tactic?
Petitions - there were three (1839, 1842, 1848) which contained up to six million signatures
Although the Chartists failed, what was their legacy?
All of their demands except yearly elections have been achieved
Why were the aristocrats of that time unwilling to give working men the vote?
-The working men wouldn’t be educated enough to understand politics
-The working men might seize power through the ballot box
Who were the two groups who focused on rights for women?
Suffragists and suffragettes
Who founded the suffragettes?
Emmeline, Christabel and Sylvia Pankhurst
Who was the leader of suffragists during the early 20th century?
Millicent Fawcett
What were the suffragists’ tactics?
Peaceful: meetings, leaflets, petitions and lobbying of politicians
What were some key arguments about votes for women?
-Women are intellectually equal to men
-Women pay equal taxes and obey the same laws as men
-Women could vote in local elections and become mayors already
What were some key arguments against votes for women?
-Separate spheres: politics is a “man’s business”
-Women not making the ultimate sacrifice that men are
-Women would outnumber men and take over from them
When were the first ethnic minorities elected to Parliament?
1987
What did the electoral commission find in November 2019?
-25% black people not registered to vote in British elections
-24% Asian voters not registered to vote in British elections
What are some arguments for 16-17 year olds receiving the right to vote?
-Can join the armed forces
-They pay income tax and NI
-They can get married and enter sexual relationships
-They can receive benefits and tax credits
Name a pressure group focusing on helping ethnic minorities vote?
Operation Black Vote
What article of the UN universal declaration of human rights says all may vote?
Article 21
What was the name of the court case that decided if prisoners could vote?
Hirst v UK (2005) - ECtHR - prisoner vote ban unlawful and violates Article 3 of the First Protocol of the ECHR
Give reasons why prisoners should have the right to vote?
-Voting is civic duty and without it rehab is harder
-Voting is fundamental right
-No evidence that taking vote is deterrent
-Removing vote alienated person from society
-ECtHR has ruled against UK, government must abide by this whether it disagrees or not
Give reasons why prisoners should NOT have the right to vote?
-Those who commit crimes need to accept consequences
-Losing the vote is a deterrent
-Prisoners are housed in large numbers in constituencies with prisons, they often don’t live there normally so shouldn’t be picking the MP for that area
-Public opinion is against prisoners’ voting
-ECtHR ruling goes against the spirit of the initial ECHR definition, a case of judicial overreach
