3- growth of parliamentary democracy Flashcards
what did the radicals call the political system
“old corruption”
what percentage of the population coud vote pre-reform
less than 5%
in 1831 how many people had the right to vote out of what population
400,000 electorate
13.89 million population
how many MPs could a county send to parliament
2
what was the standard county franchise (pre-reform)
someone who held a freehold piece of land worth 40 shillings a year
what were the 6 types of boroughs
rotten, pocket, scot and lot, potwalloper, corporation, freeman
what was a rotten borough
a constituency so depopulated that an mp was selected by a very small number of people (often they could buy the votes)
what was a pocket borough
a borough where wealthy landowners owned all of the land, they bribed or pressured voters into voting for their favoured candidates
what was a scot and lot borough
men who paid local taxes such as the poor rate could vote
what was a potwalloper borough
a boroughin which one could vote if their house had a fireplace large enough to boil a pot
what was a corporation borough
only members of the local cpuncil could vote,w
what percent of corperation boroughs had less then 50 voters
90%
what was the freeman borough
all men who had aquired the title of ‘freeman’ were qualified to vote
how many boroughs had fewer than 40 voters
50
what 4 big towns had no MPs
birmingham, manchester, leeds, sheffield
In 1831 what was lancashires population
1.3 million
How many MPs did Lancashire have in 1831
14
What was cornwalls population in 1831
300,000
How many MPs did Cornwall have in 1831
42
What percent of elections were uncontested (pre reform)
66%
What was ‘treating’
Where candidates would pay for their supporters food drink and accommodation during election
What were ‘lambs’
They were groups of armed thugs who intimidated voters
What was ‘cooping’
The kidnapping of rivals supporters until the end of the election
What became increasingly politicised post 1780s
Clubs, discussion groups and societies
How many daily newspapers did London have
13
How many tri-weekly newspapers did London have
10
How many provincial newspapers were there outside of London
50
What did William Pitt propose (that was defeated)
To disenfranchise 36 of the worst boroughs
Who was John Wilkes
A man who made a name for himself because he asserted the right of voters to choose MPs
franchise defanition
the right to vote in an election
sedition defanition
inciting revolution
yeomanry defanition
armed voulentry cavalry force used to maintain order
