Britain - 1867 & 1885 Reform Acts Flashcards
How did Britain reach a point in the 1850s where they deemed reform necessary?
Parliament and the public were becoming out of sync:
- Parliament still influenced by landed interest and patronage
- Society ‘modernised’
Reduction of social tension and the long period of social boom created a climate of optimism
What factors in the 1860s helped push for reform?
- Organisations
- People and politics
- International events
- Economic matters
What was the National Reform Union?
Formed in 1864
Led by wealthy Manchester merchants, industrials and radical MPs.
Mainly supported by Middle class Liberals.
Aimed to persuade the government to extend the franchise to household suffrage, distribute seats more evenly and bring in secret voting.
What was the Reform League?
Formed in 1865
Pressed for complete manhood suffrage.
Attracted trade unionists and ex-Chartists
Predominantly a working class organisation.
Supported by various left-wing organisations
What were organisations doing by 1867 to push for reform?
The Reform League (with the membership) and the Reform Union (with the money) were working together to persuade the government
How did the death of Palmerston effect the likelihood of reform?
He had conducted a popular foreign policy which gave him the prestige to block measures he didn’t like.
He was never in favour of reform; saw no reasons for it in the 1860s, saying democracy would ‘bring the scum to the top’.
Within weeks of his death, Lord John Russell had taken over as Liberal Prime Minister and brought forward a parliamentary Reform Bill.
How did international events help to push for reform?
- Movements in Italy for unification
- American Civil war
Both interpreted by the British radicals as popular struggles for freedom, which helped to fuel demand for reform.
How did economic matters help push for reform?
- Harvest of 1865 was bad, forcing hundreds of people to claim poor relief.
- Cholera epidemic 1866-67
Why did Gladstone propose the Representation of the People Bill 1866?
It would increase the electorate by about 400,000 (largely working class). The Liberals knew that those working classes that already had the vote were voting for them, so they knew it was worth the risk to enfranchise more skilled working classes.
How was the Representation of the People Bill 1866 received in Parliament?
Right-wing liberals, Adullmites, (led by Robert Lowe) opposed the bill and allied with the Conservatives. This led Russell to resign, making the Earl of Derby form a Conservative administration (which was what Disraeli wanted.
What was the public reaction to the rejection of the Representation of the People Bill 1866?
Hyde Park riots 23 July
League rallies got out of hand. Violence continued for a couple of days before it was contained and controlled by the police and troops.
Not very violent though; no more than the violence that accompanied most elections.
What was the effect of the Hyde Park riots on the Conservative government?
Convinced Disraeli and Derby to reform parliament.
The Conservatives would have a better chance of getting the bill through the Lords and would add political delight to the beating of the Liberals at their own game
What were the events of the Representation of the People Bill 1867?
Initially introduced as more moderate than the Liberal’s bill.
Disraeli got it through the Conservative minority House of Commons with skill, political deception and hypocrisy.
Gladstone criticised Disraeli’s bill, but this gained him more Conservative support. The Liberals were worried, fearing that the attack would bring down the government and there would be no Reform Bill again.
Disraeli abandoned his alliance with the Adullmites and allied with the left-wing, radical Liberals. He was willing to accept any amendments by them in order to ensure the bill wasn’t lost.
He accepted Hodgkinson’s Amendment because he realised the controversy surrounding it was delaying the Reform Bill.
Met few problems in the House of Lords and became law on 15 August 1867
What were the Adullmite’s opinions regarding the 1867 Reform Bill
Resented Disraeli and the Conservatives, realising it would have been wiser for them to have backed Russell’s 1866 more moderate bill
What was the Hodgkinson’s Amendment?
Moderate Liberals believed that compounders should not be given to vote because they were seen as poorer, less well-established and more likely to ‘flit’ when in debt than those who paid their rates personally.
The Hodgkinson’s Amendment enfranchised compounders, causing controversy
What was said about the concept of female enfranchisement?
John Stuart Mill suggested 20 May 1867 in an amendment that the word ‘person’ should be used instead of ‘man’ in the bill.
This was defeated.
What four areas did the 1867 Bill Impact?
- The electorate
- Elections
- Party politics
- Education
How did the 1867 Bill impact the electorate?
It was enlarged (almost doubled) from one in 5 to one in 3. Most significant difference in the boroughs:
Boroughs: Working classes (skilled), for the first time, dominated the borough electorate. (e.g in Birmingham it rose from 8,000 voters to 43,000).
Counties: constituencies remained largely middle class. Patronage (until the secret ballot) still existed.
What was the impact of the 1867 Bill on elections?
Disraeli’s minimal redistribution reduced the impact of a working class dominated electorate. Rural areas were still over represented.
What was the impact of the 1867 Bill on Party politics?
Disraeli gambled on the newly enfranchised working classes in the boroughs voting Conservative, but the Liberals won the 1868 election.
The Conservatives, however, won the 1874 elections, potentially due to the increase in party organisation (National Union of Conservative Associations)
What was the impact of the 1867 Bill on education?
Direct link between the 1867 Reform Act and the 1870 Elementary Education Act
What was the 1870 Education Act?
Created a system of school boards to provide basic education to fill the gaps left by the voluntary system. Aimed to provide basic literacy and numeracy to children aged 5-13.
What was the Ballot Act of 1872?
Reformers believed that a truly representative system of government was only possible if electors were able to vote for their candidate of choice, free from patronage.
Those who opposed it were the Conservatives and most peers who believed it to be non-English and furtive to vote in secret.
What was the self interest surrounding the Secret ballot?
Radicals: wanted the secret ballot so that people would feel free to vote for them without others knowing where their political interests really lie.
Conservatives: Didn’t want it because they were unsure as to what outcome secret ballots would have and preferred a system where employers and landowners had more control over voting.
