BRITAIN Breadth 1- Redistribution of seats

Question 1

What legislation abolished the Irish parliament?

Answer 1

Act of Union of 1800

Question 2

How many county seats were there before the 1832 RPA?

Answer 2

122

Question 3

Which borough was notorious for buying and selling votes?

Answer 3

Suffolk town of Sudbury

Question 4

How many MPs did Cornwall return before the 1832 RPA?

Answer 4

44

Question 5

How many Scottish MPs were there in 1780?

Answer 5

45

Question 6

When did Pitt become PM?

Answer 6

1783

Question 7

When was the Yorkshire Association founded?

Answer 7

1780

Question 8

Who founded the Yorkshire Association?

Answer 8

Christopher Wyvill

Question 9

What was the aim of the Yorkshire Association?

Answer 9

To eliminate corruption in parliament

Question 10

When did Pitt make unsuccessful proposals to reform parliament?

Answer 10

1782; May 1783; April 1785

Question 11

What did Pitt propose in April 1785?

Answer 11

Abolition of 36 corrupt boroughs; transfer of their seats to London/counties

Question 12

What did Pitt propose in May 1783?

Answer 12

Vague suggestion to disenfranchise a number of corrupt boroughs and transfer their seats

Question 13

Why was Pitt’s April 1785 proposal such a failure?

Answer 13

George III was openly hostile to measure; no groundswell of opinion in the country as a whole for reform

Question 14

Who was Pitt’s chief opponent in the HoC?

Answer 14

Fox

Question 15

What had Fox long supported?

Answer 15

Reform

Question 16

Why did Fox oppose Pitt’s April 1785 proposal?

Answer 16

Refused to accept Pitt’s suggestion that £1 million should be made available to compensate owners of seats

Question 17

How did Pitt’s April 1785 bill fare in the HoC?

Answer 17

Defeated (by 248 votes to 174)

Question 18

Why did Pitt not take up the issue of reform again after the April 1785 bill?

Answer 18

French Revolution; explosive growth in radical activity and ideas

Question 19

When did Grey introduce a reform proposal that was almost identical to Pitt’s in 1785 and opposed by the latter?

Answer 19

1792

Question 20

When were issues about widespread corruption in the boroughs brought into sharp relief?

Answer 20

With controversy over Catholic relief in the late 1820s

Question 21

When was Peel elected as MP for Oxford University?

Answer 21

1817

Question 22

What led to Peel resigning his seat for Oxford University and forcing a by-election?

Answer 22

His support of Catholic Relief

Question 23

When did Peel resign his seat for Oxford University?

Answer 23

January 1829

Question 24

When did PM, Earl Grey, order a comprehensive review of the whole electoral system that would inform the government’s proposals in the reform bill?

Answer 24

1830

Question 25

How many English towns had a population of over 10,000 people but returned no MPs in 1830?

Answer 25

33

Question 26

How many new borough seats were created as a result of the 1832 RPA?

Answer 26

44

Question 27

How many new county seats were created as a result of the 1832 RPA?

Answer 27

65

Question 28

How many boroughs lost both of their MPs as a result of the 1832 RPA?

Answer 28

56

Question 29

How many boroughs lost one of their MPs as a result of the 1832 RPA?

Answer 29

30

Question 30

What is an example of the lack of uniformity in the boroughs that persisted after the 1832 RPA?

Answer 30

Lancashire had an electorate of 1,497; Reigate had just 153- both returned 1 MP

Question 31

Which seat did Peel leave Westbury for in 1830?

Answer 31

Tamworth in Staffordshire

Question 32

Which larger towns still didn't have any representation after the 1832 RPA?

Answer 32

Yorkshire; Warwickshire

Question 33

Which organisation began to campaign for measures to remedy the imbalance in the distribution of seats as well as universal suffrage in the mid-1860s?

Answer 33

Reform League

Question 34

What was the imbalance in the distribution of seats before 1867?

Answer 34

334 borough MPs represented a total 9.5 million; 11.5 million people in counties had 162 MPs

Question 35

How many constituencies were created as a result of the 1867 RPA?

Answer 35

11

Question 36

How many extra seats were the English and Welsh counties allocated as a result of the 1867 RPA?

Answer 36

25

Question 37

How many new seats was Scotland given as a result of the 1867 RPA?

Answer 37

5 and 3 new university seats

Question 38

How were boroughs with a population below 10,000 affected by the 1867 RPA?

Answer 38

Lost one or both of their MPs

Question 39

Which large towns were assigned 3 MPs rather than their previous 2 as a result of the 1867 RPA?

Answer 39

Liverpool; Manchester; Leeds; Birmingham

Question 40

What suggested that Disraeli had miscalculated the effects of the 1867 redistribution on the Conservative Party?

Answer 40

1868 election

Question 41

How did the Conservatives fare in the 1868 election?

Answer 41

Lost 8 seats- Gladstone's Liberals stormed to power with a substantial majority

Question 42

Why did the 1867 RPA have such an important effect on the counties?

Answer 42

New 25 seats strengthened landed interest; creation of new borough seats meant that their electorates wouldn't be voting in counties, where they might challenge the nobility

Question 43

When was the Ballot Act?

Answer 43

1872

Question 44

What was different about the Ballot Act from most of the other reform legislation passed?

Answer 44

It wasn't controversial

Question 45

Where was the most important short-term effect of the Ballot Act seen?

Answer 45

Irish Home Rule movement grew dramatically over next 20 years

Question 46

How effective was the Ballot Act?

Answer 46

While it may have ended some of the worst forms of malpractice, its initial effects weren't clear

Question 47

When was the Corrupt Practices Act?

Answer 47

1883

Question 48

When was Gladstone's 2nd ministry?

Answer 48

1880-85

Question 49

What led to the Corrupt Practices Act?

Answer 49

MPs were scandalised by widespread bribery and corruption that had taken place during 1880 election

Question 50

When was Sudbury disenfranchised for corruption?

Answer 50

1844

Question 51

What did the Corrupt Practices Act do?

Answer 51

Set stringent limits on campaign expenses; candidates and their agents were required to keep detailed records of expenditure

Question 52

What was the impact of the Corrupt Practices Act?

Answer 52

Finally brought end to culture of electoral corruption

Question 53

What were the stringent limits put on campaign expenses in England and Wales as a result of the Corrupt Practices Act?

Answer 53

Candidates could spend no more than £710 for first 2,000 votes and £40 for each additional 1,000 voters

Question 54

When was the Redistribution Act?

Answer 54

1885

Question 55

Why was it a surprise that the Marquess of Salisbury pushed for the Redistribution Act?

Answer 55

Resigned from Derby's cabinet in 1867 in opposition to Disraeli's proposed reforms

Question 56

What changed the Marquess of Salisbury's mind about reform?

Answer 56

Conservative victory in 1874 convinced him that the extension of the franchise hadn't damaged Tory Party

Question 57

Which group was only of limited value to the Conservatives in reality?

Answer 57

Suburbans

Question 58

What kind of redistribution of seats did the Arlington Street Compact favour?

Answer 58

Equal electoral districts

Question 59

How many MPs sat in multi-member constituencies in 1885?

Answer 59

70%

Question 60

When were boundary commissioners appointed to determine the new electoral geography?

Answer 60

1884

Question 61

What did the Redistribution Act do?

Answer 61

28 boroughs with populations of over 50,000 remained as two-member constituencies; in all other cases single-member seats were established

Question 62

When did MPs drawn from industry and commerce outnumber those related to the aristocracy for the first time?

Answer 62

General election of 1885

Question 63

What provided the biggest single boost to the Conservative Party throughout the period?

Answer 63

Redistribution Act 1885

Question 64

Why did Salisbury push for single-member constituencies?

Answer 64

Believed that it would provide significant electoral benefits for the Tories

Question 65

When was the Easter Rising in Ireland?

Answer 65

1916

Question 66

What was the redistribution of seats like with the 1918 RPA?

Answer 66

Some major towns and cities gained seats- limited growth of urban influence in the counties