BRITAIN Breadth 1- Redistribution of seats Flashcards
What legislation abolished the Irish parliament?
Act of Union of 1800
How many county seats were there before the 1832 RPA?
122
Which borough was notorious for buying and selling votes?
Suffolk town of Sudbury
How many MPs did Cornwall return before the 1832 RPA?
44
How many Scottish MPs were there in 1780?
45
When did Pitt become PM?
1783
When was the Yorkshire Association founded?
1780
Who founded the Yorkshire Association?
Christopher Wyvill
What was the aim of the Yorkshire Association?
To eliminate corruption in parliament
When did Pitt make unsuccessful proposals to reform parliament?
1782; May 1783; April 1785
What did Pitt propose in April 1785?
Abolition of 36 corrupt boroughs; transfer of their seats to London/counties
What did Pitt propose in May 1783?
Vague suggestion to disenfranchise a number of corrupt boroughs and transfer their seats
Why was Pitt’s April 1785 proposal such a failure?
George III was openly hostile to measure; no groundswell of opinion in the country as a whole for reform
Who was Pitt’s chief opponent in the HoC?
Fox
What had Fox long supported?
Reform
Why did Fox oppose Pitt’s April 1785 proposal?
Refused to accept Pitt’s suggestion that £1 million should be made available to compensate owners of seats
How did Pitt’s April 1785 bill fare in the HoC?
Defeated (by 248 votes to 174)
Why did Pitt not take up the issue of reform again after the April 1785 bill?
French Revolution; explosive growth in radical activity and ideas
When did Grey introduce a reform proposal that was almost identical to Pitt’s in 1785 and opposed by the latter?
1792
When were issues about widespread corruption in the boroughs brought into sharp relief?
With controversy over Catholic relief in the late 1820s
When was Peel elected as MP for Oxford University?
1817
What led to Peel resigning his seat for Oxford University and forcing a by-election?
His support of Catholic Relief
When did Peel resign his seat for Oxford University?
January 1829
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?
1830
How many English towns had a population of over 10,000 people but returned no MPs in 1830?
33
How many new borough seats were created as a result of the 1832 RPA?
44
How many new county seats were created as a result of the 1832 RPA?
65
How many boroughs lost both of their MPs as a result of the 1832 RPA?
56
How many boroughs lost one of their MPs as a result of the 1832 RPA?
30
What is an example of the lack of uniformity in the boroughs that persisted after the 1832 RPA?
Lancashire had an electorate of 1,497; Reigate had just 153- both returned 1 MP
Which seat did Peel leave Westbury for in 1830?
Tamworth in Staffordshire
Which larger towns still didn’t have any representation after the 1832 RPA?
Yorkshire; Warwickshire
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?
Reform League
What was the imbalance in the distribution of seats before 1867?
334 borough MPs represented a total 9.5 million; 11.5 million people in counties had 162 MPs
How many constituencies were created as a result of the 1867 RPA?
11
How many extra seats were the English and Welsh counties allocated as a result of the 1867 RPA?
25
How many new seats was Scotland given as a result of the 1867 RPA?
5 and 3 new university seats
How were boroughs with a population below 10,000 affected by the 1867 RPA?
Lost one or both of their MPs
Which large towns were assigned 3 MPs rather than their previous 2 as a result of the 1867 RPA?
Liverpool; Manchester; Leeds; Birmingham
What suggested that Disraeli had miscalculated the effects of the 1867 redistribution on the Conservative Party?
1868 election
How did the Conservatives fare in the 1868 election?
Lost 8 seats- Gladstone’s Liberals stormed to power with a substantial majority
Why did the 1867 RPA have such an important effect on the counties?
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
When was the Ballot Act?
1872
What was different about the Ballot Act from most of the other reform legislation passed?
It wasn’t controversial
Where was the most important short-term effect of the Ballot Act seen?
Irish Home Rule movement grew dramatically over next 20 years
How effective was the Ballot Act?
While it may have ended some of the worst forms of malpractice, its initial effects weren’t clear
When was the Corrupt Practices Act?
1883
When was Gladstone’s 2nd ministry?
1880-85
What led to the Corrupt Practices Act?
MPs were scandalised by widespread bribery and corruption that had taken place during 1880 election
When was Sudbury disenfranchised for corruption?
1844
What did the Corrupt Practices Act do?
Set stringent limits on campaign expenses; candidates and their agents were required to keep detailed records of expenditure
What was the impact of the Corrupt Practices Act?
Finally brought end to culture of electoral corruption
What were the stringent limits put on campaign expenses in England and Wales as a result of the Corrupt Practices Act?
Candidates could spend no more than £710 for first 2,000 votes and £40 for each additional 1,000 voters
When was the Redistribution Act?
1885
Why was it a surprise that the Marquess of Salisbury pushed for the Redistribution Act?
Resigned from Derby’s cabinet in 1867 in opposition to Disraeli’s proposed reforms
What changed the Marquess of Salisbury’s mind about reform?
Conservative victory in 1874 convinced him that the extension of the franchise hadn’t damaged Tory Party
Which group was only of limited value to the Conservatives in reality?
Suburbans
What kind of redistribution of seats did the Arlington Street Compact favour?
Equal electoral districts
How many MPs sat in multi-member constituencies in 1885?
70%
When were boundary commissioners appointed to determine the new electoral geography?
1884
What did the Redistribution Act do?
28 boroughs with populations of over 50,000 remained as two-member constituencies; in all other cases single-member seats were established
When did MPs drawn from industry and commerce outnumber those related to the aristocracy for the first time?
General election of 1885
What provided the biggest single boost to the Conservative Party throughout the period?
Redistribution Act 1885
Why did Salisbury push for single-member constituencies?
Believed that it would provide significant electoral benefits for the Tories
When was the Easter Rising in Ireland?
1916
What was the redistribution of seats like with the 1918 RPA?
Some major towns and cities gained seats- limited growth of urban influence in the counties
