Britain Issue 2 Flashcards
hallmarks of democracy
universal suffrage, fairness, choice of parties, national party system, access to information, accountability and participation
introduction
By the late 19th century the idea of democracy evolved to become a well-rooted value in the British political make up. The British parliament had undergone legislative changes that resulted in a wider electorate, reduction in corruption and a greater scope of participation amongst the working classes. However, for Britain to call herself the “cradle of modern democracy” further changes were necessary. Historians argue that by 1900 Britain had taken great strides in democratic reform, while others argue that it would take a further leap of faith from the 1928 Conservative government before Britain could call herself a truly functioning democracy. [followed by line of argument]
right to vote/universal suffrage
benchmark: 1/5 men could vote; electorate grew to 652 000 voters
- 2nd Reform Act, 1867 was known as a “leap in the dark” and enfranchised male adult householders living in boroughs
> it extended the electorate, eg in Glasgow franchise increased from 18 000 to 47 000 - 1918 Representation of the People Act. it gave all men over 21 the right to vote and gave women over 30 (householders, uni grads or paid rent of £5) the vote
> all men had the vote and some women too. The electorate was further increased to 21 million (8.4 million women)
A*: since not all women had been enfranchised by this reform universal suffrage had not been achieved
E: appears issue of universal suffrage had been achieved bc universal manhood suffrage had been achieved by 1819, but Britain wasn’t fully democratised until 1928 Representation of the People Act passed by Baldwin’s Conservative government which gave all women the vote
fairness
benchmark: unfair distribution of seats, MPs came from South and SW England
- Secret Ballot Act, 1872 was introduced to enable voters to cast their vote in secret which reduced the opportunity for bribery
> voters could not be lured to pressured into voting a certain way - Second Reform Act 1867 redistributed parliamentary seats by redistributing seats to more densely populated parts of the country
> more populated area received better representation, eg MPs were given seats to represent the growing Manchester and Liverpool
A*: could be argued that the system was not fair with the land owning interests in the south of England still over represented until the 1884 Representation of the Peoples Act which removed the distribution between counties and boroughs, further redistributing seats
E: appears by 1872 fairness was addressed well: almost impossible to “buy” votes. But it wasn’t until the 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act was passed which reduced the amount parties could spend on elections was a truly fair voting system in place which remained until 1900
national party system and choice of party
benchmark: only 2 parties existed - Tories (Conservatives) and Whigs (Liberals); many MPs did not belong to a political party
- parties began to appeal to the electorate as a whole on a nation-wide basis with a manifesto. During elections, party members would distribute leaflets and organise campaigns to spread their parties’ views
> the manifestoes issued by the parties drew a clear line between the Tories and Whigs who previously had a challenge electing a party due to the too similar images and ideas - the Labour Movement emerged to represent the needs of the ever increasing working classes
> not only did the working class people receive fair representation, but the electorate as a whole would, in the near future, be given a third choice of party when Keir Hardie won a seat in parliament in 1903
A*: even if each party issued manifestoes publicly displaying their views, the choice of party was very limited until the Labour Party won a seat
E: by 1900 a national party system was established and for the first time voters had a real choice between parties with different ideologies and visions of society. Furthermore, the Labour Party influenced the passing of the 1911 Parliament Act which gave MPs a salary and reduced the powers of the House of Lords.
accountability
benchmark: polit system lacked accountability because legislations passed by House of Commons could be vetoed by House of Lords, i.e powers of HofL prevented Britain from becoming truly democratic
- would only be achieved by 1911 when Parliament Act was passed which removed HofL’s power over bills which tremendously limited their powers
> they could no longer veto bills, only amend or reject them and as such made Britain more democratic - act also stated that a general election must be held at least every 5 years
> made sure that the right politicians were elected to ensure that the needs of the people were met
A*: this hallmark was not met by 1900 so Britain was not a democracy
E: accountability remained a serious problem by 1900 due to the powers possessed by the House of Lords. It was only in the 1999 House of Lords Act which removed the hereditary right to the seats in the House
participation
benchmark: MPs were unpaid; they had to meet Property Qualifications
- 1858 land qualifications were scrapped
> working class men who didn’t own property could potentially become MPs - salaries for MPs were introduced in 199 Parliamentary Act
> since it was passed after 1900, participation had not been achieved by 1900, but 1911 act made MP-ing a payable job which would encourage more ppl to consider it
A*: this hallmark was not met by 1900 so Britain was not a democracy by then
E: although land qualifications had been scraped in 1858, in 1900 participation remained a problem as not many wished to become MPs until 1911 Parliament Act which introduced MP salaries, encouraging more people to look into this position
Access to information
B: illiteracy was widespread among the underrepresented working classes and britain lacked a national education system
- 1872 Education (Scotland) Act, created a universal education system made academic attendance compulsory for 5-13 year olds
> generation of 1900s would better educated and informed than the previous generation which would help them clamour for reform and political ideas would prosper - latter 19th century, GB experienced a proliferation of public libraries
> it enabled working class people the access information easily for the first time which further helped their education
A+: despite the working classes being better educate, argueable there was no major change in their lives until the 1918 Representation of the People Act which established universal manhood suffrage
E: by 1900 a national compulsory education and council-funded libraries were in full swing, however, the majority of the working classes were still disenfranchised and could not execute their right to vote, therefore GB could not be considered a democracy until 1928 when universal suffrage became a major part of GB’s political picture by the Representation of the People Act.
