Britain Issue 2 Flashcards
Background
Abraham Lincoln describe democracy as “A government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”From 1832 Britain made gradual reform changes which changed Britain’s political identity.
LOA
Britain passed a number of reforms to try and make the country more democratic however Britain was still not a true democratic society by (year of question).
Factors
Widening the Franchise, Redistribution of the Seats, Role of House of Lords, Corruption and Intimidation.
Widening the Franchise (KU and A)
KU- 1867 most of the working men got the vote in towns
A- This allowed more then just the wealthy with large property to vote
KU- 1884 Third Reform Act removed the distinction between urban and rural workers
A- This doubled the electorate to 5m- treated workers from different areas the same.
KU- 1918 Representation of the People’s Act removed the discrepancy if the male franchise and gave the vote to women 30+.
A- First time women could vote.
Widening the Franchise (A+ and E)
A+- Only 2/3 of men could vote in England and Wales and additionally only a small number of women could vote.
E- This factor made Britain more democratic because it increased the number of voters, which shows that progress had been made however Britain was not yet a fully democratic state because there was still a discrepancy in who voted.
Redistribution of Seats (KU and A)
KU- 1867 Second Reform Act gave 52 seats to Scotland e.g. 2 in Scottish Universities
A- Ensured that more areas were represented
KU- 1885 Act produced constituencies of approx the same size
A- Similar number of voters meant that it was fairer in cities to rural areas
KU- 1918 Representation of the People’s Act reorganised constituencies into approximately 70,000 voters and limited multiple voting to 2 votes eg. if you owned homes in more than 1 constituency.
A- Limited number of votes the wealthy had.
Redistribution of Seats (A+ and E)
A+- Universities kept their seats - arguably not altering the balance of political powers and the electorate was still largely filled with the same high social class
E- The Redistribution of the Seats was important in making Britain more democratic because it ensured that all areas of the country were represented including all rural and urban areas, although progress had been made Britain was not yet a full democratic state because it didn’t fully alter the balance of political powers.
Corruption and Intimidation (KU and A)
KU- 1872 Secret Ballot ended open voting
A- Reduced intimidation and violence to voters, who were being bribed/forced to vote for a certain party
KU- 1883 Corruption and Illegal Practices Act introduced limits to election spending
A- Reduced party spending which meant that less could be spent of bribes
KU- 1911 Parliament Act reduced the life of a HOC parliament from 7 years to 5
A- Made MPs less complacent which meant that they were less likely to take bribes.
Corruption and Intimidation (A+ and E)
A+- Argued that Corruption will always exist and can never be fully eliminated.
E- Ensured that Voting was fair, which shows that progress had been made but Britain was not yet a fully democratic state because corruption cannot be fully eliminated.
Role of House of Lords (KU and A)
KU- 1911 Parliament Act HOL could only delay laws passed by HOC for up to 2 years
A- Stopped unelected body of wealthy people only passing legislation that would benefit them
KU- 1911 Parliament Act stopped HOL having a say in financial bills
A- Previously HOL only passed financial bills that benefitted them eg. lower taxes for the wealthy, this act stopped this from happening
Role of House of Lords (A+ and E)
A+- This wealthy unelected body of people still exist have some influence in our political society
E- Ensured that HOL who were unelected had a smaller influence on legislation which shows that progress had been made in making Britain a democratic society, however it was not yet fully democratic because HOL still exists.
