Chapter 3: Parliamentary Reform and Its Impact, 1860-1928 Flashcards
Why did parliamentary reform become an important political issue after 1865?
Increasingly Party leaders (esp. Liberal) wanted to increase no. of voters if it brought political advantage for their party
enfranchise ‘respectable’ working classes; hold job, pay rent, church attendance, literacy, sober VS ‘residuum’; unskilled, drunk, cant save money, dangerous
decline in mass protest= working men could be trusted
RUSSEL’s view- they’d vote liberal- GLADSTONE
Lord Palmerston (PM, anti-reform) died 1865- Russel replaced, supporter of reform Gladstone converted External support for reform (1864; middle class Reform Union, Manchester / 1865 Reform League- skilled workers) both orgs favored widening franchise, worked together= growth of popular pressure
Why were the Conservatives so determined to pass a measure of parliamentary reform in 1866-67?
Gladstone introduced bill 3/1866 to lower borough franchise from £10 to £7 franchise (the solution to what Eric Evans terms ‘respectability questionare’); Liberal opposition, esp from old Whigs, saw WC as irresponsible, demanding higher taxes for social reform.
Derby (cons, lords) & Disraeli (HoC) saw opportunity: exploit/widen liberal split- bill under attack, Party divided, Russel resigned June, Cons gov
PASS A REFORM BILL OF THEIR OWN; portray themselves as party that could govern (opposition for last 20y; gratitude of newly enfranchised needed)
minority in parliament tho, needed to win some Liberal reformers
Why did the Conservatives pass such a radical Reform Act in 1867?
Sudden EXTERNAL PRESSURE; failure of Liberal bill led to demo in Hyde Park: banned by authorities, but went ahead- violence & railings torn down
Street demos and protest meetings in several cities
Threat nothing like as great in 1831-32 BUT create climate in which some kind of reform became more necessary
APPEAR to offer more than Liberals: wholesale householder suffrage in boroughs (hedged w safeguards; ie. 2 years, 'fancy franchises' dilute impact of wc electorate, rates directly to local authorities (!))-- abandoned to block amendment by Gladstone (Hodgkinson added 400k) Eventual radicalism (Derby- 'leap in the dark') price to pay for defeat of G&L
What impact did the 1867 Reform Act have on the development of the Conservative and Liberal parties?
More about informing electors of party policy, less about deciding which individual best suited
1) Many party associations or clubs formed to identify/encourage/win over new voters
2) initially Cons more active: Gorst leadership, Conservative Central Office set up in LDN: guidance to National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations-791 local associations by 1877
3) electoral defeat 1874: Liberals spurred to improve party organisation, National Liberal Federation 1877
4) Paid agents to recruit, social activities to attract: most successful was Chamberlain’s in Birmingham; system for enlisting new members, ‘caucus’ by critics
5) wider electorate = MORE RESPONSIVE TO PUBLIC OPINION (more newspapers since 1830s- steam press- reflect public opinion & used by politicians to convey message, difference between Disraeli and Gladstone)
6) ‘Image’ conscious (photos, pictures), Disraeli’s Primrose League won Conservative women support
Why was the Ballot Act passed in 1872?
1) After 1867 remained some ‘pocket boroughs’: smaller boroughs influenced/controlled by landowners (majority of 54 boroughs less than 10,000 predominantly Conservative 1868-74), smaller number gift of patron
2) END TO OPEN VOTING: prevent influence/bribery/intimidation by landowners & employers
3) Less rowdy, violent elections (Victorian middle-class respectability)
4) Gladstone, PM since 1868, recognised.
What was the impact of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act of 1883?
1880 election most expensive (£2m): contributed to only rich running- Gloucester: 38% of 5670 electors accepted bribes- cross-party issue.
1) Restricted each candidate to one paid election agent, official expense report
2) Specified maximum expenditure allowed for constituencies of different typed: county seat 2000 voters (£710), +£40/1000
3) penalties (inc imprisonment) for corrupt practice
Effective: av. spent per vote dropped from 94p (1880) to 17p (1910)
Why was the third Reform Act passed in 1884-5?
1) Logical to extend household franchise to countryside; Gladstone (PM 1880) agreed agricultural and rural workers as respectable as urban.
2) G’s radical supporters confident latter would vote Liberal
3) Coal miners, since excluded, clamouring for the vote
4) Salisbury didn’t want to see landowning influence in country seats diluted by larger electorate BUT saw its ok if Conservatives could shape redistribution; Liberal Charles Dilke & Salisbury redistributed
5) CROSS PARTY SUPPORT, less ext. pressure/heated debate
In what ways was the 1885 Redistribution Act favourable to the Conservatives?
Boroughs w less than 15,000 lost their seats
Two-member borough w fewer than 50,000 lost one seat
150 seats released for redistribution transferred to more densely populated counties (Lancashire, Yorkshire, cities)
Wider LDN area (pop 3.5+m), went from 22 to 62 seats
Reflected huge growth of urban areas and their suburbs: many NEW, DISTINCTLY SUBURBAN constituencies created out of big towns and cities- majority were property-owning middle class; alarmed by radical Liberal elements & Trade Unions: Conservative voters
LONDON: CONSERVATIVES NOW WON MOST SEATS, BEFORE 1865, WON NONE
Rural areas & south over-represented
many men excluded (1y, parents/servant, poor relief), electoral process long if illiterate, only 95 constits had w.c. majorities
Why did the decline in political power of the landowning classes speed up after 1885?
2.5m men could now vote for the first time; maj. elec w-c.
nearly all constituencies single-member seats & more equal in size of population
1) reduction in number of rural seats
2) enlargement of county electorate ^reduced influence of landowning patrons
3) after 1885, MPs from Indu & Commercial backgrounds outnumbered landowners in HoC; even in Conservative party; dominated by city & suburban interests- change in type of people who held power
4) Much larger electorate: less amenable to influence
How do you account for the emergence of the Labour Party after 1885?
1) ‘Lib-Lab’ MPs: working-class MPs, paid by T.U., part of Liberal Party but voted independently on w.c/T.U. issues (from heavily working class areas, like coal mining)- 13 elected 1885
2) 1892 Gen. Elec: Keir Hardie elected as independent Labour MPs. Independent Labour Party formed 1893: several of leaders Liberals (MacDonald), disillusioned w L’s reluctance to accept working men as candidates
3) Trade Unionists form a party to protect against powerful employer organisations & L,C supporters: practical concerns
4) 1900 Labour Representation Committee: ‘a distinct Labour group in parliament’: over 100 trade unions joined by 1903- Keir Hardy’s aim of linking parliamentary representation of working people and their trade unions achieved
5) In heavily w.c. constituencies, main rival for votes was Liberals. Liberals aware LRC could split w.c. vote; agreed not to contest key seats- 1903 ‘Lib-Lab pact’: Lib agreed not to contest, LRC MPs would support Liberal gov: LRC gained greatly- 29MPs elected 1906
Why did the House of Lords’ rejection of the 1909 budget lead to a constitutional crisis?
Agreement peers would not reject ‘money bills’ fucked up-
RECENTLY defeated 2 bills passed by Liberal government elected w huge majority 1906 (eg. end practice of plural voting- rich men vote more than one constituency)
THEN David LLoyd George (Chancellor of Exchequer) introduced radical budget:
1)Increase taxation on wealthy to pay for old-age pensions and navy: first bill for GRADUATED TAXES- income tax increased for highest earners
2) Most controversial was plan to impose 20% tax on unearned increase on the value of land when it was sold
TARGET LANDED CLASSES: George relished a confrontation of ‘peers versus people’
“who ordained that a few should have the land of Britain as a prerequisite”
Leaders of Conservatives agreed it should be defeated: not an ordinary money bill, an unconstitutional attack on rights of landed classes
GENERAL ELECTION to ask the people; liberals won, introduced bil to limit powers of lords
By how much were the powers of the House of Lords reduced in the Parliament Act of 1911?
Despite some (Churchill) calling for an elected second chamber, or for abolishment of house, the Bill quite moderate: - prevented Lords from rejecting/amending money bill - Lords could delay other legislation for up to 2 years - reduced period between elections from 7 to 5 years: could defeat bills in last 2 years of term - YET composition unchanged: wholly unelected, hereditary succession intact (also inc. payment for MPs, no longer needed TU, increased)
In what ways was the 1918 Representation of the People Act so far-reaching in its effects?
Feb 1918: 9 months before end of war
ALL MEN MOST WOMEN
- all men 21+ (or if 19+ and engaged in active service)
- women had to be 30+: householders/married to householders
REDISTRIBUTION
- nearly all single-member seats, of roughly equal size
- More suburban, mc constituencies (helped torys…) as 67&84: mc electorate dominated seats rose from 48 to almost 200
- Many more coalmining constituencies (Labour): no of seats which miners made up at least 30% rose 35 to 55
Far more democratic: more people got vote than all the previous ROTPAs put together: TREBLED electorate- 5m men, 8m women
Why did the Labour Party grow and the Liberal Party decline after 1918?
- ELECTORAL REFORM Enfranchised millions of W.C men: boost to Labour fortunes (12/1918 gen elec- 7% to 22% of vote, 42 to 60 seats)
- LIBERAL SPLIT 1916: Asquith v Lloyd George 9not reunited till 1923, never healed)
- LLOYD GEORGE coalition with Conservatives 1918: constrained from being too radical
- wartime growth of Trade Union membership: 4m to 6m (more TU funds for Labour to fight)
How did the power of the monarchy decline in the 19th Century?
(Right to appoint a Prime Minister)
PARLIAMENTARY REFORM & DECLINE IN POLITICAL PARTIES
1) ROTPA 1832: v noticeable
2) 1867: Walter Bagehot argued “the sovereign had three rights- the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn” (only advise)- Victoria & successors largely followed
3) 1880, Liberals won: Victoria wished to appoint Hartington as PM over Gladstone, whom she disliked. YET she had to give way. Right passed from crown to political parties
