Consequences of Reform

Question 1

1832 - how much did the size of the electorate grow by? (Electorate)

Answer 1

• The size of the electorate grew from 366,000 to 650,000 (approximately 18% of the population)
• Although this had its limitations, the passing of the bill gave hope to reformers that further change could be possible

Question 2

1832 - property qualification for voting (Electorate)

Answer 2

• Property qualification for voting in counties was reduced to men who owned land worth £10 per year or rented land worth £50 per year
• The middle class were being given a say on politics and the 1832 reform act was seen as a clear way of subduing this threat. Although middle classes undoubtedly gained far more representation, the working class was still decidedly unrepresented and as such were constantly exploited as they could not articulate their issues

Question 3

1867 - electorate (Electorate)

Answer 3

• The electorate increased to 1/3 of all adult males
• Due to this increase, parties realised the importance of campaigning in order to win votes – this meant that the parties represented the people more and took public interest into account

Question 4

1867 - number of voters (Electorate)

Answer 4

• There were 2.46 million voters across the country, including the working class
• Although this was an increase, Britain was still fairly corrupt with no secret ballot and other means to corruption still endemic

Question 5

1832 - involvement of the middle class (Change to Politicians)

Answer 5

• Increased involvement in politics by the middle class (due to Municipal Corporation Act in 1835) particularly in local government
• Key figures emerged to represent the people in industrial areas because they had the right to vote and dealt with everyday issues such as education and public health

Question 6

1832 - number of contested seats (Change to Politicians)

Answer 6

• There was a significant increase in the number of contested seats from 30% before 1832, and to 50% after
• The increased numbers of voters led to the development of permanent party organisations with agents who helped register voters – party discipline began to increase which meant more politicians voted as their part wanted, not as they might have freely chosen

Question 7

1867 - individuals (Change to Politicians)

Answer 7

• Gladstone toured the country giving speeches
• Parties began to realise the importance of campaigning in order to win votes – this meant that the parties had to represent the people more and take public interests into account

Question 8

1867 - change to politicians (Change to Politicians)

Answer 8

• A more diverse electorate elected more diverse representatives - Politicians, more than before, realised the importance of listening to the people and persuading them, rather than just presuming they would vote a certain way
• Encouraged more liberal voters - in the counties, the £50/year rental qualification would be reduced to £14 with the hope that this would encourage 170,000 liberal workers

Question 9

1832 - boroughs (Effect on Upper Class/Representation)

Answer 9

• 56 boroughs were disenfranchised with a further 30 losing one of the MPs – 42 new boroughs were created. Of these 42 new boroughs, 22 were new, 2 member constituencies created new industrial towns such as Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham
• Helped to redress some of the problems with the old system, however the South still remained over-represented compared to the North and the Midlands

Question 10

1832 - lack of political presence of the middle class (Effect on Upper Class/Representation)

Answer 10

• Very few middle class people joined Parliament. Of the 103 people who served in cabinets from 1830-66, only 14 were from the middle class
• Because of the lack of salary and its full-time nature, most middle class men could not afford to become MPs. This meant that the composition of parliament remained largely altered from what it had been before 1832, with no immediate influx of middle class MPs

Question 11

1867 - boroughs (Effect on Upper Class/Representation)

Answer 11

• 45 seats were taken from boroughs with fewer than 10,000 people, and 7 were completely disenfranchised
• The redistribution of several seats to larger cities such as Liverpool and Manchester meant that, after 1867, political power began to shift to the largest section of society (the workers) as opposed to the wealthiest

Question 12

1867 - number of voters (Effect on Upper Class/Representation)

Answer 12

• Almost 1 million new voters were added to the franchise virtually doubling the electorate of Britain
• The act created a more diverse electorate since the new workers included urban skilled workers (in 1832, new voters were mostly middle class and conservative) and the voting population increased to 1/3 of all adult males