How Democratic Was Britain?

Question 1

State the factors from most to least important.

Answer 1

Widening of the Franchise
Fairness
Choice and Access
Participation
Accountability
Redistribution of seats

Question 2

State 2 Background Points for the Introduction

Answer 2

1800 - 4% of people in Britain could vote.
1832-1867 Power was in the hands of the upper classes with the most power lying in the landowning class.
The vote was considered a privilege not a right.

Industrial Revolution created new urban areas - changed the political landscape.
Old democratic model did not fit with the change - it was based on the majority of people living in the countryside.

Question 3

Widening of the Franchise -
Second Reform Act 1867

Answer 3

Granted the vote to all property owners in boroughs and those that paid £10 a year in rent. In counties it was given to ratepayers and those who leased land valued at £5 per year. 1 in 3 males could now vote.

Question 4

Widening of the Franchise -
Third Reform Act 1884

Answer 4

Introduced by Gladstone’s government. Gave the vote to all men who paid a yearly rent of £10 and owned property worth £10 or above. The electorate rose to 5,500,000.

Question 5

Widening of the Franchise -
The Representation of the People Act 1918

Answer 5

Post war ear. The act abolished practically all property qualifications for men. Nearly all men over the age of 21 could vote. The act also included men over the age of 19 who had served in the army. Women over the age of 30 were enfranchised if they owned property, or were married to someone who owned property over the value of £5 or who were universe graduates. Women now made up 40% of the electorate.

Question 6

Widening of the Franchise -
Equal Franchise Act 1928

Answer 6

Granted votes to women over the age of 2021.

Question 7

Widening of the Franchise Analysis Points

Answer 7

Dependent of the Year - More democratic based on whoever has the vote.

Question 8

Widening of the Franchise Analysis+ Points

Answer 8

Still limited - should voting age be reduced to 18?
Before 1928 working class women did not have the vote and no women under 30 had the vote.

Question 9

Widening of the Franchise Evaluation and Quote from historian Annette Mayor.

Answer 9

“it was clear that power was increasingly invested in the people and that the government had to be accountable to them.”

The government now had to look after the interests of everyone who had the vote not just themselves and the upper class. The working class had more sway in the decisions of the government.

Question 10

Fairness
Ballot Act 1872

Answer 10

Introduced secret ballots during elections. The act introduced secret ballots in local and general elections, votes were cast in a voting booth, by putting an X next to the candidate of choice and then placing the folded ballot paper into a ballot box.

Question 11

Fairness
Hustings

Answer 11

Candidates were historically voted for in hustings. (This meant that voters would cast their vote by a raise of hands, stating their choices out loud to a room, r marking it on a paper in front of others). The voters’ name and who they had voted for would be published in the local papers the next day. This allowed for a culture of bribery and intimidation to exist.

Question 12

Fairness
Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act 1883

Answer 12

Campaigning for an election was very expensive. Not only did candidates have to pay for polling stations, clerks and local offices, but they also had to spend money on entertainment to gain votes. The 1883 legislation set a cap on how much candidates could spend during elections. Caps were determined by the number of voters in a constituency. £710 for the first 1000 voters and £40 for every additional 1000 voters. The act also made it illegal to bribe voters. Fines and prison sentences were punishment for bribery. Any candidate found guilty could not stand for election for 7 years and could not stand in the same constituency.

Question 13

Fairness Analysis Points

Answer 13

Spending Cap - Levelled the playing field between candidates
Secret Ballot - Anonymous votes meant voters could vote for their preferred candidate.
Bribery and Intimidation - Far less due to becoming Illegal

Question 14

Fairness Analysis+ Points

Answer 14

Secret Ballot - Voters could potentially accept bribes from multiple parties and no one would be able to actually check who they voted for.

Question 15

Fairness Evaluation and Historian Annette Mayer Quote

Answer 15

“The removal of patronage was an essential prerequisite to the establishment of democracy.”

Without the limit on costs the party with the most money would almost always win defeating the point of holding elections.

Question 16

Choice and Access
3 Knowledge Points

Answer 16

The creation of the Labour Party in the late 19th century.

The creation of Railways.

!870s, Education Acts, improved education on England and Wales.

Question 17

Choice and Access Analysis Points

Answer 17

More party options - represented different classes.
Railways - Enabled information to be spread across Britain.
Education Acts - Could make better informed decisions about politics.

Question 18

Choice and Access Analysis+ Points

Answer 18

Railways - Not everywhere was connected so those places had far less access to information.
Parties - Only one party that had the working class fully in their interest whilst the wealthy class had two.

Question 19

Participation
Limitations on becoming an MP in 1926.

Answer 19

A quarter of all MPs were the sons of peers and a third were related to aristocracy. Becoming an MP was highly expensive and most middle and work class people could not have afforded it. Property qualifications meant that only those earning £600 a year from land could stand for election.

Question 20

Participation
In 1858 what happen to property qualification for MPs?

Answer 20

They were abolished.

Question 21

Participation
What was introduced in 1911 to allow people with less money to become an MP.

Answer 21

A salary of £400 was introduced.

Question 22

Participation Analysis Points

Answer 22

The abolition of property qualifications was a significant move away from MPs being people who owned land. The 1911 act helped as it allowed those who were not wealthy to run for office and every demographic could be covered.

Question 23

Participation Analysis+ Points

Answer 23

With the exception of Disraeli, all prime ministers from 1867 to 1918 were from wealthy families showing that those in high positions in government were still the wealthy. Also, women were less likely to stand, the first female MP wasn’t elected until 1918.

Question 24

Accountability
House of Lords before 1867
House of Lords by 1928

Answer 24

Before 1867 the House of Lords had more power than the House of Commons. This was undemocratic as the House of Lords was unelected. They got their peerages by inheritance, gift or they bought them.

By 1928 the House of Lords had lost some powers such as the ability to interfere with government budgets.

Question 25

Accountability
Parliament Act 1911

Answer 25

This act removed the Lords ability to veto bills. Instead they could delay them for up to two years. They also could not interfere with budgets.

Question 26

Accountability Analysis Points

Answer 26

The act reduced the power of the House of Lords. The House of Commons now had the final say on legislation. It stopped an unelected body from stopping bills becoming laws.

Question 27

Accountability Analysis+ Points

Answer 27

The House of Lords still had considerable power and could delay bills from passing for up to two years and were still an unelected body.

Question 28

Accountability Evaluation+ and Historian Annette Mayer Quote

Answer 28

“The Second Reform Act had accelerated the process of government by direct consent, and this in turn enhanced the concept that political power should reside in the community.”

The people got political power however this was undermined by the power an unelected had over bills.

Question 29

Redistribution of Seats
Rural Communities, Industrial Revolution, New Urban Towns

Answer 29

Many rural communities could elect 2 MPs because they once had large populations. The Industrial Revolution had caused significant urbanisation and depopulated these areas, but the electoral system had not kept up with this change. New urban towns were vastly underrepresented with only one MP or sometimes none at all.

Question 30

Redistribution of Seats
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

Answer 30

Distributed seats more equally across the country, based n the number of people living in towns. Constituencies were made of equal size, around 50,000 per constituency.

Question 31

Redistribution of Seats Analysis Points

Answer 31

Britain had become more democratic because everyone’s vote no matter where they lived, now held equal importance as constituencies were of similar size.

Question 32

Redistribution of Seats Analysis+ Points

Answer 32

The wealthy who had multiple homes in different constituencies had more influence as plural voting was still allowed. In 1911 plural voting made up 7% of the total votes and this meant the democratic system still favoured the wealthy.

Question 33

Redistribution of Seats Evaluation+ and Historian Annette Mayer Quote

Answer 33

“It was not until 1918 that the concept of the vote as a natural right was implemented.”

Voting was now recognised as a right however the rich could still take advantage of the system which undermined the very essence of democracy.

Question 34

Conclusion

Answer 34

Lesser factor
More important factor
LOA and Annette Mayer Quote
“Modern democracy came of age, the principle of one man, one vote was enshrined in the statue books, whilst six months’ residency and an age limit of 21 were the only prerequisites for exercising this democratic right.”