Parliamentary Reform - The Representation of the People Act 1928 Flashcards
What was the pressure to pass the Act - What had happened to women in 1919?
The 1919 Sex Disqualification Removal Act had made inequality in employment illegal, allowing women access to professional jobs like barristers - this made women being denied the vote unreasonable
What was the pressure to pass the Act - Labour Party?
The increased role of the Labour Party in 1920s politics with their manifesto of social equality put pressure on further reform
What was the pressure to pass the Act - NUWSS
The NUWSS became the NUSEC (National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship) from 1919 and campaigned for female equality
What did the act do - Male and female voters?
Removed the difference between male and female voters
What was the impact of the Act - Equality
Men and women had equal access to vote in elections
What was the impact of the Act - Number of women who had the vote?
Number of women qualifying to vote rose from 8 million in 1918 to 14.5 million
What was the impact of the Act - Number of women in the franchise vs number of men?
Women now made up the majority of the franchise for the first time (14.5 million women in the electorate vs 12 million men)