Parliamentary Reform - The Representation of the People Act 1928

Question 1

What was the pressure to pass the Act - What had happened to women in 1919?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What was the pressure to pass the Act - Labour Party?

Answer 2

The increased role of the Labour Party in 1920s politics with their manifesto of social equality put pressure on further reform

Question 3

What was the pressure to pass the Act - NUWSS

Answer 3

The NUWSS became the NUSEC (National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship) from 1919 and campaigned for female equality

Question 4

What did the act do - Male and female voters?

Answer 4

Removed the difference between male and female voters

Question 5

What was the impact of the Act - Equality

Answer 5

Men and women had equal access to vote in elections

Question 6

What was the impact of the Act - Number of women who had the vote?

Answer 6

Number of women qualifying to vote rose from 8 million in 1918 to 14.5 million

Question 7

What was the impact of the Act - Number of women in the franchise vs number of men?

Answer 7

Women now made up the majority of the franchise for the first time (14.5 million women in the electorate vs 12 million men)