Political pressure groups

Question 1

Topic sentence

Answer 1

Historians argue that democracy in Britain grew as a result of popular agitation of political pressure groups.

Question 2

Evidence 1

Answer 2

Pressure groups helped draw the attention of the government to the lack of democratic rights suffered by the working classes in the mid 19th century.

For example the National Reform League was established in 1865 to campaign for the secret ballot, universal manhood suffrage and a fairer distribution of seats.

Question 3

Analysis

Answer 3

This contributed to Britain becoming more democratic because the National Reform League attracted widespread support from the working classes, putting pressure in the Government to respond to their calls for democratisation.

Question 4

Counter Analysis

Answer 4

However, some historians argue that the reforms of the 1867 Reform Act created changes that went beyond what leaders of reform groups wanted suggesting that there were other factors influencing the Government at the time.

Question 5

Evidence 2

Answer 5

Furthermore, the Labour Movement was a significant pressure group that supported Keir Hardie in his election campaign to Parliament in 1900. They campaigned for pay for MPs.

Question 6

Analysis 2

Answer 6

This contributed to Britain becoming more democratic because from within the parliament, the Labour Party was in a position to put pressure in the Liberal Government to pass reforms which were beneficial to the working classes, such as the 1911 Parliament Act which introduced MPs pay.

Question 7

Evaluation

Answer 7

To evaluate, political pressure groups were an important factor in explaining the growth of democracy in Britain because they gained great support and drew attention to the lack of democratic rights suffered by the working class during the late 19th century. For example the National Reform league had 65 000 members by 1867 which shows the great extent of their support. However, it is clear that without the support of the working classes drawn to the newly evolved industrial areas, the effectiveness of such pressure groups would be limited. Therefore, Industrialisation and urbanisation was the most important factor as it allowed political ideas and ideology’s to take root amounts ordinary workers who were able to put pressure on the Government.