Refom Acts 1832-1928 Flashcards
What political party passed the 1832 reform act
WHIGS
Fall of Wellington’s Government
1830
Election after DEATH of George IV sees Wellington get back into power as PM but fails to assemble a government due to many MPs being in support of parliamentary reform.
FORCED TO RESIGN
Allows for Earl Grey (Whig leader) to form Whig and reformer government.
Who passed the 1832 Representation of the People Act
Lord John Russel (prime minister)
Earl Grey (Whig leader in 1830s)
When was the Catholic Emancipation
1830
What does the catholic emancipation do to the Tory group
Splits them, so after the next election Duke of Wellington (prime minister) can’t form a government.
Who was the Great Reform act a political advantage for?
Whig political group
Who was enfranchised after the Great reform act?
Middle Class
What were the voting qualifications after the Great reform act?
In boroughs: properties £10 and above, £50 leaseholders
In counties: 40 shilling franchises
What was the electorate before and after ‘32?
435000 to 81300 (from only 4% of adult males to 20%)
Impacts of 1832 reform act
- uniform voting rules
- introduced voting registers
- increased electorate by 16% of adult males
- plural voting continued
- the “hustings” (name for old elections) were not secret and were violent so often were dominated by the wealthy
What are constituencies?
A ‘voting area’ - each with one or two MPs to represent
The county franchise pre 1832
- 122 MPs in county seats
- 40 shilling freehold needed to vote
- very few could vote - eg: 1% in Middlesex
Borough Franchise:
- parliamentary boroughs - towns granted right to have MPS
- each borough had different enfranchisement rules
Enfranchisement rules in the boroughs:
boroughs where most could vote:
- Scot and Lot - all who contribute shares into local poor fund
- Potwhalloper - all who own a hearth to feed
Minority voter boroughs:
- burgage - someone who owned ‘burgage’ land (wealthy could buy up all the burgage)
- FreeMan - all who were free men
- Corporation - MPs elected by local Corporation - NO ELECTIONs
University Seats
Both Oxford and Cambridge got 2 seats each - only graduates could vote!
Also plural voting common.
Overview of the Franchise before 1832:
- lower wealth.social standing unrepresented
- elections highly influenced by wealth and social status - hustings public
- before 1832 no elections in 40% of constituencies
- eg: Edinburgh seat elected by 33 voters
- decision could also be vetoed by HOL - no changes for benefit of WC passed
Pressures to change the franchise:
- growth of INDUSTRIAL middle class, often as wealthy as nobility - but no representation
- changing demographics - huge growth in cities with NO representation
- 18million —> 27million 1811-1851
- revolutionary ideas of equality - French revolution and Thomas Paine, and post Napoleonic War
- Liberal newspapers spread like Cobbets Political Register - hampden clubs
Arguments to avoid change:
- Tory Group argues 1832 will cause chain of drastic change
- landed elite and old institutions would be put aside in favour of middle class masses
How many times was the first reform bill presented?
3 times, Tories reject!!
- after Tories rejected - whigs called for election, persuaded the king this would solve tensions
- after HOL rejected, Whigs resigned = appointment of unliked Tory govt
- king forced to accept to achieve political peace
Pressure to pass 1832:
- napoleonic wars = revitalised demand for reform
- Tory group weakened due to passing of Catholic Emancipation (alienated Tories) 1829
- 1830 William 4th = open to reform
- political union growth adds to pressure eg: BPU = 10,000 march when 2nd bill rejected by Lord
- Political unions threatened a financial crisis
- WHIGS were determined
- Bristol protests: burn anti-reform bishop palace and anti-reform
IMPACT of 1832
- uniform voting rules - 40 shillings in county, £10 property OR £50 leaseholders in boroughs
- implementation of electoral registers
- 435 —> 813000, 4% males —>20%
BUT:
- plural voting remained
- hustings still public so wealthy dominated
1867 in the making:
- Liberals (Russel and Gladstone) propose bill in 1866 but rejected - too controversial for even the Libs
- Bill Hijacked by Tories (Derby and Disraeli) - accepted amendments from radical liberals but rejected Gladstone
Pressure to pass 1868:
- Liberal Palmerston dies + new leader Russel and Gladstone believe ‘respectable working class’ deserve the vote’
- 1864 Reform union formed (MC) - 1865 Reform league formed (WC) = pressure
- Conservative Political Advantage, accepting some and rejecting amendments weaken unity in liberals
- HOL support drummed up by Disraeli
- external pressure - Hyde park, industrial town protests and violence
Impacts of 1867
- more landowners and tenant farmers registered to vote
- vote extended to boroughs - house holders and lodgers for at least a year
- 20 —> 30% of adult pop
- HUGE change in cities: Birmingham 15,500 —> 42,000
- still plural voting
1884 reform act:
- smooth, cross party support
- Gladstone believed rural WC should vote as well as already enfranchised INDUSTRIAL WC
- Salisbury against reform but went along with it (to gain political advantage - redistribution of seats)
- No extra parliamentary pressure
Impact of 1884
- ALL property qualification standardised: £10 (poor labourers and farmers included this time)
- +2.5 million working class voters - 67% of male population vote!
Pressure to pass 1918 reform act:
- Lloyd Georges liberal government proposed in 1916 - but all parties recognised need for reform
- fear of Suffragette militarism resurgence
- many soldiers unqualified - out of England too long for WWI
- men and women working class contribution in the war
- Lloyd George had strong support as PM
- Trade Union and Labour influence
Impact of 1918 reform act:
- vote to all males over 21 (18 for war vets)
- women over 30 allowed to vote if able to vote in local elections - householders or had a husband who could vote
- 95% of males
- 43% of electorate now women! - 75% of voters in 1918 election had never voted before
1928 act pressure
- cross party cooperation, no notable opposition
- 1919 Sex Disqualification Removal Act - in equality in employment illegal, access to women in professional jobs
- Labour Party emergence in 1920s - social equality manifesto
- NUWSS —> NUSEC from 1919 campaigned for female equality
Impact of 1928 reform act
- removed difference between male and female voters
- women now made up the majority of the franchise - 12 million males to 14.5 million women!
Apart from the franchise issue what other issues were there in 1780:
Issue of distribution:
- no standardisation of SIZE - all counties = 2MPs
- overrepresentation eg: Old Sarum with 7 voters = ROTTEN BOROUGH vs: Birmingham with no MP and 182000 population
- geographical imbalances: Cornwall = 300,000 people and 42 seats, vs Lancashire = 1.3mill, sent 14
Failed Pitt the Younger Reforms:
1785: reform constitution to make system more representative - proposals:
- remove 36 small boroughs, redistribute 72 sets among city and county
- £1 million to compensate property owners who lose political influence
- extend 40 shilling franchise in the counties to long terms
Defeated by Pitts rival Fox + opposition for borough property owners.
Redistribution in 1832 act:
- 56 over represented areas eg: Old Sarum lost constituencies
- 30 like St. Ives reduced to One MP
- 22 city constituencies created with 2 MPs eg: Manchester and Leeds
= more constituencies have contested elections (never above 40% before) 74% had one after
Redistribution of the seats 1867
- further constituency reorganisation (to retain conservative dominance)
- 38 boroughs lost 1/2 MPs
- 4 lost both MPs
- 45 seats given to underrepresented constituencies (Burnley and Middlesbrough)
- 25 seats to counties to strengthen landed interests
Why was the distribution still unbalanced in 1867?
- constituencies not balanced in size
- hustings still open to landowner influence
Secret Ballot Act 1872
- voters can vote more freely as ballots now secret
- passed by Gladstone Liberal government - even though strong conservative opposition
- contributed to Irish home rule - voters no longer influenced by English landlords in Ireland
Corrupt and Illegal practices act 1883
- Gladstone liberals passed it
- limit the amount MPs can spend on elections
- rules on food and drinks and transport to the hustings
- organised record keeping to prove spending
1885 redistribution of the seats act
- compromise with the Liberals for the 1884 reform act
- Salisbury states need to redraw constituency boundaries
- Salisbury concerned that the newly enfranchised (1884) liberal voting WC would over power rural conservative voters
- Burroughs with less than 15000 lost both, and less than 50000 lost one MP
- most had one MP now = more necessary for each party to campaign for vote
- boundaries moved to have equal sized constituencies, Boundary Commission set up
- created wealthy suburban conservatives = VILLA TORYISM and liberal urban strongholds
How did the 1918 reform act change distribution?
- further removed smallest constituenciezs
- more suburban middle class constituencies near large cities
- increased conservative votes
What had changed by 1928 - distribution wise?
- constituency redrawing meant areas had proportionally the same number of MPs
- boundary commission ensured constituencies changed as populations fluctuated
- also avoided future creation of rotten boroughs
