The unreformed political system

Question 1

House of Lord

Answer 1

contained govt ministers and all church bishops, leaders of the army and civil service; aristocrats and had veto power (often sided with monarch to defy commons).

Question 2

House of Commons

Answer 2

• 658 elected MPs
• independent parties were no unified controlled or disciplined
• didn’t get paid and held financial power (decided taxes and spending so govt couldn’t survive without commons).

Question 3

There were three types of constituencies

Answer 3

university- 2 MP allocated from uni of Cambridge and 2 from oxford uni and 1 from uni of Dublin. ( limited teaching of Catholicism so prevented change.)

counties- every county had 2 MPs regardless of size or population. (no representation of the public).

Boroughs- towns with important ports or markets most could elect 3 MPs-vast located in south with 85% being in England.

Question 4

Eligibility to vote

Answer 4

University seats- members of university were eligible to vote

county seats- 40 shilling freeholders and 40s threshold dating back to 1430 which was not fair representation.

borough seats- varied a lot

e. g Scot and lot borough included all men who paid taxes such as poor relief could vote
- corporation boroughs which were men on local town councils

Question 5

Representation

Answer 5

Plural voting (voters had more than one vote)

• constituencies voted 2 MPs
• wealthy voters in boroughs would meet eligibility criteria for both elections and have up to 4 votes. With wealthy landowners having property around the country they secured many votes.

Question 6

Anachronism

Answer 6

constituencies allocated in system that was introduced centuries before– meant that many pre-industrial boroughs with little population had continued return MPs while growing cities like Manchester Birmingham and Leeds had no borough MPs.
e.g 42 MP elected in Cornwall while non in Manchester, Leeds or Bradford.

Question 7

Rotten Boroughs

Answer 7

10/20 voters in a borough e.g in Old Serum in Wiltshire was important in 1300s but by 1800 had 7 voters none who lived there and town barely contained buildings only a few houses.
-over 50 constituencies had fewer than 50 votes.

Question 8

Pocket boroughs

Answer 8

boroughs with small electorates and the biggest landowners managed to get themselves nominated or his nominee elected. Over 200 MPs secured the place in the commons on this basis. Landowners would control voters who were their tenants or who’s job depended on them.

Question 9

Elections

Answer 9

Took place every 7 years so govt could get away with a lot. Most seats were known and only a fraction were contested and if there was the same number of candidates as seats available there was no point holding elections. Elections were expensive and rowdy so those with limited prospects did not compete.

Question 10

Electoral procedures

Answer 10

• voting was public with no secret ballot
• voters queued to vote on hustings were they called out name of candidate- in large constituencies there was gatherings which voters raised their hands. Certificates offered to voters allowing them to show their loyalty or claim reward.
• The electorates provided food, drinks and entertainment and would keep voters drunk and away from hustings until elections were over.
• included rowdiness and violence with banners and insults between candidates, throwing of missiles and attempts of intimidation.

Question 11

Parties

Answer 11

• Loose groupings and didn’t have members- were not official and names began as insulting nicknames.
• dominated by large landowner families
• led by anglicans

Question 12

Tories

Answer 12

• keen to defend power of monarch and Church of England
• came from landowner backgrounds
• Tories were protective of privileges of Church of England
• Tories were more resistant of change and more fearful of the ideas of the French Revolution

Question 13

Whigs

Answer 13

• Were more likely to question power of monarch and defend power of parliament
• leaders were mostly landowners and they had more aristocratic heritage than the Tories
• large number of Whigs came from industrial and commercial backgrounds
• more sympathetic and had more support from non comformists
• Whigs were increasingly in favour of demand of reform of parliament as nineteenth century progressed.

Question 14

Defences of the unreformed political system

Answer 14

• due to different qualifications wide variety of people could vote e.g in Westminster 12000 craftsmen and traders were eligible to vote and in some counties the 40 shilling freeholder incl farmers and middle class citizens.
• virtual representation- different interests represented e.g in ports like Liverpool interests of sailors and dockworkers represented, while in countrysides landowners represented their tenants and agricultural workers.
• Lords’ influence over commons kept peace.
• pocket and rotten boroughs defended that it allowed talented young men to rise to success at young age.
• open hustings defended as safeguard against corruption meaning voters answered to all citizens- campaigning an treating incorporated non voters and shows their views were considered.
• unrepresented towns spared expenses and trouble of elections.
• some said this system hard served Britain well for years so why change it? by 1915 Britain was most advanced industrial nation with large navy and overseas trading empires. Avoiding killings and revolutions such as in France- why challenge the stability and wealth by changing electoral system.
• reform was treated with suspicion and unnecessary risk which would hand power to those that were not trustworthy.
• landowners geared that their interests would not be served by a different system, electors feared in losing their influence and income (of bribery)-Tories benefited from uncontested boroughs and property values would be altered by any reform of the system - aristocracy were the “natural and best rulers”