Theme 2 - Changing Composition of the HofC Flashcards
What was the composition of MPs in 1780?
- Dominance of landowners and agriculture; around 1/5 of MPs were sons or brothers of peers
- Another 110 were men of property like merchants, bankers, and industrialists
- Overwhelmingly Anglican
What change occurred in the composition of MPs after the 1829 Catholic Emancipation?
- Catholic MPs could sit in Commons, especially Irish MPs, though still from relatively privileged backgrounds
What was the overall change in the social composition of MPs from 1780 to 1832?
- Very little change; dominance of propertied classes grew,
- Pitt creating many new peerages in the 1780s and 1790s, arguably increasing aristocratic dominance
What impact did the 1832 Redistribution have on the social composition of the Commons?
- Little impact
- short term - increased county seats helped power of country gentlemen and reduced ability of wealthier industrialists to purchase seats
- long term - arguably key turning point
What is the impact of the 1832 franchise extension on social make up
- 70 still controlled by large landowners after 1832.
- Seats still bought and sold
- Extension of franchise doesn’t lead to influx of middle-class MPs and still no working class MPs at all.
What is the impact of 1867 on social make up
- despite redistribution to the towns and big increase in the franchise there is only very limited change
What was the outcome of the 1858 abolition of the Property Qualification?
- Elections opened to all in theory,
- but often overlooked, as MPs meet it on fraudulent grounds (Edward Glover Scandal);
- little impact on immediate elections
What significant change occurred after the 1867 Reform Act?
- Inititating the change of more m/c MPs emerged, such as lawyers,
- but still very little change overall
Overall what was the extent of change 1832-67 with social make up
- Still very little change -
- no significant influx of middle-class MPs after 1832 and still no working class MPs at all.
- Still lots of uncontested seats - increases to 70%+ at first but then back below 50% by 1850
(plenty of very small seats remain)
ill corruption continues. - Still very expensive to run and still no payment for MPs.
- Less than ¼ of those elected in 1874 come from commercial or industrial backgrounds.
What was the effect of the 1872 Secret Ballot?
In theory, it freed voters from landlord influence and removed corruption, but both continued in the short-term.
What did the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act achieve?
Resolved issues of corruption by requiring accounts and enforcing penalties.
What did the third Reform Acts achieve?
- The third Reform Acts lead to greater movement (more voters and even distribution) but impact is slow.
- For the remainder of the century landed gentlemen professionals (e.g. lawyers) and businessmen continue to dominate the Commons.
What change did occur 1868-1910 in social make up
- Means by which wealthy exerted dominance are largely removed (bribery / intimidation outlawed and impractical.
- Increased franchise and fairer distribution do see more of an impact.
- Key barrier remains affordability for working class MPs -union sponsorship for Labour MPs- 2 in 1874, 11 by 1900.
What continuity occurred 1868-1910
- Influence of landlords etc maintained to a degree due to deference - voters choosing to follow landlords’ wishes
- Working class MP numbers are tiny and they are dependent on unions
- Still average of 136 unopposed seats at every election until 1910 (20%)
What was the significance of the 1911 Payment of MPs?
Ensured all could afford to run for election, reducing dependency on union or other financial support.
