Types of Borough Flashcards
Eric Evans described pre-reform elections as
‘haphazard business’
Boroughs- not uniform
Open Boroughs
Many men, various qualifications, such as the direct payment of local poor rates
Preston in Lancashire– all men who were in the constituency at the time of election, regardless of residence
Electorate ran into thousands
around 20 boroughs had large electorates of over 1,000 men (notably Westminster, 11,000 voters)
Sturdy independence; not susceptible to influence
Scot and lot boroughs
vote to males who paid their local tax (scot)
at least several hundred men
Potwalloper boroughs
those who possessed a hearth where they could boil their pots
at least several hundred men
Were seats with large numbers of voters the exception or the rule?
the exception; many boroughs had very small electorates, rarely exceeding 100
Burgage boroughs
right to vote belonged to men who owned various properties, ownership of these votes carefully protected
Sometimes burgage owners challenged
Corporation boroughs
the only voters were members of the town council
councils were self-perpetuating cliques; nomination > election
Extremely corrupt; electors quite content to sell vote to highest bidder
(Suffolk) Sudbury: 1761 election, town advertised its too seats for sale to the highest bidder; so corrupt, disenfranchised 1844
Treasury boroughs?
parliamentary seats that came under the control of government departments which were the chief employers in the town
Many ports on south coast (Portsmouth, Plymouth) under influence of Admiralty; unswerving support to gov of day
Pocket/Rotten boroughs?
most of the property owned by one person, able to nominate chosen candidates for election
Depopulated areas that retained seats
Late Middle Ages: Dunwich in Suffolk had been well-known international port with substantial trade to/from Europe… port claimed by sea, but tiny village that remained retained 2 MPs
Old Sarum, Hampshire, thriving community in middle ages but by 1780 little more than a heap of stones; 7 electors, one of most corrupted
what was the size of the electorate?
survey in 1780 estimated that in England and Wales there were 214,000 electors / 8 million
Voting in counties?
England and Wales COUNTIES; right to vote established during reign of Henry VIII 1430; all freeholders of property worth 40 shillings
What did Frank O Gorman say about it?
That it worked well in some ways, virtual representeation etc
