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Reform in the 1880s

Reform in the 1880s. Wider electoral reforms. Having dealt with corruption, Gladstone turned his attention to wider electoral reform Liberal Party was now split about reform

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Reform in the 1880s

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  1. Reform in the 1880s

  2. Wider electoral reforms • Having dealt with corruption, Gladstone turned his attention to wider electoral reform • Liberal Party was now split about reform • Chamberlain introduced a franchise bill in 1884 to grant males in the counties equal voting rights to males in the boroughs • The lords blocked this, demanding that seats were redistributed at the same time • Protest marches in Birmingham and Glasgow took place demanding reform

  3. Representation of the People Act 1884 WHY? • Power of land owning class declining (power resented) • Little difference between urban and rural workers therefore act removed distinction • Threat of socialism • The end of the mob!

  4. This led to two separate actsRepresentation of the People Act 1884 • Extended the vote • Increased electorate from 2.5 to 5 million • 2 out of 3 men in England and Wales now had the vote • Male householders and lodgers of 12 months got the vote • Voting qualifications in boroughs and counties now the same (£10)

  5. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 • Aimed to construct constituencies of approximately equal size • 79 towns with a population of under 15,000 lost both of their seats • 36 towns with a population between 15,000 and 50,000 lost one seat, and between 50,000 and 165,000 kept two seats

  6. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 • Universities kept two seats • Remainder of the country was divided into single member constituencies • Total number of MPs increased from 652 to 670

  7. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 Scotland • 72 MPs now at Westminister • 7 additional seats went to the counties • Lanark county increased MPs from 2 to 6 • Fife, Perth and Renfrew increased representation to 2, Glasgow from 3 to 7, Edinburgh 2 to 4, Aberdeen 1 to 2

  8. Third Reform Act-positives/negatives • Moved Britain closer to a democracy • Put in place an electoral system which is similar to the present system • However far from being a democratic society, women still excluded as were male domestic servants, sons who lived at home, paupers on poor relief, soldiers living in barracks and those who had failed to pay their rates

  9. Other anomalies • Plural voting still existed. This meant that a man could have many votes if he owned property in different constituencies • Universities still elected MPs Glasgow University

  10. 1918, Representation of the People Act • Why was it introduced? • Issue of residency • Conscription • Lloyd George replaced Asquith • Plans to change rules in 1917/18 • Women’s role in the war effort

  11. Between 1885 and 1918 there were few attempts to widen the franchise • 1918 Representation of the People Act finally removed the discrepancy of the male franchise and gave the vote to women aged 30 and over • Seemed to mark a reversal of attitudes • Heralded the creation of a huge new electorate; from 8.4 million to 21.4 Scottish suffragettes

  12. 1918, Representation of the People Act • Based on residential qualification for men over 21 and more complex rules for women over 30 • Provided they were either local government electors or wives of the latter

  13. 1918, Representation of the People Act • Some historians have concluded this act was a result of the Great War . It would have been difficult to deny the vote to those who had sacrificed and worked for the war effort • ‘the world must be made safe for democracy’ Wilson 1917 • However Martin Pugh argues that it was in essence unfinished business which led to the reform, he contends that reform had only been delayed by the war • Liberals had been pushing for a wider franchise for years

  14. Further reforms • Women eventually equal voting rights in 1928 • Further 20th century reforms in 1948 and 1969 abolished university representation in Parliament and reduced the voting age from 21 to 18

  15. Evolution of democracy • Britain’s low key path towards democracy can be related to the fact that large numbers of ‘the people’ did not campaign for change • Chartists and suffragettes campaigned noisily but they were not mass movements Emmeline Pankhurst

  16. Evolution of democracy • There was no sudden change of regime in Britain unlike other countries • Arguably British citizens were to remain ‘good subjects’ not ‘active citizens’ • The disengagement with politics continues today

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