Reform So That You May Preserve: Change And Continuity After 1832

Question 0

Elections after 1832: why was there such a large increase in amount of people voting?

Answer 0

Because there were more contested elections

Question 1

Elections after 1832: percentage increase in amount of people voting in 1832

Answer 1

It is estimated that the number of people actually voting in 1832 increased by 500%

Question 2

Elections after 1832: Why were elections not contested

Answer 2

When the number of candidates = number of seats

Question 3

Elections after 1832: was there still corruption?

Answer 3

Yes ‘treating’ of voters was still a large problem. Also there were many tricks to try and thwart efforts of rival candidates.

Some commentators at the time seemed to think that it got worse.

Question 4

Elections after 1832: what was treating?

Answer 4

Treating was the practice of giving ‘treats’ to electors in the form of meals/alcohol in hope of persuading them to vote for a certain candidate

Question 5

Elections after 1832: voting behaviour

Answer 5

Voting behaviour depended on the type of borough

Question 6

Elections after 1832: outrageous behaviour by candidates and electors

Answer 6

The outrageous behaviour by candidates and voters provided many Victorian writers with lots of material (e.g Charles Dickens’ “The Pick Wick Papers”)

Question 7

Tamworth Manifesto: When was it published and who was it published by?

Answer 7

It was published by the Tories in December 1834

Question 8

Tamworth Manifesto: What was important about it?

Answer 8

It was the first time that a party wrote to the general public about their aims and ideas rather than just bribery.

Question 18

What was the Chandos Clause?

Answer 18

Essentially gave vote to tenants. But these tenants could have their tenancy terminated at any time by their landlords. So the tenants were highly likely to vote for the same person as their (most commonly Tory) Landlord.

Question 19

What did the Chandos Clause do for the Tories?

Answer 19

It helped offset the original loss of the Tory boroughs, so the Tories didn’t lose as Manu voters

Question 20

£10 householder qualification, what did it mean for the franchise?

Answer 20

That it was slightly irregular, in London some working class might get the vote. Whereas in some parts of wales or Cornwall, shopkeepers might not qualify.

Question 21

After general election of 1832, what percentage of MPs represented the landed interest?

Answer 21

After 1832 70% - 80% still represented the landed interest

Question 22

How many rotten or public boroughs were disenfranchised in the 1832 reform act

Answer 22

56

Question 23

How many MPs after 1832 still depended on patronage

Answer 23

60/70 MPs still depended directly on patronage

Question 24

But some boroughs

Answer 24

Were not disenfranchised such as Thetford, Calne and Westbury , the boroughs that were disenfranchised were the well known ones that reformers used as examples of what was wrong with the old system

Question 25

How many MPs now represented counties?

Answer 25

144 (previously 92)

Question 26

Why were county MPs preferred by most of aristocracy (including Whigs and Tories)

Answer 26

County MPs were seen as less corrupt, more independent and more likely to be motivated by the interests of the country

Question 27

How else were seats redistributed? (apart from increasing county representation)

Answer 27

Large towns in north given representation in parliament but also small towns were given seats because they represented particular interests. E.g Froome (wool) and Whitby and Sunderland (shipping)

Question 28

What percentage of males could vote before and after the 1832 Reform Act

Answer 28

Before the 1832 Reform act around 1 in 10 males could vote

After the 1832 reform act around 1 in 5 males could vote

Question 29

What percentage of males could vote before and after the 1832 Reform Act in Scotland

Answer 29

Before Act 1 in 50 males could vote

After Act 1 in 8 males could vote

Question 30

In Ireland, what was the story with the voter qualification

Answer 30

In 1829 it had to been slashed by an increase in the housing qualification because parliament feared the rise of the catholic influence.
After 1832 about 1 in 20 Males in Ireland could vote