Parliamentary Reform 1867-1885 Flashcards
The British parliamentary system was transformed in the years 1851–1885.’
Assess the validity of this view.
What was the the context behind the reform act of 1867
Us civil war and Italian unification led to greater public interest in democracy indicated by the reform league
-demanded universal male suffrage
- party political dimension- liberals known as the party of reform , conservatives had been out of power for more than a decade since the corn laws had divided the party
Why was the 1867 reform act passed
hodgkinson ammendment
Changing attitudes- the old Whig party which was once dominated by aristocrats was developing into the new liberal party with commercial and industrial members having growing influence
-businessmen from largely underrepresented town and cities south to extend their political influence,power and status through redistribution of seats
-Gladstone often encouraged radical reform groups MP John bright had increasing influence
-working man had bigger influence on liberal party, steer party in direction of change
- emergency of one nation Toryism, paternalism and closing gap between rich and poor, moral duty etc, helped promote need for reform
Idea of Tory democracy , in tune with what working man needed, ideas of social reform etc , committed
hodkinsons ammendent- added 500,000 seats, couldnt ignore as would lose govt, oppurtunist
HOWEVER
-opportunism on Disraeli part, minority Conservative govt wanted to introduce electoral reform to gain electoral support esp being out of power so long
Did political reform have a party consensus
- can be said lacked a party consensus and instead where influenced by party political interests than any commitment to democracy eg Disraeli
However British society did benefit, modernised politics and democracy and allowed for party organisation
What did the second reform act of 1867 change and did we move closer to democracy
Hodgkinsons amendment - who
Preservation of Tory dominance
-extended the franchise to men over 21 who met property requirements such as living at same address for 21 months,lodgers who paid £10 a year, redistribution of seats with seats taken from boroughs with populations of under 10,000, and reduced to one mp, given to larger counties and heavily populated industrial towns
-extended franchise to larger extent, lodgers voter enfranchised skilled workers
-franchise expanded from 1 million to 2.5 million (1/3 of the adult male population)
- first step towards democracy people had more power over legislation that effected them, more still needed to be done
-franchise of boroughs extended by 135% vs 45% of rural
-university graduates, skilled professions, £50 savings were to have extra vote
- created a fancy franchise
-radical liberals passed hodgjisons amendment
What were the inconsistencies and ambiguities of the 1867 act
-agricultural workers excluded , only 40% increase, franchise remained varied
-only 45 seats redistributed and 20 counties remained unrepresented
- move towards democracy was hurt by corruption and open ballot- easily sway newly enfranchised to vote conservative , fear of being fired and bribery often took place
What was secret ballot act and why was it passed- link to party politics
Gladstones reforms set out to amend the aminguites created by Disraeli earlier acts and move closer to democratic values
1872, Secret Ballot Act , (free and fair elections), intrduced use of secret ballot at elections after it was rejected in 1867, liberals were aware of the unfair influence of some conservative supporting landlords or employers which could discourage new voters from voting liberal ( party politics despite not introducing act wanted to secure votes of the newly enfranchised and Gladstone opposed secret ballot on grounds that right to vote is based in conscious and have to be able to explain choice ), in 1870 John bright introduced a private members bill , Gladstone wanted to avoid divide argument with liberals ( ensure party remained unified) so passed the act
-aimed to also reduce entreating, offer of food and drinks during election
Context - corruption had increased and threatened competition between the parties looking for support of newly enfranchised
However- general election of 1874 infamous for corruption
What was the Corrupt and Illegal practices Act and why passed - party politics
-1883, set strict limits on election spending, requiring official accounts of spending and imposing heavy sanctions for breaches of the act
- passed while liberals in power, both parties had same interest in establishing such rules ( equal playing field)
Public opinion also played a role as public was shocked at revelations of royal commission on election petitions complaining about corrupt practices
Similar bills in 1881 and 1882, failed due to IPP
What was the representation of the peoples act and relate to party politics + role of the HOL
-after enfranchisement of skilled workers next step was to extend the electorate to unskilled workers and liberals set out to do so in 1877, enthusiasm from Whig faction based on hope that liberals would benefit from extended county franchise since they had suffered from redistribution of seats in 1867
- meant no chance of liberals being divided ( united party able to retain government position) or dished as Disraeli was against extending the franchise (1873)
-tories anxious about extension of franchise due to economic depression,trade unions,socialism and populist campaign of Churchill
-Gladstone, focused on Ireland , extending franchise was seen as a way of re establishing h popularity of his govt which was declining
-rejected demand for universal suffrage, proposed to end rural urban division of Disraeli act
-conservative fear of reduced votes led to bill being blocked in lords, demanded redistribution of seats arguing they would lose 47 seats
-CHAMBERLAIN, used this to launch campaign against lords involving anti Tory riots ( lords blocked liberal legislation let con pass, Tory dominated lords needed reform- parliament act 1911)
-negotiated , seats redistributed to offset con loss in counties
- single seat constituency, Gladstone two seat as it be fitted the liberals (radicals and a Whig ), single sea allow Tory dominance - 1895,67 of 75 London seats con
- liberals agreed to negotiations
- franchise extended to 5 million, 2 in every 3 men entitled to vote
what was the redistribution if seats act 1885
Examples
-ensured that constituencies were re-distributed
and re-designed to create equal-sized constituencies (roughly each with a population of 50,000 people).
-142 seats were redistributed equally between counties and boroughs.
-Lancashire, for example, now had 58 MPs (proportionate with its industrial population) instead of 14 whilst sparsely populated Cornwall had 7 members now instead
of 44.
-The Act of 1885 also meant that electoral constituencies from now on would be mostly single seat (1 MP)
-designed around defined socio-economic areas (a
number of two seat constituencies continued but declined until their extinction in 1948). Representation would now be fair in terms of the spread of the population.
Impact of 1867 reform act in party politics
-Modern competitive party politics is born: The Reform Act 1867 accelerated the formation of modern Party Politics
-1. National party organisations formed to build party nationally and campaign in elections.
National Union of Conservative Associations (1868) & National Liberal Federation (1877).
-Uncontested elections declined
58% in 1859 32% in 1868 7% in 1885
-1884 general election
Gladstone toured GB and made campaign speeches – a novelty then! The ‘Peoples’ William
Evaluation of ROPA act 1884
the 1884 Act was less than comprehensive: several categories of adult males were still deprived of the vote, such as domestic servants; the process of voter registration was complex and bureaucratic: about one-half of the electorate failed to fulfil registration requirements
• women were still denied the vote
Number of constituencies now single seat
647/670
Was the British parliamentary system transformed
Arguments for no
-• MPs were still not paid; very few working men entered parliament; parliamentary
modes of procedure and convention all modelled and reinforced an age of privilege not of democracy
Nuanced arguments about the extent of change in parliament
-There was enormous continuity in terms of parliamentary membership. By and large the new voters were accommodated within the existing parties, each of which offered a fairly paternalistic view of the needs of the working class. In other words, it is perfectly possible to argue that the electorate increased and the distribution of seats better reflected social and economic changes, but in essence the same people were in power; there might be more voters, but the same people continued in power.
