Issue 2- How Democratic was
Britain by …
(1900,1918,1928)?
How democratic was Britain by 1918 (or 1928)
- This question is an evaluation of whether or not
you believe Britain was democratic by a given
year. You must comment on these 6 aspects of
democracy:
1. Expanding the franchise
2. Redistributing parliamentary seats
3. Increasing choice
4. Ending corruption and Improving fairness
5. Awarding pay to Members of Parliament
6. Restricting the power of the House of Lords
5. Awarding pay to Members of Parliament
 Why is this important?
6. Restricting the power of the House of
Lords
 Why is this important?
Britain's lack of democracy in 1850
Plural voting
young people could not vote
Universities elected MPs
MPs were not paid
There were only 2 parties
The number of seats in parliament were not
evenly distributed
Voting was public
Widespread corruption
only wealthy landowners could vote
Women could not vote
Section 1- Expanding the
franchise
What was achieved in the Reform Act of 1867
(page 6)? give detailed KU
What were its limitations in regards to voting?
(who still could not vote?)
What was achieved in the Reform Act of 1884
(top of page 13)?
What were its limitations in regards to voting?
What was achieved in the 1918 Representation
of the Peoples Act?
What were its limitations in regards to voting?
Section 1 Expanding the franchise
The 1928 Equal Franchise Act
- All women over 21 could now vote
Limitations????? Was Britain democratic by
1928, in regards to expanding the franchise?
- Everyone over 21 could vote, but could it be
lowered to younger people to make it more
democratic?
- Plural voting still existed until the
Representation of the People Act 1948
-Therefore, can it be said that Britain was democratic?
1867 Reform Act
Boroughs (cities & towns)
• All male homeowners
could now vote.
• Renters paying £10 per
year could now vote.
Counties
• Owners of property
valued at £5 per year.
• Renters paying £5 per
year could now vote.
•1 in 3 males could now vote
•The electorate increased to 2.5 million people
•Middle class people could now vote
•A very high percentage of males in the boroughs
could now vote.
•Spread the vote to more people than Disraeli
intended.
1884 Reform Act
Awarded the vote to
working class men in
the countryside
The British electorate
now totalled over
5,500,000
limitations
all women and 40% of
adult males were still
without the vote at the
time.
Young people could not
vote(under 21)
Plural voting still existed
1918 Representation of the
People Act Limitations
Women over 30 could
now vote if they met the
property qualificaitons
22% of women 30 and
over did not meet the
property qualifications
and could not vote
Women with a
university degree could
now vote
Women under 30
without a degree could
not vote
Men under 21 could not
vote
Men over 21 could now
vote
Plural voting still
existed
1928 Equal Franchise Act
• Women were given the same voting rights as
men all women aged 21 +
Limitations of 1928 Equal Franchise Act
• Plural voting still existed
• Only 21 year olds were viewed as able to vote
(until 1969)
How accurate is it to describe Britain as a
fully democratic country by 1928?
Essay due: Tuesday October 1st
Section 1
Sentence 1: State whether or not you believe Britain
was democratic by 1928, in terms of expanding the
franchise.
Sentence 2: State what had been achieved in terms of
expanding the franchise by 1928. Give detailed
statistics.
Sentence 3: State your belief of whether or not, this was
sufficient to call Britain democratic.
Sentence 4: State the limitations on democracy in terms
of expanding the franchise, to achieve balance.
Sentence 5: Using your own reasoning and explanation,
Refer to the limitations and argue your belief. Either:
- downplay the importance of these limitations and
argue that Britain had become significantly more
democratic by 1928, in regards to the lack of voting right
which existed before.
Or
- argue that these limitations are too important, and
that it cannot be said that Britain had achieved full
democracy because…
Sentence 6: answer the question in regards to
expanding the franchise.
Section 2- The Redistribution of
seats
What was achieved in the Reform Act of 1867
(page 6)? give detailed KU
What were its limitations in regards to the
distribution of seats?
What was achieved in the Redistribution of
Seats Act of 1885 (bottom of page 12)?
What were its limitations in regards to voting?
Quick Note
• In this essay, when analysing any of the 6 issues,
make sure to analyse that issue ONLY.
• For example, when you are analysing Widening the
Franchise, do not start discussing how seats were not
evenly distributed.
• When you are analysing bribery and corruption, do not
begin discussing how Britain was not democratic after
the 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act because
women could not vote
• ONLY REFER TO DEMOCRATIC ISSUES WITHIN
THE SPECIFIC TOPIC!!!!
Increasing Choice
• Before 1900, voters only had two parties
to choose from This is not democratic!!
• Many members of society only partially
supported the Conservatives and Liberals.
• Workers found that neither party was
particularly supporting their needs.
Trade Unions
• Workers in different industries (coal mining,
textiles, railroad workers) had formed
organisations which would represent their
needs.
• These organisations are called Trade Unions,
and some of them came to represent all workers
in Britain in a particular industry (all coal miners,
or ship builders)
• These Trade unions would fight for workers
rights (pay, hours, workplace safety etc)
Trade Unions
• These Trade Unions became large
wealthy organisations which were
able to have representatives in the
Liberal Party.
• These Trade Union representatives
in the Liberal Party became known
as Lib-Lab members. (Meaning
Liberal party members who
represented labour organisations).
• Eventually these men became Members of
Parliament for the Liberal Party.
The Labour Party is formed- 1900
• These members of parliament who represented
labour organisations, remained Liberal Party
ministers.
• However, by 1900, these MPs and trade unions
realised a new party was needed to adequately
represent the workers of Britain.
• With funding from the workers themselves, trade
unions from around Britain used their wealth to
support a new party, the Labour Party.
The Labour Party
• With a third Party
involved in the
election process,
there was
INCREASING
CHOICE.
• To what extent did
Increasing Choice
make Britain more
democratic in 1900?
Reforming the House of Lords
• The unelected House of Lords had the
ability to block any new acts made by the
House of Commons.
• The House of Commons attempted to
block the power of the House of Lords, but
of course, the House of Lords would not
pass such acts.
The Situation
• The Liberals held power in the early 1900s.
• Because reform had been quite widespread by
now, the Liberals turned their focus to
improving the lives of poor citizens in Britain.
• The Liberals wanted to provide social welfare
and better health care for its citizens.
– But this would cost huge amounts of money
– So the Liberals also had to come up with the money
to pay for this by raising taxes.
The Liberals plan
• The Liberals planned to introduce new taxes
on alcohol, cars, and a large tax on the super
wealthy in 1909.
• This plan to raise taxes and spend the new
money elsewhere is called a BUDGET.
• The Liberals had a huge majority in the House
of Commons, so their budget (the plan to raise
taxes and spend it on social reform) passed
through the House of Commons rather quickly
The Liberal Budget passes
the House of Commons
Liberal Budget
Goes to the House of Lords to
be voted on.
We’re too rich for
ya’ll Liberal
rubbish, don’t be
taxing us
Why would the House of
Lords reject the Liberal
budget??
Damn rich jerks
So the plan to raise taxes
to pay for social welfare
reforms fails.
How do we end the power of the
House of Lords?????
• The Liberals travelled the country
between 1909 and 1911, spreading
the news of their desire to ‘tax the
rich to help the poor’
– They spoke against the wealthy
members of the House of Lords,
making the House of Lords very
unpopular.
• As a result, the House of Lords was
viewed as an undemocratic section
of parliament which needed to be
changed.
Parliament Act of 1911
• This act reduced the power of the House of Lords
– The House of Lords no longer had the power to vote on
budgets (any act which dealt with taxation, or the
distribution of money for things like social welfare programs)
– Also, the House of Lords could no longer stop an act from
being passed in Parliament, they could only delay the
passing of an act for two years. After two years, an act would
become law even if the House of Lords didn’t want it too.
• The House of Lords became scared to exercise
its power out of fear that its power would be
further taken away
Power of the House of Lords
Limitations
- The House of Lords remains unelected,
even today
- The House of Lords had the power to
delay a new act for 2 years, until the
Parliament Act of 1949 which restricted
this to 1 year.
Read pages 18 to 19 on Reforming the House
of Lords and answer the following questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Why was the House of Lords undemocratic?
What are social reforms?
What is a budget?
Why did the Liberals need to raise taxes?
How did the Liberals pass an act which restricted
the power of the House of Lords?
6. In what way was the House of Lords restricted?
7. Do you believe Britain had achieved democracy in
terms of the House of Lords’ power?
Read and take notes on the rest of 19 and the
top of page 20
Increasing Choice
Read the bottom of page 19 to the top of page
20. Answer the following questions
1. What is a trade union
2. Why did Trade unions grow to become large
wealthy organizations
3. How did trade unions gain a role in
Parliament?
4. Describe how the labour party formed?
5. In your opinion, with the formation of a new
party, had Britain achieved full democracy in
terms of the choice of parties it offered?
Opportunity to Become an MP
Read page 19 and answer the following
questions
1. Why could any man not become an MP in
Britain before 1911?
2. What did the Parliament Act of 1911
achieve?
3. Was Britain now democratic in terms of
allowing opportunity to become a MP?
Opportunity to Become an MP
Limitations
• Nancy Astor was the first woman to be an MP
in 1919, and opened the door to women.
• By 1928, Britain can be said to be fully
democratic in terms of the opportunity to
become an MP.
• However, membership in the House of Lords
remained unelected.
Corruption and Intimidation
Corruption
• There were no laws which
stopped rich politicians
from using their money to
win.
• Politicians transported
voters to voting stations to
vote for them
• Some would bribe factory owners into forcing their
workers to vote for them. Since voting was public, if a
employee did not vote for who their boss demanded,
they would be fired!!!
These are just some examples.
The Ballot Act of 1872
Introduced by the Liberal government
under Prime Minister Gladstone.
Booths were set up so voting was done
in secret.
As a result, voters could no
longer be intimidated into
voting for someone they do
not want.
However, Corrupt spending
practices continued
Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act of
1883
1. An election candidate’s
spending became
limited.
2. Campaign money could
no longer be spent on 4. Disobeying the law
would result in a
things like food and
candidates
drinks.
disqualification for 7
3. A record of spending
years!!
had to be kept.
5. Involvement in
corruption would result in
fines or imprisonment.
Corruption and Intimidation
Limitations
In small areas, where the number of voters
was small and a single rich landowner or
employer was dominant, corruption and
intimidation still existed.
This happened in areas such as Norwich
The Redistribution of Seats
The 1867 Reform Act redistributed seats, but not
adequately.
The 1884 Reform Act created a much more even
distribution of seats, which almost accurately
represented population throughout Britain.
The 1918 Representation of the People Act
distributed seats again.
By 1928, Britain had more or less accomplished
democracy in terms of the redistribution of seats
The Redistribution of Seats
Limitation- Universities such as Oxford
University and Cambridge University
remained university constituencies which
elected a MP.
This may have restricted full democracy?
At the same time, These seats only totaled
about 12, making them a very small number
in a House of Commons which numbered
658.
1.Expanding the franchise
2. Redistributing parliamentary seats
3. Increasing choice
4. Ending corruption and Improving fairness
5. Awarding pay to Members of Parliament
6. the power of the House of Lords
Given all of these aspects, did Britain achieve full
democracy by 1928?
Order the 6 aspects from the ones which support your
argument the most, to the least.
Underneath each, mention your opinion on how each
aspect supports and does not support your argument
I do not believe Britain was democratic
1. The power of the House of Lords
- By 1928 the power of the House of Lords was
restricted in the Parliament Act of 1911, which
reduced their power to delay a bill for 2 years as well
as restricting their power to vote on budgets. However,
due to the fact that it remained as an unelected body
within government, this inhibited Britain from being
fully democratic.
- A nation must have two fully democratic houses within
its government to be considered a full democracy.
- The power of the House of Lords was not adequately
restricted until the 1949 Representation of the People
Act, but it remains unelected with the power to delay a
law for 1 year.
I do believe Britain was democratic
1. Awarding Pay to Members of Parliament
The Parliament Act of 1911 allowed members of
Parliament to be paid for the first time, which awarded
equal opportunity for the people of Britain to become
involved in the political process.
By 1928, women had become involved in the House of
Commons as well men. This is an essential component
of democracy which had been achieved by 1928.
Although the House of Lord’s was unelected, The House
of Commons was the main source of law making power,
and had become fully democratic.
Intro
1. State some background information
2. State what the question is asking and suggest
your answer. It has been argued that… it will
be argued that…
3-5. State all the different ways in which you
believe Britain was and was not democratic, in
the same order in which you will mention them in
the essay. Through expanding the franchise
Britain did/did not achieve democracy.
Through decreasing intimidation and
corruption….
Section 1
Sentence 1: State whether or not you believe Britain
was democratic by 1928, in terms of…( your strongest
reason).
Sentence 2: State what had been achieved in terms of
your strongest reason for why Britain was (or was not)
democratic by 1928. Give detailed statistics and acts.
Sentence 3: State your belief of whether or not, this was
sufficient to call Britain democratic.
Sentence 4: State the limitations on democracy in terms
of your strongest factor, to achieve balance.
Sentence 5: Using your own reasoning and explanation,
Refer to the limitations and argue your belief. Either:
- downplay the importance of these limitations and
argue that Britain had become significantly more
democratic by 1928, in regards to …. (whatever you are
discussing.
Despite these limitations, Britain can still be
considered fully democratic because…
Or
- argue that these limitations are too important, and that it
cannot be said that Britain had achieved full democracy
because…
In a fully democratic nation there must be….
Sentence 6: answer the question in regards to the topic you are
discussing in this section.