Issue 1- Lesson 3
The Ballot Act of 1872
The Corrupt and Illegal Practices
Act of 1883
The Third Reform Act 1884
How democratic was Britain after
the 1867 Reform Act?
Getting there, but still not close:
– No secret ballot
– Candidates in elections could spend as much money as they
would like to influence voting (food, drink, bribes)
– MPs were not paid
– Universities had the ability to elect MPs
– The House of Lords had equal power to the House of
Commons
– Men in the counties did not have the same voting rights as
men in the boroughs
– Select groups of men could not vote
– Woman could not vote
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.
Liberal Party member
John Bright
• A reformist in the liberal party,
who fought for the secret ballot
in 1871 and 1872.
• Believed that if the working
class could vote in secret, they
would thank the liberals for
passing the Ballot Act with
their vote.
Liberal Party Members
Joseph Chamberlain
• Wanted the Liberal Party to
pass a new reform Act in
1883, which would give men
in the counties equal voting
right to the men in the
boroughs.
Conservative Party members
Salisbury
• Leader of the Conservative
Party in the 1880s
• Accepted a proposal from
the Liberal Party to create a
Third Reform Act.
Arlington Street Compact
Gladstone and the Liberals are in power in the 1880s.
Gladstone wants to pass another reform act, in order to
give men in the counties equal voting rights to men in the
boroughs, which would mean doubling the number of
men who could vote in Britain!!!!!!!
In order to pass this
radical reform through
the House of
Commons, Gladstone
needed to get the
Conservative Party to
agree to its terms!!!!
Time to
spread the
vote like
jelly on
toast son.
Arlington Street Compact
Prime Minister Gladstone met with
Conservative leader Salisbury to make a
deal.
Yo homie Salisbury,
lets make an
agreement so you will
let us pass this Third
Reform Act
Nah yo, whats in it for
us conservatives
Gladstone? you old
ugly mongrel.
Arlington Street Compact
The Deal
• Salisbury’s Conservatives would support the
Third Reform Act in the House of Commons.
• In return, Gladstone and the Liberals would
redistribute the number of MPs in
constituencies across Britain.
• By doing this, they would allow some
constituencies to be guaranteed victories for
the Conservatives WHAT!!?!???!?!?!
The Arlington Street Compact
Dundee had only 1 Member of Parliament and every single election the
conservative candidate won.
Dundee has tripled in population do to its
factories, it now has a population large
enough to deserve 2 Members of
Parliament.
Conservative MP Douglas
McBruce has won every
election in Dundee in the
last 40 years.
The Arlington Street Compact
So in the Arlington Street Compact, the Liberals promised to redistribute the
number of seats, so that places such as Dundee will get 2 MPs instead of 1.
Now Dundee has a new conservative MP,
Hamish McVey. The Conservatives are happy
because now the conservative city of Dundee
will always send 2 Conservative MPs to the
House of Commons
Third Reform Act (1884)
(Representation of the People Act
1884)
• Passes because of the Arlington Street
Compact
• The electorate doubles from 2.5 million to 5
million men.
• Voting qualifications in the towns and
countryside are identical.
– All male householders who own or rent property
could vote.
• 2/3 men in England and Wales.
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
• Passed together with the Third Reform Act it
was part of the deal in the Arlington Street
Compact
• The distribution of MPs now more accurately
reflects the population of British towns.
• Total number of MPs increased from 652 to
670.
Are we Democratic yet?
Define: intimidation, bribery, the nature of
corruption in British politics
What happened to the attempted ballot act in
1871, before it was passed in 1872? Why is this
an example of the lack of democracy?
What happened to the Third Reform Act after it
was passed by the House of Commons in 1884?