Standard Grade
Britain 1830-1930
Growth of Democracy
A Timeline showing changes to the Franchise
1884
Third
Reform
Act
1830
1832
Reform Act
1840
1850
1848
The Chartists
1860
1870
1867
Second
Reform
Act
1880
1872
Secret
Ballot
Act
1883
Corrupt
Practices
Act
1890
1911
Salaries for
M.P.s
1900
1885
Redistribution
of Seats Act
1910
1920
1911
1918
Parliament Women
Act
over 30
could
vote
1930
1928
Women
over 21
could vote
Before 1932
•
•
•
•
Most people could not vote
Rotten & pocket boroughs
Different methods of voting in each area
No secret ballot – voters had to publicly declare
vote at hustings
• Bribery & corruption
• New industrial towns had no representation in
Parliament, (e.g. Manchester, Glasgow,
Birmingham)
• MP had to own land & was unpaid
Great Reform Act of 1932
Before 1832
After 1832
435,000 people had
right to vote
MP had to own land &
was unpaid
No secret voting
652,000 people could
vote
MP had to own land &
was unpaid
No secret voting
Cities had no MP
Some larger cities had
two MPs
5/6 men still could not vote & no women!
Percentage of all adults entitled to vote
100
90
80
Percent
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Series1
1831
1833
1867
1884
1918
1928
5
7
16
28.5
74
97
Year
The Chartists
• Chartist movement founded in 1838
• 1839, 1842 & 1848 – petitions signed by
hundreds of thousands of ordinary people
& presented to Parliament – REJECTED
• 1848 petition – thousands of forged signatures
(eg Queen Victoria)
• Movement failed because of in-fighting
People’s Charter:
•Vote for all men over 21
•Payment for MPs
•No property qualification
for MPs
•Equal sized constituencies
•Annual elections
•Secret Ballot
1858
• Property qualification for MPs abolished
Date
Reform
What it did
1867
Second Reform
Act
Adult male householders in boroughs
could now vote. Most middle-class
people in towns & some workers gained
the franchise.
1872
Secret Ballot Act
Secret ballot introduced
1883
Corrupt Practices Candidates could only spend so much
Act
on their campaigns
1884
Third Reform Act
Vote extended to males in the counties
& some better-off workers could now
vote
1885
Redistribution of
Seats Act
Constituencies were re-organised.
Towns between 50,000 & 165,000 had
2 MPs. Scotland given another 12
seats.
1911
Parliament Act
Power of House of Lords was limited –
no longer prevent bills becoming laws.
1911
Salaries for MPs
MPs were now paid a salary.
Second Reform Act 1867
In towns the franchise was granted to:
• Male house owners over 21
• Male lodgers who paid £10 rent a year
****************
In the countryside the franchise was given to:
• Males who owned property worth £5 a year
• In England & Wales – males renting property of over
£12 a year.
• In Scotland - males renting property of over £15 a
year.
Franchise = the right to vote
Second Reform Act 1867
Impact
•
•
•
•
Over 1,200,000 new voters
35 boroughs lost one MP, 17 lost 2.
Some counties gained MPs,
Many large cities were given a third MP




Gave the vote to some of the urban working class
Attempt to equalise the size of constuituencies
7 more MPs to Scotland to represent cities
In Glasgow electorate rose from 18,000 to 47,000
“Leap in the dark”
No one was sure how the new voters would react.
'A leap in the dark' (Punch cartoon)
This political cartoon refers to Lord Derby's comment that Disraeli was taking a 'leap
in the dark' when he sponsored the second Reform Act.
By using popular support for reform to introduce a Bill extending the vote to urban
working-class electors, he believed the Tories would stand to gain in subsequent
elections.
Punch, p. 47 (3 August 1867)
The Secret Ballot Act 1872
The Secret Ballot Act 1872
• The Act made sure local landowners or employers
could not put pressure on voters who may have
depended on them for a home or living.
• Before this Act voters were often victimised if they did
not vote a certain way.
• IMPACT: Elections more civilised with some control
over the proceedings and people being allowed to
vote as the wished.
Corrupt Practices Act 1883
• Bribery outlawed
• Candidates could only spend so much on
their campaigns
Third Reform Act 1884-85
• Extended voting rights to more working class
men
• All adult male householders
• Removed difference between voting rights
between the burghs & the counties
• Further redistribution of seats – number of
Scottish seats increased to 72.
• In Scotland 60% of all adult males could now
vote
Date
Reform
What it did
1867
Second Reform
Act
Adult male householders in boroughs
could now vote. Most middle-class
people in towns & some workers gained
the franchise.
1872
Secret Ballot Act
Secret ballot introduced
1883
Corrupt Practices Candidates could only spend so much
Act
on their campaigns
1884
Third Reform Act
Vote extended to males in the counties
& some better-off workers could now
vote
1885
Redistribution of
Seats Act
Constituencies were re-organised.
Towns between 50,000 & 165,000 had
2 MPs. Scotland given another 12
seats.
1911
Parliament Act
Power of House of Lords was limited –
no longer prevent bills becoming laws.
1911
Salaries for MPs
MPs were now paid a salary.
Payment of MPs
• 1911 MPs given a salary
– Working class people could stand for
Parliament
– Helped growth of new Labour Party
– Life of Parliament limited to 5 years
Labour Party founded
• 1888 Scottish Labour Party founded by James
Keir Hardie
• He failed to be elected in Scotland but elected
as first Labour MP in London 1892
• 1893 – Founding of Independent Labour Party of
Great Britain
• 1906 General election – 29 seats including 2 in
Scotland
• 1924 – Ramsey MacDonald first Labour Prime
Minister
Representation of the People Act
1918
• All men over the age of 21 the right to vote (and
aged 19 if the men had been on active service in
the armed forces).
• Women of property over the age of 30 gained
the right to vote – (Notice: not all women, could
vote – but it was a start).
• The bill was passed by an overwhelming
majority in the House of Commons (385 for to 55
against)
Summary
• By the early 1800s the parliamentary system was out
of date.
• The new towns had no representation in the
Commons, while sparsely populated places in the
countryside still sent two MPs to the Commons.
• 1832 was a key year for introducing reform.
• 1867 took the “leap in the dark” further.
• The years from 1832 up to 1911 saw a dramatic
change in the franchise qualifications, voting
conditions, and qualifications for MPs.
• 1918 – all men over 21, women over 30 (who held
property).
In your revision:
• Think about the changes between 1832 &
1928. Take account factors such as:
– The number of people who could vote
– The kind of people who could vote
– The places that were represented in
Parliament
– How voting took place
– The qualifications to become an MP.